East of the River Magazine December 2018 by Capital Community News

DECEMBER 2018

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The Bulletin Board by Kathleen Donner

The Cost of Juvenile Trauma by Jonetta Rose Barras

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N E X T I S S U E : J a n . 12

Public Meeting Held about DDOT Intersection Project by Matthew Litman

IN EVERY ISSUE 08 What’s on Washington 10 Calendar

DC’s Urban Agriculture Scene by Catherine Plume

EAST WASHINGTON LIFE

30 The Crossword

43 The Classiﬁed

Anything Goes by Barbara Wells

Jazz Avenues by Steve Monroe

ON THE COVER:

Kwanzaa Celebration at Dance Place. Photo: Jonathan Hsu.See story on pg. 36.

Meet Your Neighbor: Jabari Jefferson by Anthony D. Diallo

HOMES & GARDENS 35

Changing Hands compiled by Don Denton

KIDS & FAMILY

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Notebook by Kathleen Donner

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Capital Community News, Inc. 224 7th Street, SE, Suite 300. Washington, DC 20003 202.543.8300 • www.capitalcommunitynews.com • www.hillrag.com

EXECUTIVE EDITOR: Melissa Ashabranner • melissa.ashabranner@gmail.com

Editorial Staﬀ

M�� E��: Andrew Lightman • andrew@hillrag.com CFO � A�� E��: Maria Carolina Lopez • carolina@hillrag.com S�� N�� E��: Susan Braun Johnson • schools@hillrag.com K�� F�� E��: Kathleen Donner • kathleendonner@gmail.com

Arts, Dining & Entertainment A��:

D��: L��: M��: M��: T��: W�� G��:

Jim Magner • jjmagner@aol.com Phil Hutinet • phutinet@yahoo.com Celeste McCall • cmccall20003@gmail.com Karen Lyon • klyon@folger.edu Mike Canning • mjcanning@verizon.net Jean-Keith Fagon • fagon@hillrag.com Stephen Monroe • steve@jazzavenues.com Barbara Wells • barchardwells@aol.com Elyse Genderson • elyse@cellar.com

HOLIDAY MARKET Dec. 22, 2018

Join The Anacostia Economic Development Corporation as we celebrate, shop and enjoy the season of giving!

R.I.S.E Demonstration Center 2730 MLK, Jr. Ave., SE | WDC 20032 10:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. Local artisans are ready to wrap up your gifts and enjoy tasty foods to purchase! Artists Larry “Poncho” Brown, Karen Y. Buster and local D.C. artist, Jay Coleman will participate in a lively discussion exploring, “What You Never Knew about the Arts.” And representatives from regional financial institutions will answer questions about personal and future finances followed by a dialogue to usher you into a healthier 2019! Contact: (301) 910-8076 • Artffinity2017@gmail.com

Don Denton • DDenton@cbmove.com Heather Schoell • heathersdo@gmail.com

Kids & Family

Kathleen Donner • kathleendonner@gmail.com Susan Johnson • schools@hillrag.com

Homes & Gardens

Derek Thomas • derek@thomaslandscapes.com Catherine Plume • caplume@yahoo.com Cheryl Corson • cheryl@cherylcorson.com Rindy 0’Brien • rindyobrien@gmail.com

Commentary

T�� N�� • thenose@hillrag.com T�� L�� W�� • editorial@hilllrag.com

Calendar & Bulletin Board

A Community

Real Estate

Production/Graphic/Web Design

C�� E��: Kathleen Donner • calendar@hillrag.com, bulletinboard@hillrag.com

A�� D��: Jason Yen • jay@hillrag.com Graphic Design: Lee Kyungmin • lee@hillrag.com W�� M��: Andrew Lightman • andrew@hillrag.com

General Assignment

R. Taylor Barden • taylor@hillrag.com Elise Bernard • elise.bernard@gmail.com Karen Cohen • kcohenphoto@gmail.com Stephanie Deutsch • scd@his.com Tom Daniel • tom@rthomasdanielrooﬁng.com Michelle Phipps-Evans • invisiblecolours@yahoo.com Maggie Hall • whitby@aol.com Stephen Lilienthal - stephen_lilienthal@yahoo.com Pleasant Mann • pmann1995@gmail.com Meghan Markey • meghanmarkey@gmail.com William Matuszeski • bmat@olg.com John H. Muller • jmuller.washingtonsyndicate@gmail.com Elizabeth O’Gorek • Liz@hillrag.com Will Rich • will.janks@gmail.com Virginia Avniel Spatz • virginia@hillrag.com Michael G. Stevens • michael@capitolriverfront.org Peter J. Waldron • peter@hillrag.com

Advertising & Sales

Account Executive: Kira Means, 202.543.8300 X16 • kira@hillrag.com Account Executive & Classiﬁed Advertising: Maria Carolina Lopez, 202.543.8300 X12 • Carolina@hillrag.com

Distribution

M��: Andrew Lightman D��: MediaPoint, LLC I��: distribution@hillrag.com

Deadlines & Contacts

A��: sales@hillrag.com D�� A��: 15th of each month C�� A��: 10th of each month E��: 15th of each month; editorial@hilllrag.com B�� B�� C��: 15th of each month; calendar@hillrag.com, bulletinboard@hillrag.com

Beauty, Health & Fitness

Patricia Cinelli • ﬁtmiss44@aol.com Candace Y.A. Montague • writeoncm@gmail.com

We welcome suggestions for stories. Send queries to andrew@hillrag.com. We are also interested in your views on community issues which are published in the Last Word. Please limit your comments to 250 words. Letters may be edited for space. Please include your name, address and phone number. Send Last Word submissions to lastword@hillrag.com. For employment opportunities check our website at hillrag.com. The publisher reserves the right not to publish any ad for any reason.

Capital Community News, Inc. Publisher of:

MIDCITY YOUR COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER

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F A G O N

GUIDE TO CAPITOL HILL

Join Mayor Muriel Bowser and hundreds of DC residents for the FITDC Fresh Start 5K! Where: Capitol Riverfront When: January 1, 2019 Registration at 9 AM | Race at 10 AM Run, walk or cheer folks on. Beginners welcome. To register online, visit: http:\\2019freshstart5k.eventbrite.com Aetna is the brand name used for products and services provided by one or more of the Aetna group of subsidiary companies, including Aetna Life Insurance Company and its affiliates (Aetna). This material is for information only. Health benefits and health insurance plans contain exclusions and limitations. Information is believed to be accurate as of the production date; however, it is subject to change. For more information about AetnaÂŽ plans, refer to aetna.com. Aetna is a registered trademark of Aetna Inc.

ÂŠ2018 Aetna Inc. 89.12.305.1-DC (11/18)

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TOUR FAMOUS TRAIN STATIONS Take a train ride across America. The US Botanic Garden’s annual holiday show showcases plant-based recreations of iconic train stations from across the United States. Explore New York City’s Grand Central Terminal, St. Louis’ Union Station and many more. Their collection of DC landmarks made from plant materials returns to the Garden Court. Don’t miss a botanical version of DC’s Union Station. Open through Jan. 1, 2019, daily, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Garden is open until 8 p.m., Tuesdays and Thursdays, except Christmas, through Dec. 27, for jazz, folk and choral concerts. Free. 100 Maryland Ave. SW. usbg.gov.

DRIVING MISS DAISY It is the Deep South in 1948. Daisy, an older white widow, has just demolished another car. Over her protestations, her son has hired a black man to be her chauffeur. This begins a 25-year relationship that starts with distrust and then grows into a loving interdependence. Directed by Ella Davis, Daisy promises to be just what you need for the season at the end of a turbulent year. On stage at the Anacostia Playhouse, 2020 Shannon Pl. SE, from Dec. 13 to 23. Tickets are $40; $30 for Ward 7 and 8 residents, seniors and students. anacostiaplayhouse.com

RUN WITH MAYOR BOWSER

Join Mayor Muriel Bowser and hundreds of DC residents on the scenic Capitol Riverfront for the #FITDC Fresh Start 5k! As Washington, DC works to reclaim the status of fittest city in the country, whether you run, walk or just cheer folks on, this event for all ages is the perfect way to start the New Year! Registration and packet pickup begins at 9 AM and the Fresh Start 5K begins at 10 AM. Capitol Riverfront is accessible on the Metro Green Line, exiting at the Navy Yard-Ballpark stop. For additional information about FitDC and to register, visit http://freshstart5kdc.com/

Image: Courtesy of Anacostia Playhouse Photo: Courtesy of the US Botanic Garden

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Photo: Courtesy of the Smithsonian

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PHOTOGRAPHER GORDON PARKS: 1940–1950 During the 1940s American photographer Gordon Parks grew from a self-taught photographer making portraits and documenting everyday life in Saint Paul and Chicago to a visionary professional shooting for Ebony, Vogue, Fortune and Life. For the first time, the formative decade of Parks’s career is the focus of an exhibition that brings together 150 photographs and ephemera. The exhibition at the National Gallery of Art illustrates how Parks’s early experiences at the Farm Security Administration, Office of War Information and Standard Oil as well as his close relationships with Roy Stryker, Langston Hughes, Richard Wright, and Ralph Ellison, helped shape his groundbreaking style. nga.gov.

FIRST NIGHT ALEXANDRIA First Night Alexandria celebrates the new year through the performing arts. Retail stores, hotels, museums and public buildings are turned into venues that showcase incredible local and regional talent. Performers include a Grammy-nominated rock and roll guitarist, an Earth, Wind and Fire Tribute band, jazz and classical musicians and an award winning DJ. Just $30 grants access to all the entertainment in over 30 indoor venues that feature more than 100 performances. Children 12 and under are free. Everything is within easy walking distances. The evening ends with dancing in the street and fireworks over the Potomac River at the foot of King Street. firstnightalexandria.org

Gordon Parks Self-Portrait, 1941 gelatin silver print sheet: 20 × 16 inches. Private Collection. Photo: Courtesy of and copyright The Gordon Parks Foundation

First Night Alexandria rings in the new year with fireworks over the Potomac River at the foot of King Street. Photo: J. Clifford for Visit Alexandria

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SELFIES WITH SANTA AT ANACOSTIA ARTS CENTER

Dec. 15, 11 AM to 2 PM. The Anacostia Arts Center has called Santa to bring “Selfies with Santa” back to Historic Anacostia. The event includes a Santa photo booth, juggling elves, holiday crafts, caroling, toys and holiday treats. Wicked Uncle (wickeduncle.com) will be dropping by to give toys to all the boys Photo: and girls. Free. Anacostia Arts CenCourtesy of ter, 1231 Good Hope Rd. SE

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the Anacostia Arts Center

HOLIDAYS Live Entertainment at the White House Christmas Tree. Through Dec. 22, Tuesdays through Fridays, 5 to 8 PM; Saturdays and Sundays, 1 to 8 PM. Closed Dec. 10 and 17. Live entertainment featuring choirs, bands and dancers. thenationaltree.org. The Washington Ballet’s The Nutcracker. Through Dec. 28 at the Warner Theatre. Set in Georgetown with swirling snowflakes, cherry blossoms and historical characters. George Washington is as the heroic nutcracker. warner.washingtonballet.org. A Christmas Carol at Ford’s. Through Dec. 30. Join the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future as they lead the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge on a journey of transformation and redemption. Ford’s Theatre, 511 10th St. NW. fords.org. Zoolights. Through Jan. 1, 5 to 9 PM, nightly. Closed Dec. 24, 25 and 31. Meander through the Zoo when it is covered with thousands of sparkling lights. Attend special keeper talks. Enjoy live entertainment. Free. National Zoo, 3001 Connecticut

Ave. NW. nationalzoo.si.edu.

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Gaylord National’s Christmas on the Potomac. Through Jan. 1. Experience “Christmas On the Potomac,” a magical wonderland with lavish décor, twinkling holiday lights and indoor snowfall. Enjoy Gingerbread Decorating, Build-A-Bear Workshop, ice skating and live entertainment. 201 Waterfront St., National Harbor, MD. Season’s Greenings-All Aboard at the Botanic Garden. Through Jan. 1, 2019, daily, 10 AM to 5 PM. Explore America by train as this annual holiday event showcases the nation’s historic railroad stations. Model trains chug around, below and above plant-based recreations. Free. 100 Maryland Ave. SW. usbg.gov.

Jingle All The Way 5k and 15k. Dec. 9, 8 AM. The “Jingle All the Way” holiday themed race draws a huge crowd of costumeclad participants. The start and finish lines for both races are on 15th Street NW, adjacent to the Washington Monument. Visit www.runpacers.com/race/jingle-all-the-way-5k/course. Morgan State University Choir Annual Christmas Concert. Dec. 9, 4 PM. $10 to $25. Gilliam Concert Hall, Morgan State University, 1700 East Cold Spring Lane, Baltimore, MD. msuchoir.org.

Caroling in the Rotunda at the National Gallery of Art. Dec. 8, 9, 15 and 16, 1:30 and 2:30 PM. nga.gov.

The Christmas Story in Art. Dec. 11, 13, 14, 18 to 21 and 24, 1 PM. A 60-minute lecture about paintings in the permanent collection that depict the birth of Jesus led by Gallery lecturer David Gariff. Held in the National Gallery of Art West Building Lecture Hall. nga.gov.

Gay Men’s Chorus The Holiday Show. Dec. 15 and 16. Their holiday extravaganza returns with fabulous treats and festive holiday favorites. Lincoln Theatre, 1215 U St. NW. gmcw.org.

A Tudor Christmas Celebration. Dec. 12, 6:45 PM. Tudor scholar Carol Ann Lloyd Stanger provides a colorful glimpse into how members of the Tudor dynasty, their courtiers and

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FORT DUPONT ICE ARENA PUBLIC SKATING

Sundays, 2:30 to 4:30 PM; Fridays, noon to 2 PM; Saturdays, 1 to 3 PM. No public skating Dec. 28, 29 or 30. These hours are subject to change without notice. Skate rental available. Fort Dupont Ice Arena, 3779 Ely Pl. SE. fdia.org. Photo: Courtesy of the Fort Dupont Ice Arena

their ordinary subjects marked the festive season. The evening concludes with a festive reception with foods inspired by the Tudor period. $90. S. Dillon Ripley Center, 1100 Jefferson Dr. SW. smithsonianassociates.org. NSO Pops: A Holiday Pops! Under the Mistletoe with Ashley Brown. Dec. 14 and 15. A fresh take on comforting classics in this singalong tradition with the NSO and The Washington Chorus. kennedy-center.org. Step Afrika! Magical Musical Holiday Step Show at the Atlas. Dec. 14 to 30. Celebrate the holidays with clapping, stomping and all around fun featuring furry friends and a special dance party with DJ Frosty the Snowman. $25 to $45. The Atlas Performing Arts Center, 1333 H St. NE. atlasarts.org. Audubon Christmas Bird Count. Dec. 14 to Jan. 5. The Christmas Bird count relies on the dedication and commitment of volunteers. The DC count will occur on one day between those dates. Read how to participate at audubon.org/conservation/join-christmas-bird-count. Navy Band Holiday Concerts. Dec. 15, 3 PM and 8 PM and Dec. 16, 3 PM. Enjoy multiple musical ensembles from the US Navy Band. Santa appears. Free. Tickets are online. Stand-by seating available. DAR Constitution Hall, 1776 D St. NW. navyband.navy.mil/holiday_concert.

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Folger Consort’s A Christmas Messe-Seasonal English Music. Dec. 15 to 23. Celebrate the holidays with a repast of English music ranging from the earliest carols to later arrangements of favorites like Greensleeves by Vaughan Williams. The Folger’s 1619 manuscript “A Christmas Messe,” recounts a tussle between King Beef and King Brawn with lively accompaniment of beloved Yuletide music. With strings, harp, organist Webb Wiggins and an ensemble of voices. Folger Shakespeare Library, 201 East Capitol St. SE. folger.edu. Celebrate Kwanzaa at Dance Place. Dec. 15, 8 PM and Dec. 16, 4 PM. Join Coyaba Academy, Coyaba Dance Theater and special guests to celebrate the seven principles of Kwanzaa. Dance Place, 3225 Eighth St. NE. danceplace.org. Cathedral Choral Society: Joy of Christmas. Dec. 15, 2 PM and 7 PM; Dec. 16, 4 PM. The concert includes Christmas favorites and a festive carol sing-along, including a newly commissioned carol by popular British composer Paul Mealor. Tickets are $25, up. Washington National Cathedral, 3101 Wisconsin Ave. NW. nationalcathedral.org. Christmas with Choral Arts at the Kennedy Center. Dec. 16, 1 PM; Dec. 17, 7 PM and Dec. 24, 2 PM. The Choral Arts Society of Washington presents a delightful program of popular holiday standards and seasonal Christmas classics. kennedy-center.org. Southwest Chamber Players Christmas Concert. Dec. 20, 7 PM. Concert features a traditional assortment of carols with a distinctly Russo-centric feel. Admission is free; donations accepted. Saint Augustine’s, 555 Water St. SW. southwestchamberplayers.org. NSO Handel’s Messiah. Dec. 20 to 23. Join the NSO and experience the grace of Handel’s much-loved Messiah, conducted by Nicholas McGegan. kennedy-center.org. Christmas at Washington National Cathedral. Dec. 23 and Dec. 24, 6 PM, Service of Christmas Lessons and Carols; Dec. 24, 10 PM, Christmas Eve Holy Eucharist; Dec. 25, 11:15 AM, Christmas Day Holy Eucharist; Dec. 25, 1:30 PM, Christmas Day Organ Recital. Washington National Cathedral, 3101 Wisconsin Ave. NW. nationalcathedral.org. Celebration of Christmas at the National Shrine. Dec. 24, Children’s Mass with Gospel Pageant, 5 PM; Musical Meditations on the Nativity, 10 PM; Solemn Vigil Mass, 10:30 PM. Dec. 25, Masses, 7:30 AM, 9 AM, 10:30 AM and 4:30 PM; Solemn Mass, noon; Spanish Mass, 2:30 PM. 400 Michigan Ave. NE. nationalshrine.com. Christmas Dinner For Those Who Are Alone or In Need. Dec. 25, 12:15 to 2 PM.

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Dining Room of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. This is a walk-in meal. Just show up. To volunteer, call 202-526-8300. 400 Michigan Ave. NE. nationalshrine.com. Kennedy Center Christmas Day Jazz Jam. Dec. 25, 6 PM. The Christmas Day Jazz Jam is a Millennium Stage tradition. Free. Kennedy Center. kennedy-center.org. Encore Chorale Presents Holiday Choral Concert. Dec. 26, 6 PM. The singers will present a program of seasonal standards and holiday rock n’ roll. The public is invited to attend this free concert and no tickets are required. Kennedy Center Concert Hall. encorecreativity.org. Celebrate Kwanzaa!. Dec. 28, 11 AM to 2 PM. Bring the entire family for a Kwanzaa celebration. Enjoy energetic and interactive introduction to Kwanzaa that includes dancers, singers, music, colorful costumes, and lively characters. THEARC, 1901 Mississippi Ave. SE. thearcdc.org.

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Improv for All! Workshop. Dec. 12, 7 to 9 PM. WIT’s free introductory Improv For All workshops are high-fun, low-stress classes. Registration required at anacostiaartscenter.com. Anacostia Arts Center, 1231 Good Hope Rd. SE. witdc.org. Poverty, Politics and Proﬁt Film and Discussion. Dec. 14, 11 AM to 1 PM. This Frontline/PBS documentary investigates the politics, profits and problems of an affordable housing system in crisis. Q and A follows. Anacostia Community Museum, 1901 Fort Pl. SE. anacostia.si.edu. ArtReach Annual Student Exhibition. Dec. 14, 5 to 7 PM. This exhibit features student artwork from all students in the ArtReach after-school program. THEARC, 1901 Mississippi Ave. SE. bbardc.org. Monday Night Music at Anacostia Playhouse. 8 PM. Jan. 14, Jason Anderson, “Jay Sun;” March 11, Vernard Gray, East River Jazz. Anacostia Playhouse, 2020 Shannon Pl. SE. anacostiaplayhouse.com. MLK Jr. Peace March and Parade. Jan. 21, 10 AM to 1:30 PM. The one and a quarter mile parade route begins at the corner of MLK Jr. Avenue and Good Hope Road SE in Anacostia and ends at the Barry Farm Recreation Center. anacostia.si.edu.

MUSIC AROUND TOWN Music at U Street Music Hall. Dec. 8, DMV Deep: DC’s House Party; Dec. 11, Eyedress; Dec. 12, Devotchka and Delta Heavy; Dec. 13, Marc Rebillet (live) and Mersiv & Dorfex Bos; Dec. 19, Glide; Dec. 20, Article; Dec. 21, Moombahton Massive Holiday Edition; Dec. 22, Bashment: A House of Caribbeans Ting; De. 23, The Slackers; Dec. 29, U Sleaze Holiday Party. U Street Music Hall, 1115 U St. NW. ustreetmusichall.com. Music at The Howard. Dec. 8, TRAP Karaoke; Dec. 13, The 85 South Show Live; Dec. 15, Les Nubians and Soca Palooza w/ Hypasounds; Dec. 16, Home for the Homeless [H4H] Funk & Comedy Jam; Dec. 20, The 5th Annual Raheem DeVaughn & Friends Holiday Charity Concert 2018; Dec. 21, Eric B. & Rakim; Dec. 22, State Property; Dec. 29, Tamar Braxton; Dec. 31, Reggae Fest New Year’s Eve All Black Affair; Jan. 3, Ruben Studdard Sings Luther Vandross; Jan. 4, Kool Keith; Jan. 12, Carnival Baby. Howard Theatre, 620 T St. NW. thehowardtheatre.com. Music at City Winery. Dec. 8, Conya Doss; Dec. 13, Bettye LaVette; Dec. 14, the Blackbyrds; Dec. 15, Zo & Carmen Rodgers; Dec. 16, Carol Riddick; Dec. 16, Dan Zanes & Claudia Eliaza with Pauline Jean-A Sensory Friendly Holiday Sing Along; Dec. 18, PJ Morgan Holiday Show; Dec. 20, Chely Wright and Lynne Fiddmont; Dec. 21 and 22, An Evening With Los Lobos; Dec. 24, Judy Gold; Dec. 27 and 28, Bilal; Dec. 28, Proper Utensils Band; Dec. 29, Joseph Arthur; Dec. 31, Black Alley NYE Party; Jan. 2, J2B2 (John Jorgenson Bluegrass Band); Jan. 3, An Evening with Glenn Jones; Jan. 5, Trina Broussard; Jan. 6, Paris Combo; Jan. 7, Tiffany; Jan. 8, Tygressa Sings Natalie Cole; Jan. 12, EagleMania - The World’s Greatest Eagles Tribute Band. City Winery, 1350 Okie St. NE. citywinery.com/washingtondc. Music at Union Stage. Dec. 8, Cloud Nothings; Dec. 16, Griffin House; Dec. 19, Free Acoustic Open Mic; Dec. 20, The 9 Holiday Show; Dec. 21, Black Masala; Dec. 28, The Kendall Street Company & The Vagabonds; Dec. 29, The Werks; Dec. 30, David Wax Museum; Dec. 31, Funk (with soul) vs. Bluegrass New Year Eve’s Party; Jan 8, Ashlee Simpson; Jan. 9, Mdou Moctar; Jan. 10, Dan Navarro; Jan. 11, Toby Lightman; Jan. 12, Roamfest ‘19 Show #1. Union Stage, 740 Water St. SW. unionstage.com. Music at Rock and Roll Hotel. Dec. 8, Schmalls Fest; Dec. 11, Caamp; Dec. 13, Cavetown; Dec. 14, The Japanese House; Dec. 15, White Ford Bronco; Dec. 19, Good Old War; Dec. 22, Happy Birthday, Freeez; Dec. 31, New Year’s Eve Blowout; Jan. 5, The Reflex; Jan. 12,

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FITDC FRESH START 5K!

Jan. 1. Register at 9 AM. The 5K is at 10 AM. Location at the Capitol Riverfront’s Navy Yard Metro. freshstart5kdc.com. Mayor Bowser joins the crowd in the 2017 Fresh Start run.

Got My Own Sound. Rock and Roll Hotel, 1353 H St. NE. rockandrollhoteldc.com. Music at Pearl Street Warehouse. Dec. 8, Chopteeth; Dec. 9, Women Who Rock the 90s; Dec. 16, Adam Ezra Group; Dec. 20, Wil Gravatt; Dec. 21, The Nighthawks; Dec. 22, Micah Robinson; Dec. 28, Eli Lev & The Fortunes Found; Dec. 31, A Blues, Rock & Soul New Year’s Eve; Jan. 3, Americana Night; Jan. 4, Soul Crackers; Jan. 5, All-Star Graceland Tribute Band; Jan. 11, Bobby Thompson Trio. Pearl Street Warehouse, 33 Pearl St. SW, pearlstreetwarehouse.com. Music at the Lincoln. Dec. 8, 15 and 16, Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington-The Holiday Show. The Lincoln Theatre, 1215 U St. NW. thelincolndc.com. Music at Ivy City Smokehouse. Dec. 9, Rafale Pollo Brito Gaitero; Dec. 11 and 18, J. Peter Loftus; Dec. 15, Chuck Brown Band; Dec. 31, New Year’s Eve. Ivy City Smokehouse, 1356 Okie St. NE. ivycitysmokehouse.com. Blue Monday Blues in Southwest. Every Monday, 6 to 9 PM. Dec. 10, Moonshine Society; Dec. 17, Mark Wenner’s Blues Warriors; Dec. 23 (Sunday), Vince Evans Christmas Folk

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Blues; Dec. 31, 9 PM to 12:30 AM, New Year’s Eve Celebration, Lil Margie & the Blues Brothers, $30 ticket ($40 after Dec. 15). $5 cover. Children are free under 16 years old. Reasonably priced meals offered. Westminster Presbyterian Church, 400 I St. SW. westminsterdc.org. Jazz Night in Southwest. Every Friday, 6 to 9 PM. Dec. 14, Tribute to Lena Horne; Dec. 15, Thinking About Jazz-Lena Horne: Jazz Voice to Political Activist; Dec. 21, Benjie Porecki’s Holiday Celebration; Dec. 28, Kristine Key Sings. $5 cover. Children are free under 16 years old. Reasonably priced meals offered. Westminster Presbyterian Church, 400 I St. SW. westminsterdc.org. Music at The Anthem. Dec. 14, Lindsey Stirling; Dec. 15, O.A.R.; Dec. 31, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue; Jan. 10, DC101 Meltdown. The Anthem, 901 Wharf St. SW. theanthemdc.com.

SPORTS AND FITNESS Capital City Go-Go. Dec. 8, and 29. Capital City will play twenty-four 2018-2019 season games at the Entertainment and Sports

DCHFA, Your Homeownership Resource in D.C. The District of Columbia Housing Finance Agency is your homeownership resource in the District from buying a home to retaining your home; we have a homeownership program to assist you. DC Open Doors DC Open Doors is your key to homeownership in the city. This program offers first-time and repeat buyers fully forgivable second trust loans to cover a buyer’s minimum down payment requirement in addition to below market interest rates for first trust mortgages for the purchase of homes.

Mortgage Credit Certificate The Mortgage Credit Certificate (MCC) provides an additional incentive for first-time homebuyers to purchase a home in the District of Columbia. An MCC provides qualified borrowers the ability to claim a Federal Tax Credit of 20 percent of the mortgage interest paid during each calendar year.

Home Purchase Assistance Program (HPAP)

DCHFA serves as a co-administrator of the DC Department of Housing and Community Development’s (DHCD) first time home buyer program, HPAP, which provides interest free deferred loans for down payment and closing cost assistance up to $84,000 combined. DCHFA administers HPAP applications for households meeting very low to low income criteria.

HomeSaver Restore Assistance Program DCHFA now offers a Restore Assistance Program. – A one-time payment, up to $60,000, to “catch-up” on delinquent property related expenses. Applicants must have suffered a qualified financial hardship due to unemployment or underemployment, own a home in the District and be able to sustain future payments going forward. Visit www.DCHFA.org for full qualification guidelines and information on how to apply to any of DCHFA’s homeownership programs.

815 FLORIDA AVENUE, NW, WASHINGTON, DC 20001 • 202.777.1600 • WWW.DCHFA.ORG E ast

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DOWNTOWN HOLIDAY MARKET

Arena in Congress Heights. Buy tickets for the inaugural season of Capital City Go-Go, the Washington Wizards’ NBA G League affiliate, at capitalcitygogo.com. Single game tickets start at $10. Entertainment and Sports Arena, 1100 Oak Dr. SE. esaontherise.com. Washington Capitals Hockey. Dec. 11, 15, 19, 21, 27 and 31. Capital One Arena. capitals.nhl.com.

Anacostia Coordinating Council Meeting. Last Tuesday, noon to 2 PM. Anacostia Museum, 1901 Fort St. SE. For further details, contact Philip Pannell, 202-889-4900.

Fairlawn Citizens Association. Third Tuesday, 7 PM. Ora L. Glover Community Room at the Anacostia Public Library, 1800 Good Hope Rd. SE.

Washington Wizards Basketball. Dec. 12, 16, 22, 28, 29; Jan. 2. Capital One Arena. nba. com/wizards.

Historical Anacostia Block Association. Second Thursday, 7 to 9 PM. UPO Anacostia Service Center, 1649 Good Hope Rd. SE. For further details, contact Charles Wilson, 202-834-0600.

MARKETS AND SALES

Anacostia High School Improvement Team Meeting. Fourth Tuesday, 6 PM. Anacostia High School, 16th and R Streets SE.

ANC 7B. Third Thursday, 7 PM. Ryland Epworth United Methodist Church, 3200 S St. SE. anc7b@pressroom.com. anc7b@earthlink.net.

Benning Ridge Civic Association. First Wednesday, 6:30 to 8 PM at the Ridge Road Community Center, 830 Ridge Rd. SE

ANC 7C. Second Thursday, 7 PM. Sargent Memorial Presbyterian Church, 5109 Nannie Helen Burroughs Ave. NE. anc7c@verizon.net.

Capitol View Civic Association Meeting. Third Monday, 6:30 PM. Hughes Memorial United Methodist, 25 53rd St. NE. capitolviewcivicassoc.org.

ANC 7D. Second Tuesday, 6:30 PM. Dorothy I. Height Library, 3935 Benning Rd. NE. 7D06@ anc.dc.gov.

BZB Holiday Gift and Art Show. Dec. 8, 15, 21 and 22, 10 AM to 7 PM. Over 75 artisans will offer a wide variety of handcrafted, unique gifts, including fine jewelry, original artwork and photography, home accessories, greeting cards, ornaments, men’s and women’s clothing and hats. Shiloh Baptist Church, 1510 Ninth St. NW. Eastern Market. Daily except Mondays and important holidays. Weekdays, 7 AM to 7 PM; Saturdays, 7 AM to 6 PM; Sundays, 9 AM to 5 PM. Flea market and arts and crafts market open weekends, 9 AM to 6 PM. Eastern Market is Washington’s last continually operated “old world” market. 200 and 300 blocks of Seventh Street SE. easternmarket-dc.org.

Congresswoman Norton’s SE District Office. Open weekdays, 9 AM to 6 PM. 2041 MLK Ave. SE, #238. 202-678-8900. norton.house.gov.

Eastland Gardens Civic Association Meeting. Third Tuesday, 6:30 to 8 PM. Kenilworth Recreation Center, 4321 Ord St. NE.Contact Rochelle Frazier-Gray, 202-352-7264 or richelle.frazier@longandfoster.com.

CIVIC LIFE

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Central NorthEast Civic Association. Third Tuesday, 7 to 8:30 PM. Dorothy Height Public Library, 3935 Benning Rd. NE. For more information, contact Michele or Rick TinglingClemmons, 202-388-1111.

ANC MONTHLY MEETINGS

ANC 7E. Second Tuesday, 7 PM. Jones Memorial Church, 4625 G St. SE. 7E@anc.dc.gov. ANC 7F. Third Tuesday, 6:30 PM. Washington Tennis and Education Foundation, 200 Stoddert Place, SE.

Through Dec. 23, noon to 8 PM, daily. More than 150 exhibitors and artisans sell an array of highquality gift items including fine art, crafts, jewelry, pottery, photography and clothing. Don’t miss tasty treats and hot beverages. Market on F Street between Seventh and Ninth Streets NW. downtownholidaymarket.com. Photo: Courtesy of the Downtown DC BID

ANC 8A. First Tuesday, 7 PM. HCD Housing Resource Center, 1800 Martin Luther King, Jr. Ave. SE. anc8adc.org. ANC 8B. Third Tuesday, 7 PM. Seventh District Police Station Community Center, Alabama and McGee Streets, SE. anc8b.org. ANC 8C. First Wednesday, 7 PM. 2907 MLK Jr Ave. SE. ANC 8D. Fourth Thursday, 7 PM. Specialty Hospital of Washington, 4601 MLK Jr. Ave. SW. ANC 8E. First Monday, 7 PM. Eagle Academy, 3400 Wheeler Rd. SE.

Have an item from the Calendar? Email it to calendar@hillrag.com.

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An Evening of Food & Music

control, a green roof, energy efficient windows and a high-efficiency HVAC system.

Garden Memorial Presbyterian Church, 1720 Minnesota Ave. SE, is having an evening of food and music on Dec. 15, 5 to 7 p.m. Chef Shawn Ramatour is catering the meal. Sam Perryman and Associates providing the music. A $5 donation is requested to raise funds for their homeless ministry and boiler fund. Contact Alice Bellis at aobellis@gmail.com.

New Affordable Housing at St. Elizabeths

Ribbon Cut on The Triumph On Nov. 13, Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) cut the ribbon on “The Triumph,” a short-term family housing program in Ward 8. The Triumph provides resident families with access to service-enriched programming to help them stabilize and exit homelessness. The site includes 50 family units, computer labs for the residents, administrative space for staff and providers, outdoor playground, age-appropriate indoor recreation space, a homework and study lounge for residents. The Triumph meets LEED Gold standards. It includes onsite stormwater quality-

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FORD’S RAISES MONEY FOR HOMELESS CHILDREN

Ford’s Theatre Society has selected DC’s Homeless Children’s Playtime Project (CPP) as recipient of this year’s donation drive inspired by the themes of charity in “A Christmas Carol.” CPP partners with homeless shelters in DC to create safe and fun play spaces for the children where they live. Their trauma-informed programs help restore normalcy by providing opportunities for children to learn and heal through play. They empower children to make choices, express themselves, build friendships and find support. During curtain calls the “A Christmas Carol” company collects donations. Patrons may also make donations through the Ford’s Theatre Box Office. fords.org. Craig Wallace as Ebenezer Scrooge and Rayanne Gonzales as the Ghost of Christmas Present in the 2017 production of “A Christmas Carol” at Ford’s Theatre. Photo: Carol Rosegg

On Nov. 27, Mayor Bowser and Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development Brian Kenner broke ground on the Residences at St. Elizabeths East. This 252-unit apartment community contains 202 affordable housing units, on the historic St. Elizabeths East Campus The groundbreaking follows the mayor’s recent announcement of the Housing Production Trust Fund’s plan to invest $51 million in affordable housing in Ward 8 for fiscal year 2019.

New Theater Alliance Artistic Director The Theater Alliance has hired Raymond O. Caldwell as the company’s Producing Artistic Director effective Jan. 1, 2019. Caldwell currently serves as associate artistic director. He succeeds Colin Hovde, who announced his departure in July 2018 after seven years at the company’s

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helm. Caldwell joined Theater Alliance in 2017 to curate and produce the company’s inaugural “Word Becomes Action Festival.” He was elevated to Associate Artistic Director at the beginning of 2018. He directs the upcoming production of “Blood at the Root” in January. Caldwell is a resident director and full-time lecturer at Howard University’s Theater Department, a position he will continue to hold through the end of the spring. theateralliance.com.

Tour Southwest Artist Studios On Jan. 12, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., catch the Anacostia Community Museum shuttle to visit Southwest neighborhood artists in their studios. The tour is in conjunction with the exhibition, “A Right to the City,” and includes a visit to the Blind Whino Arts Club. A $15 pre-registration transportation fee required. Pay the transportation fee online or by check on the day of the tour. Register online or call 202-633-4844. anacostia.si.edu.

Help Clean-up Shepherd Parkway Shepherd Parkway volunteers hold their signature community clean-ups every second Saturday of the month, 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Volunteers meet in the picnic area near the corner of Martin Luther King and Malcolm X, SE. Gloves, bags and light refreshments are provided. Wear boots and work clothes. Contact Nathan at nathanbharrington@gmail.com to arrange a group volunteer experience.

MLK Let Freedom Ring! On Jan. 21 at 6 p.m., The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and Georgetown University celebrate the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with a free, ticketed musical tribute, “Let Freedom Ring!” The annual program, featuring Audra McDonald, Brian Stokes Mitchell and the Let Freedom Ring Choir led by Music Director Rev. Nolan Williams Jr., will be held in the Kennedy Center Concert Hall. Free tickets. limit to two per person, will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis at the entrance to the Hall of Nations, beginning at 4:30 p.m. on the day of the concert. Overflow seating will be available at Millennium Stage North. This performance will also be

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live streamed on the Kennedy Center Facebook and YouTube pages as well as on kennedy-center.org.

Take The Earned Income Tax Credit The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is considered the most effective poverty alleviation public policy tool in the country. In DC over 50,000 low-income Washingtonians benefit, receiving over $175 million from both the federal and the DC EITC. However, an estimated 20,000 EITC-eligible Washingtonian families are do not take advantage of this key tax credit. The majority of these families reside in Wards 7 and 8. Find out about the EITC on Dec. 12, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the True Reformer Building/Public Welfare Foundation, 1200 U St. NW. For more information, contact Joseph Leitmann-Santa Cruz at jleitmannsantacruz@caab.org.

Enroll in DC Health Link DC Health Link (DHL) enrollment is open. Sign-up for high-quality, affordable health insurance at DCHealthLink.com before Jan. 31, 2019. DCL is the District’s online state-based health insurance marketplace established under the Affordable Care Act. 96 percent of District residents covered by health insurance. More than 16,000 residents are covered through individual policies purchased on DCL individual policies and another 77,000 people through the website’s small business marketplace.

DC Hypothermia Hotline Call the Shelter Hotline, 202-3997093, when you see a homeless person who may be impacted by extreme temperatures. Reach the hotline at 211 or uposh@upo.org. Families seeking emergency shelter should go to the Virginia Williams Family Resource Center (VWFRC) at 920-A Rhode Island Ave. NE. VWFRC operates between the hours of 8 a.m. and 4 p.m., Mondays through Thursdays. After 4 p.m. and on Fridays, District holidays and weekends, families should call the Shelter Hotline. Have an item for the Bulletin Board? Email it to bulletinboard@hillrag.com.

RAIN GARDENS CONTROL STORMWATER

The Urban Ag Center, across from the Capitol Heights Metro stop, grows produce to support the needs of the Anacostia community while simultaneously addressing stormwater runoff. The three-acre East Capitol Street Urban Agricultural Center is getting its own garden thanks to the work of young men from the surrounding neighborhood, who are gaining new skills as NGIP certified gardeners in the process. The University of the District of Columbia and Seeds for Success, a partnership between Maya Angelou Young Adult Learning Center, DC Department of Public Works, and the DC Department of Employment Services, is training them to create a raingarden on the site. The project will be completed before the first snowfall. Crew and teacher Harris Trobman ready to plant that the raingarden. Photo: Geoff Livingston Photography

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The Cost of Juvenile Trauma A Three Part Series by Jonetta Rose Barras

welve-year-old Talayia Richardson wore a lovely flowered sun dress that complimented her milk chocolate-colored skin; her long black hair was perfectly coifed; the sun seemed to burst across her smiling face as DC Attorney General Karl Racine (D) introduced her at a 2018 youth roundtable organized with Ward 6 DC Council member Charles Allen (D). Showcasing local winners of the “Do the Write Thing” essay contest, the event featured voices of students from traditional and charter schools, whose views frequently are drowned out by adults. “Growing up in Washington, DC, I have seen more violence than any child should,” said Talayia, a student at the Wheatley Education Campus; her serenity belied the gravity of her history. As an infant sitting in a car seat, she was nearly killed by a random bullet that whizzed just past her head. She heard that story from her parents. The loss of her “Uncle Brock to senseless vio-

Davon Harris, a senior at Richard Wright Public Charter School for Journalism and Media Arts. Photo: UDC Television Interview Photo: Ed Jones, Jr. UDC-TV

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Judith Sandalow, director of the DC Children’s Law Center, which represents as many as 5,000 children to ensure they receive the services they need and deserve from government agencies. Photo: Ed Jones, Jr. UDC-TV

lence” was her narrative to own. Locked in her memory, it surfaced in her essay. “His murderer was never found. No one answered lingering questions. Why did someone want Uncle Brock dead? Why did no one ever come forward who witnessed this horrific act of violence and tell who did it,” continued Talayia. “As a result, my family was scarred permanently.” Davon Harris, a senior at Richard Wright Public Charter School for Journalism and Media Arts, suffered his own mental and emotional distress. As a young boy, he watched helplessly as his mother was abused. The domestic violence stopped only after she lost her job and the family was evicted from their home, scattering the members of the household, including his two siblings—each went to live with separate aunts. Homeless for nearly three years, Davon and his mother moved from shelter to shelter or from shelter to transitional housing. “The transitional housing was so bad, there were times I wished we were in a shelter,” he told me. During those dark days he was depressed; “I expressed it as anger.”

A Mass of Pain The minds and memories of thousands of young people in the District—and adults--are severely damaged by similar encounters with violence. Some experiences are up-close and personal; others are more distant. Collectively, they form an unhealed public wound that is felt in every ward of the city, without regard for race or class. Consider that the 2016 National Survey of Children’s Health found that 47 percent of DC children and youth experienced two or more traumatic events as described by the Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE), which grew out of a 1998 study conducted by Kaiser Permanente and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The local rate is far greater than the national average of less than 30 percent. Researchers have concluded that children ages 6 to 17 who experience two or more ACEs are twice as likely to be disengaged from school compared to peers who have no ACEs. “Trauma can be any extreme bad experience,” explained Judith Sandalow, director of the DC Children’s Law Center, which represents as many as 5,000 children to ensure they receive the services they need and deserve from government agencies, including public schools. “If [the problem] is in your family, it’s an ACE, but if it’s an outsider it’s still pretty horrible but it’s considered a trauma.” “It probably doesn’t matter which one it is because they all create some of the same problems for kids,” added Sandalow. Trauma inducing experiences can range from abuse and neglect, parental abandonment or incarceration, bullying, living in a home where there is chronic unemployment and palpable poverty, including not having enough food to eat or being unable to wash your clothing, living in a household where there is obvious substance abuse and its attending effects and witnessing domestic violence or general community violence. “Trauma is ubiquitous” said Tanya Royster, MD, director of the DC Department of Behavioral Health. “Young people all across this city are traumatized. And some of it is primary trauma. Some of it is secondary trauma, but it’s trauma none the less.” Despite that acknowledgment of the breadth and depth of trauma, the District has not offered a sustained and coordinated response to what legitimately can be described as an epidemic, according to advocates, parents, teachers, mental health specialists and even some government workers with whom I spoke. Most egregious is that there are inadequate numbers of mental health personnel in the city’s public schools, where many children and teens spend most of their time. Further, there are few available community treatment facilities. Consider that an Oct 30, 2017 report by DC Auditor Kathy Patterson of how eight elementary schools were spending funds allotted for socialemotional staffing indicated that at Moten in Ward 8 there was only one social worker and one psycholo-

Is It Enough? Educators and other school-based staff have said no. “Interviewees who called for additional social-emotional resources emphasized that more attention to behavioral issues would reduce disruptions and impediments to learning, thereby benefiting all students,” Patterson wrote in her audit report. “Trauma can affect children’s language development, inhibit their academic achievement and make it difficult to form relationships with both peers and adults,” explained Sandalow, who for the past five years has advocated for more trauma-informed or trauma-sensitive schools in DC. “Traumatized children may develop hyper-vigilance, emotional withdrawal or dissociation, and spend the school day focusing solely on their safety— making it impossible to learn.” Racine said he and his team of lawyers have witnessed the fragile state of childhood in DC through the cases they represent like those associated with DC Child and Family Services Agency (CFSA) as well as child support requests. “In case after case [we] read psychological and psycho-social evaluations done for youth in the justice system and see signs of trauma.” The Youth Risk Behavior Survey of 2017 conducted by The Office of the State Superintendent of Education

(OSSE) queried 8,578 high school students and 8,799 middle schoolers. The results echo Racine’s assertion. Many middle schoolers--16.2 percent of African-Americans, 18.5 percent of Hispanics, 6.1 percent of whites and 11.5 percent of Asians-- reported missing school one or more days because they said they felt unsafe. An increasing number, according to the survey, had been involved in fights, undoubtedly part of their attempt to protect themselves in what they perceived as a hostile environment. Meanwhile, 26.7 percent of the survey’s middle school respondents said they carried a weapon, an increase from 23.1 percent two years previously. Nationally, noted Racine, as much as 90 percent of youth in the juvenile justice system report experiencing a traumatic event. On average, 70 percent of them have mental health disorders, and approximately 30 percent suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Of youth aged 10 to 18 in a juvenile detention center, 92.5 percent have experienced at least one traumatic event, with a median average of six traumatic occurrences. Scientists have found that the brain structure of children who experience chronic trauma often is permanently altered. Moreover, the constant state of alertness triggered by trauma instigates the release of stress hormones that can result in a child or youth being in the constant state of “fight, flight or freeze.” In such a condition, said Racine, “it is hard for the other parts of the brain to work.”

METROPOLITAN POLICE DEPARTMENT WASHINGTON, DC

HOMICIDE VICTIM

Up to $25,000 Reward 05.28.15 HOMICIDES/2015/MILTON_CHARNICE.PDF

gist for a population of 421 students. At Barnard in Ward 4, there was only one social worker and a half-time psychologist for a population of 642 students; that school also included an attendance counselor in the category of social-emotional staffers, according to the audit report. At-large DC Council member David Grosso, chairman of the Committee on Education and Libraries, acknowledged that getting a handle on trauma is important to transforming the city’s public schools. “I firmly believe that we will not close the achievement gap until we effectively address the trauma that our students are facing.” He said that after many years, “for the first time, [the city is] taking stock of school climates and their effect on our students’ mental health, as required by my Youth Suicide Prevention Act.”

VICTIM’S NAME

Charnice Milton LOCATION

2700 block of Good Hope Road, SE DATE/TIME

Wednesday, May 27, 2015

9:40 PM CONTACT

Detective Chanel Howard

(202) 437-0451

(cell)

Detective Robert Cephas

(202) 497-4734

(cell)

Homicide Branch

(202) 645-9600 (main)

Beyond Guns District officials, advocates, civic leaders and the media have focused a disproportionate amount of attention on trauma triggered by gun violence. Unquestionably that is concerning, and solutions should be sought. However, injuries from other traumas, including those attached to chronic poverty, have been equally damaging, affecting children and youth in the District in ways that go ignored. Finesse Graves is illustrative of that fact. She may have never met Talayia or Davon. However, their stories intersect at the crossroad of trauma and

DESCRIPTION OF INCIDENT

On Wednesday, May 27, 2015, at approximately 9:40 pm, Ms. Charnice Milton was shot and killed in the 2700 block of Good Hope Road, SE. The Metropolitan Police Department seeks the public’s assistance in gathering information regarding this homicide. H O W TO H E L P O U R I N V E S T I G AT I O N

This case is being investigated by the Department’s Homicide Branch. Anyone with information about this case is asked to call the detective(s) listed above or the Command Information Center (CIC) at (202) 727-9099. Anonymous information may also be forwarded to the department’s TEXT TIP LINE by text messaging 50411. TEXT TIPS 50411

COMMAND CENTER 202 727-9099 up to

$25,000 reward

Learn more about the MPD Rewards Program mpdc.dc.gov/rewards DCPolice

DO YOUR PART TO HELP PREVENT AND SOLVE CRIME. The Department currently offers a reward

of up to $25,000 to anyone who provides information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for any homicide committed in the District of Columbia. Your assistance is appreciated by your community.

@DCPoliceDept

We care. Do you?

OfficialDCPolice

CATHY L. LANIER Chief of Police

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pain: “I was raped when I was going to get drugs for [my mother] when I was a child,” Finesse told me recently as we sat inside the parent conference room at her daughter’s school. “These are things that I don’t tell people about. I don’t want to talk about them.” At one point in her youth, Finesse knocked on the door of the foster care agency in Maryland, pleading to be admitted. “When I was younger, I used to go to the library; they used to always have posters up about people adopting kids. They make it look like it’s a happy story. All you have to do is sign up and you get adopted. She told the folks at the agency her grandmother was very sick; her mother was a heroin addict who was in and out of her life. The foster care worker said Finesse “needed to be experiencing some type of trauma. I explained to her I was living in trauma. “When my grandmother died, I went backwards,” continued Finesse. “Things started flashing in my head: ‘Why am I going through this? What am I here for? If I’m just going to keep having to go through tragedy after tragedy after tragedy, what is the purpose?’ ” Satira Streeter, a psychologist who founded Ascensions Psychological and Community Services in Ward 8, explained that trauma can be passed from generation to generation. “[It] is being passed down in terms of the coping strategies and lack thereof. At the same time, you’re getting your mama’s trauma, but then you’re getting traumatized yourself. So, it’s just like all these compound traumas that continue to build, build, and build. It’s extremely significant.” After being traumatized repeatedly as a child, Finesse, as a young adult, found herself homeless and pregnant. She could not find a shelter. “I slept on a bench at Union Station,” she recalled. Her daughter thus began experiencing trauma in the womb. Eventually, a manager at a local nonprofit referred her to a shelter for women. Finesse’s pregnancy became complicated. She was ordered to stay in bed, which was impossible to do while living at the shelter. She soon found herself on the streets, again. Unsurprisingly, her daughter was born premature.

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Finessa Graves. Photo: Ed Jones, Jr. UDC-TV

“I’ve never hidden anything from my daughter, so she’s seen the struggle. When she was two and three yearsold and I was on the floor crying, she was consoling me. She was the person that was there for me. If it wasn’t for her, I probably wouldn’t have been able to get through nothing that I got through at a certain point in time. I felt like that it affected her,” said Finesse. “I think that the time when I can say that she started going through traumatic issues was probably when we left the [homeless] shelter,” added Finesse. Finesse and her daughter, now in the second grade, moved in with Finesse’s mother, who lives in Ward 8. The apartment is so riddled with housing code violations, Racine’s office has filed a lawsuit against the owner, demanding conditions be improved. And so, the cycle of trauma has continued.

ple kept leaving and coming back and leaving. And me and my mother kept asking ourselves when it is our turn to leave. When are we going to find our apartment,” recalled Davon. “In school that was all I could think about: When was our time coming? What is going to happen to us?” In traditional, by-right public schools east of the Anacostia River where there are documented high levels of violence and unresolved trauma, students consistently score below proficient on standardize tests. Schools west of the river are also affected, since many parents place their children in institutions outside their neighborhoods. In the eighth grade Davon managed to get accepted to Richard Wright, a Ward 6 school. An automobile accident that left him fearing his mother’s death and the possibility that he would be left without anyone to care for him, inspired him to search for a bright light in his world. He also chose to seek the services of a therapist. Davon is one of the lucky ones. Many students in the city’s public schools don’t have the benefit of seeing a psychiatrist, psychologist or therapists on a regular basis as evident by the auditor’s Oct. 2017 report. Documents provided to me by the DC Office of the Deputy Mayor for Education (DME) indicate there are only 22 full or part-time psychiatrists in a school system with a population of 92,994 students states the DME. They are supple-

A Hidden Story Waiting To Be Told “Every student that walks into a school has a story behind them,” said Davon, adding that when he was experiencing homelessness, “Instead of expressing my emotions I kept it to myself. I walked around not saying anything. I was quiet. I wasn’t mad at anyone in particular, I was mad at the situation I was in.” Consistent with what experts have said about the impact of trauma on learning, Davon failed the seventh grade. “I had an “A” in math but an “F” in every other subject,” he confessed, adding that during those days he didn’t really talk to anyone. The thing on his mind was basic survival. “When we were in the shelter, peo-

Rose Shelton, a therapist and a Ward 6 parent leader of the group Parents Amplifying Voices in Education (PAVE). Photo: UDC Television Interview, photographer, Ed Jones, Jr. UDC-TV

mented by 221 by full-time or part-time psychologists. Most mental health counseling in the public schools is provided by 261 full or part-time social workers and 104 licensed counselors, who may or may not be trained in how to deal with children suffering trauma. What are they doing, and are they having any impact? Can they change the trajectory of education reform in the District? Davon told me, there are times he has had to wait a week for his in-school therapist to respond to a crisis he may he experiencing. “By then, I have worked it out by myself,” he added. “The everyday traumas children might experience in their homes, schools and within our society can impact and shape their minds and keep them from being the best version of themselves,” said Rose Shelton, a therapist and a Ward 6 parent leader of the group Parents Amplifying Voices in Education (PAVE).

The Overstuffed Backpage Most experts and advocates were not surprised by the OSSE report. DC students are in the middle of a traumatic crisis. They keep shouting. Apparently no one is really listening. Sandalow used a backpack as analogy to describe the situation. Her granddaughter had to take one to summer camp. “By the time I put her lunch and her snacks and her change of clothes and her swimsuit and her towel, this little 4-year-old body is carrying this really heavy backpack and she gets tired. She’s like, ‘“Grandma, will you carry it for me? “So, I think our kids are carrying this backpack with the physical abuse,” Sandalow continued. “With the shooting, with the fear of homelessness, it’s almost like a trauma backpack, right? They are walking into school with this incredibly heavy weight. It makes it harder for them to learn.” Jonetta Rose Barras is a DC-based freelance journalist. This series was produced as part of the University of Southern California Center for Health Journalism Fellowship with a grant from the Fund for Journalism on Child Well-Being.

Public Meeting Held about DDOT Intersection Project Changes are Coming to Twining Square Intersection

T The Plan

As it stands now, the intersection is composed of two major avenues, Pennsylvania and Minnesota SE, with thin, non-consecutive medians and daily bumper-to-bumper traffic. Sidewalks, like those along Pennsylvania Avenue, are only five to six feet wide. Complaints about the intersection focus on a lack of pedestrian safety, insufficient time for pedestrians to cross the street and the cutthrough traffic on L’Enfant Square SE. According to DDOT, Twining Square will be consolidated into two separate parks, removing both Minnesota Avenue cut-throughs and the two bus stops near L’Enfant Square. One of the bus stops will be moved to the northern end of Minnesota Avenue and the other will be added to the existing stop on Pennsylvania Avenue near the I-295 ramp. All other bus stops will remain the same, according to Melany Alliston-Brick of the Sheladia design team. Additionally, DDOT plans to install 10-foot sidewalks, high-visibility crosswalks, curb exten-

Community Concerns Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners Patricia Howard-Chittams (7B01), Tiffany Brown (7B02) and D.L. Humphrey (7B07) all voiced concerns at the Nov. 7 meeting. Residents along L’Enfant Square and Minnesota Avenue have not yet been informed of the changes occurring right on their doorsteps, Howard-Chittams stated “There’s been a turnover in residents and they have not gone back to them.” Humphrey echoed Howard-Chittams. A proposed WMATA bus stop would bring trash, noise and an increased number of vagrants, he said. “Ward 7 gets tired of people that don’t live in Ward 7 making these decisions for us,” Humphrey said, over the sound of clapping. “Please. Talk to the residents.”

DDOT Responds

by Matthew Litman

here were a few groans and a lot of questions from those who attended the public meeting hosted by the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) on Wednesday, Nov. 7, regarding plans to improve the Pennsylvania Avenue and Minnesota Avenue intersection at Twining Square. Partnering with Sheladia Inc., DDOT claims the plan’s design is 100-percent finalized with construction set to begin in late 2019.

lighting, paving patterns for bicyclists and plenty of native plants and trees.

sions, consecutive medians and new street lighting all along the intersection. There are plans to lengthen the left-turn lanes on Pennsylvania Avenue and install speed humps along L’Enfant Square. While the number of lanes on Pennsylvania Avenue will remain the same, DDOT plans to add a third leftturn lane from northbound Minnesota Avenue to westbound Pennsylvania Avenue, usable during rush hour, and another left-turn lane from southbound Minnesota Avenue to eastbound Pennsylvania Avenue. DDOT also plans to implement two-stage crossing along Pennsylvania Avenue, separated by a median. It’s important to note, however, that no bike lanes will be established on either of the major avenues. DDOT’s new plan is also designed to create more greenspace. DDOT plans to consolidate the greenspace available in Twining Square into two separate but undivided parks, with no cut-through streets. “We’re hoping that it’s an attractive space that the community can use for events, or just go and have a greenspace,” said Brian Ruhl, a landscape architect with Vika Capitol, part of the Sheladia design team, at the public meeting on Nov. 7. Both parks will be outfitted with bus shelters, bike racks, benches, improved

“DDOT has and will continue to inform all stakeholders of the plans to redesign the intersection at Pennsylvania Avenue and Minnesota Avenue SE,” wrote DDOT project engineer Ola Igho-Osagie in an email. “The residential area in L’Enfant Square is fully aware of the details of the plans that are being refined at this time for this targeted area. Once the agency has finalized its plans and issued a notice to proceed (NTP) to a contractor, the residents, businesses, churches in the immediate area and all other stakeholders will get another notification prior to all work beginning,” Igho-Osagie stated. “During that same window, a public meeting will be held to share traffic management plans and work schedules. Our project website has been sent to all community Listservs and the Ward 7 Council Office and the executive office of the mayor’s constituency service staffers to further aid in keeping all stakeholders abreast of what is planned at this location,” IghoOsagie continued. Alberta Paul, DDOT’s communication specialist, preached patience at the Nov. 7 meeting. “What we’re trying to do, over the next five years, is give you all the projects you’ve asked for,” Paul said. No additional meetings regarding the intersection are currently scheduled.

What Twining Square will look like after implementing DDOT’s design.

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den Industry Professional (NGIP)-certified landscapers through an onsite exercise of establishing a raingarden at the farm. Raingardens are an important tool for absorbing rainwater and runoff, which can sometimes include motor oil from cars and chemicals from lawns that are toxic to aquatic life. The raingarden at the East Capitol Farm will minimize stormwater runoff into the Anacostia River. The construction of the raingarden, sponsored with funding from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), should be completed before the end of this year. But how exactly did a three-acre farm come to be located in an ever-more populated DC? East Capitol Urban Farm was created by a team of partners that include the University of the District by Catherine Plume of Columbia’s College of Agriculture, Urban Sustainability, and Environmental Sciences (UDC CAUSES), the DC Housing Authority (DCHA), the Urban Wan DC, urban agriculture doesn’t just result with its lack of grocery stores and available fresh proters Federal Partnership (UWFP), the DC Building Inin locally grown food crops: it’s also produce, has been considered a food desert. The threedustry Association (DCBIA), the Department of Enerviding stormwater control and job training acre site includes community gardening plots, demgy & Environment (DOEE), Groundwork Anacostia for local residents. DC’s East Capitol Uronstration plots, walking trails, community art and a and the DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities ban Farm was established in 2015 with a play space for children. (DCCAH). goal of helping to meet the fresh produce Now the farm is also serving as a hands-on training NFWF provided funding to UDC and the nonprofneeds for residents in Ward 7 – an area that, site, preparing young people to become National Garit Low Impact Development of Beltsville, Maryland, to create an urban stormwater control raingarden in the middle of the planted farming space. This raingarden is unique. While raingarden vegetation typically consists of grasses and mulch, in this raingarden, food crops such as kale, lettuce and chard are a part of the design. Low Impact landscape architect Suzy Cho notes, “This is the first time I know of that food crops are being used to mitigate runoff into storm sewers in a city environment. I hope we can replicate some of our findings and best practices in other urban spaces.” Ward 7 residents such as Tyrone McNeal are gaining important job-training skills by working on the project. A UDC CAUSES student, McNeal notes, “I live in the public housing overlooking the farm, and I’ve been watching it develop and grow for all of my teenage years. I want to become a master landscaper and help with the planting and cultivation of crops for families in my own community. Maybe in a year or two I can have my own landscaping business.” McNeal is on his way to making his The greenhouse also serves as a classroom at DC’s East Capitol Urban Farm. Photo: Geoff Livingston Photography dream come true. Harris Trobman, a

DC’s Urban Agriculture Scene Providing Food, Building Skills and Protecting the Anacostia!

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Tyrone McNeal and his cohort and professors get ready for hands-on learning. Photo: Geoff Livingston Photography

green infrastructure specialist at UDC, is helping McNeal and two other hardworking, adult students become certified NGIP landscapers through classes he is teaching at Maya Angelou High School, located across the street from the garden. There are scientific aspects to be considered when constructing a raingarden, and classroom instruction includes lessons on pervious rock and hydro- and aquaponics. The lessons also address how storm sewers and combined sewer overflows work. Trobman notes, “The raingarden we’re constructing at the farm will have a big impact. The area we’re currently excavating will keep over 770 pounds of sediment and over seven pounds of unwanted nitrogen from flowing into the Anacostia River annually. The site used to be a vacant lot, so the excavation takes time. The soil we dig out will be reused to create berms along the fence line.” Kerry Harrington, with the nonprofit Seeds for Success, is partnering with Trobman on the project. “We try

to minimize the use of chemicals and fertilizers as we grow the plants for the raingarden, so we seed them in a greenhouse – which becomes another classroom for our students. The greenhouse allows students to develop gardening skills, which can translate to a job in landscape construction work – and they can take the crops home and share them with their families!” So, the next time you’re looking for an urban adventure, consider a trip to the East Capitol Urban Farm. It’s located across the street from the Capitol Heights Metro station. Check out that new raingarden and say “hi” to Tyrone and his buddies if you see them! Catherine Plume is a lifelong environmentalist, a writer and blogger for the DC Recycler: www.DCRecycler.blogspot.com; Twitter: @DC_Recycler. She is also a board member and the conservation chair of the DC Chapter of the Sierra Club, but the perspectives expressed here are her own and do not necessarily represent the positions of that organization.

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XWORD

www.themecrosswords.com • www.mylesmellorconcepts.com

“Punny Vehicles” by Myles Mellor

Across:

1. Baton Rouge campus, abbr. 4. Rudimentary teachings 8. Works together (with) 14. Strokes “Is This It” song 18. Completely different pair 21. “Yoo-hoo!” 22. Slew 23. SUVs 25. Ben or Jerry 26. Best New Age Album Grammy winner for “Shepherd Moons” 27. Like Wonderland’s hatter 28. Make a law 30. Fuzzy fruits 35. Works diligently 38. Noblemen ranking above viscounts 42. “Good” person 46. Connect for service 49. Farm feed item 50. Give a pink slip to 51. Line just for the audience 52. SUVs and journeys 54. “Can’t we ___ just get along?” 55. Captivates 57. Celeb roster 58. City and car 61. 2000 pounds 62. Gullible sort 64. Calm down, slangily 67. Brief periods, briefly 69. Romps about 73. Memory, prefix 74. Begin 77. Lateral starter 78. Like most prom goers 80. Return-address word 81. Beatles manager Brian 83. Miami’s ____ County 84. Saloon sign 86. Once owned 87. Chi-Town setting 90. Town and car 94. Baghdadi, e.g. 96. Play enders, perhaps 99. Cambridge staff member 100. Brown and white colored small dog 104. Curriculum sections 106. “Center” lead-in

107. Horace composition 108. Thin layer or plate 109. Whole lot of trouble 111. Acknowledge nonverbally 113. Caroline, to Sen. Kennedy 115. ___ Doone cookies 116. Clean a blackboard 119. Incoming plane board abbreviation 121. Grand party 125. Already, in Arles 128. Creatures and cars 135. Opposite of always poetically 136. Spouted 137. Liqueurs used in “sour” cocktails 138. Rooney of “60 Minutes” 139. Hay wirers 140. Cut off 141. Tour ender

Down:

1. ___ de Vega 2. Thumb-to-pinkie distance 3. __-daisy 4. Serpent 5. Accompaniment to an author photo 6. Part of many arena names, abbr. 7. Math term 8. More like a teddy bear 9. NE for SW, e.g. 10. Yellowfin tuna 11. Woman’s name meaning “heavenly” 12. Sci-fi film of 1982 13. Lead-in to date or trap 14. Comet’s leader 15. ‘’... man ___ mouse?’’ 16. ‘So yummy!’ 17. Seafaring assent 19. Honshu Island city 20. Famous uncle 24. You might take it lying down 29. Boston cager 31. Noted storyteller Glass 32. One who’s smart? 33. Have ___ for (hold a grudge) 34. Successor to Nasser 36. Band with the 1988 #1 hit “Need You Tonight”

EastofthERivERDcnEws.coM

Look for this months answers at labyrinthgameshop.com 37. Telepathy, for short 39. Supporting, with for 40. Computer-hookup letters 41. Map abbrs. 42. Software as a service, for short 43. Turning point 44. Spock’s Vulcan mind __ 45. Title fish of filmdom 47. Conformed 48. Word describing Abner 53. “Moby-Dick” narrator 56. When prompted 59. Old East German currency 60. Jacqueline Onassis ___ Bouvier 62. ‘Who cares?’ 63. High school course 65. Brandon, Bruce, or Brenda

66. Army award for meritorious service, for short 68. Faulty argument 70. Purchase from Sajak 71. Leonardo da ____ 72. Tailor 74. Ocean raptor 75. Saw 76. Secret U.S. govt. group 79. Confidentiality agreement, for short 80. Field Officer, abbr. 82. “Friday Night Lights” score 85. Place for pizza or ice cream 88. Run-down part of town 89. Of musical sound 91. Thought from la tete

92. Dances to jazz 93. “Law & Order: Special Victims ___” 95. Acting as 96. French fashion mag 97. Posters 98. Copter’s forerunner 100. Singer/actor Bon Jovi 101. ‘’Without further __ . . .’’ 102. African country on the Atlantic 103. Wallach of “The Magnificent Seven” 105. ID requested by the IRS 110. Trouble 112. In need of a hanky, perhaps 114. Age 117. “Get ___” (doo-wop classic) 118. Lee seen in freezers 120. Cell chemistry: Abbr. 122. Meter preceder 123. Land west of Vietnam 124. Abbr. on an underling’s business card 125. Code of life 126. Hallow ending 127. A Clampett 129. All-around vehicle, briefly 130. ___ Lingus (carrier based in Dublin) 131. Former Ger. currency 132. Author Fleming 133. High-tech med. test 134. Kind of rally or talk

east washington life

ANYTHING GOES It Really Is De-Lovely by Barbara Wells

Corbin Bleu (Billy Crocker) in Anything Goes. Photo: Maria Baranova

From there, the sounds of musical instruments, voices, and tapping feet coalesce in ways that only a composer like Porter could envision and a choreographer like Arena’s miraculous Parker Esse could execute. “The rhythms, the dynamic shifts within the music, lend themselves to percussive feet,” Esse notes. “There’s stop-time sections built into the music the way it’s been scored, so the music will pull out, and then feet become the instrument.” Nowhere is this phenomenon more stirring than in the literally show-stop(L to R) Soara-Joye Ross (Reno Sweeney) ping production number, “Anything and Corbin Bleu (Billy Crocker) in Goes,” that brings the cheering audiAnything Goes. Photo: Maria Baranova ence to its feet for five minutes before the intermission. The full cast’s thunderous tapping and stomping, synchronized with the band’s energetic t’s 1934, but it could easily be to- melody and overlaid with the towering vocals day. On the SS America bound from of Soara-Joye Ross, are pu re exhilaration. New York to London, most of the Backed by a spirited ensemble, Ross and passengers are driven by profit, ob- Corbin Bleu are the heart and soul of the show, sessed with status, and enthralled occupying center stage almost continuously save by celebrity. But somewhere deep for a few short breaks to catch their breath. Ross’ down, all they really want is to fall in astonishing voice soars to the rafters while Bleu love and have a fabulous time. At Arena Stage, (a veteran of the “High School Musical” films, for almost three glorious hours, they do, and Dancing With the Stars, and several Broadway so does the thoroughly delighted audience of productions) performs riveting dance moves “Anything Goes.” that span ballet, tap, and jazz. Director Molly Smith has created an epic A plot stoked by mistaken identity and unrecelebration of bawdy humor, vaudevillian quited love frames all this song and dance. Ross shtick, and the absolute best of Cole Porter’s plays Reno Sweeney, an evangelist turned nightmusic. If songs like “I Get a Kick Out of You,” club singer. She’s crazy about her best friend Bil“You’re the Top,” “It’s De-Lovely,” and “All ly Crocker, portrayed by Bleu, but he’s desperThrough the Night” aren’t already embedded ately in love with Hope Harcourt (Lisa Helmi in your consciousness, they will be by the eve- Johanson). Hope is smitten with Billy, too, but her ning’s end when you leave the theater humming mother insists that Hope secure their finances by an unforgettable tune. marrying the wealthy Lord Evelyn Oakleigh (JimMusic director Paul Sportelli opens the my Ray Bennett), who, incidentally, has a thing show with an overture, flawlessly performed by (continues to pg. 33) an incredibly tight band of just nine musicians.

I (L to R) Nicholas Yenson (Ensemble/Quartet), Maria Rizzo (Erma/Ensemble) and Mickey Orange (Ensemble/Quartet) in Anything Goes. Photo: Maria Baranova

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by Steve Monroe

We Honor Donald Byrd, December Birthday Hero Among our birthday heroes this month we especially honor our own Donald Byrd. As reported in the recent book “DC Jazz” by editors Maurice Jackson and Blair A. Ruble, “Dr. Donald Byrd founded Jazz Studies at [Howard University] in 1968 … As part of a shifting institution in a changing city, Howard’s jazz program gained group quickly. Donald Byrd’s career with the Blackbyrds lent acclaim to the burgeoning program. A trumpeter noted for being ‘one of the most knowledgeable people of Black music,’ he toured the United States with his band …” Drummer Keith Kilgo said, “He’d constantly challenge you musically. He’d throw music in front of you and, whatever instrument you played, he’d make you go research all the cats that played it. Not only the jazz cats, the classical cats, the blues cats …”

Warren Wolf to Play at Anacostia Arts Center Acclaimed multi-instrumentalist Warren Wolf is to appear in Anacostia for a Second Sundays Jazz Series concert from 3 to 5 p.m. on Dec. 9 at the Anacostia Arts Center. Wolf, from Baltimore, was trained from the age of three on the vibraphone/marimba, drums and piano, according to information from his website, www.warrenwolfmusic.com, under the guidance of his father, Warren Wolf Sr. Wolf junior studied at Peabody in Baltimore and with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and at Berklee College of Music in Boston. “Beginning with classical music, Warren had studied classical composers from Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Paganini, Brahms, Vivaldi and Shostakovich. Warren also studied ragtime music, learning music from the songbooks of Scott Joplin, Harry Brewer [and others] … In jazz, Warren has studied artists and composers from Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Freddie Hubbard, Clifford Brown, Herbie Han-

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Dynamic songstress Sharon Clark performs on Dec. 28 at the Beacon Hotel Bar and Grill.

cock, Oscar Peterson, Milt Jackson, Bobby Hutcherson, Cal Tjader, Return to Forever, Weather Report, Wynton Marsalis and many others.” The free concert, co-produced by East River Jazz, is at 1231 Good Hope Road SE. For more information, go to www.anacostiaartscenter.com or call 202-631-6291.

InReview … Hope Udobi, James King Among the live performances of note that we caught in recent weeks were a couple of dates at Alice’s Jazz and Cultural Society, the first with the Hope Udobi Quartet. Udobi, one of our young lion pianists of note, who has been honored as an Artist in Residence by Jazz at Lincoln Center, rippled stirring melodies on “Beatrice,” “What Is This Thing Called Love” and his own composition “Lost.” Also starring that night was trumpeter Theljon Allen with several leaping, soaring solos, along with bandmates bassist Mikel Combs and drummer Charles Wilson. Last month, bassist James “Tex” King, known by many for his work for several years with the Smithsonian Masterworks Jazz Orchestra, led a group into JACS, and a standing-room-only crowd heard King’s throbbing, bluesy bass highlight several tunes along with his all-star band – University of the District of Columbia jazz studies guru and pianist Allyn Johnson, senior master drummer, percussionist and bandleader in his own right Nasar Abadey, and scintillating guitarist Donato Soviero. Soviero did honor to hall-of-fame guitarists Wes Montgomery and Grant Green, among others, with his saucy, rhythmic flowing lines. The group, with resident trumpeter DeAndrey Howard sitting in, thrilled the house on “Road Song,” “Mambo Inn,” “A Flower Is a Lovesome Thing” and other standards.

DECEMBER HIGHLIGHTS: Jason Moran Tribute to James Reese Europe, Dec. 8, Kennedy Center … Tony Martucci, Dec. 8, Twins Jazz … Romeir Mendez/Terell Stafford & Tim Warfield, Dec. 8, Caton Castle/Baltimore … Freddy Cole, Dec. 8-9, Blues Alley … Fred Foss, Dec. 9, DC Jazz Jam/The Brixton … Warren Wolf/Convergence, Dec. 9, Anacostia Arts Center … Eric Felten Jazz Orchestra “Ellington’s Nutcracker,” Dec. 11, Blues Alley … Angela Stribling/Tribute to Lena Horne, Dec. 14, Westminster Presbyterian Church … Quiana Lynell/Discovery Artist in KC Jazz Club, Dec. 14, Kennedy Center …Thinking about Jazz/Lena Horne: Jazz Voice to Political Activist, Dec. 15, Westminster … Chelsey Green & The Green Project, Dec. 15, Blues Alley … Alison Crockett, Dec. 15, The Alex/Graham Georgetown Hotel … John Lamkin II/CD Release Party, Dec. 15, Caton Castle/ Baltimore … Brad Linde’s Therapy Band, Dec. 16, Twins Jazz … Benji Porecki, Dec 18, Blues Alley … Herrera-Richardson/The Jam Before Christmas, Dec. 24, Blues Alley … Rick Alberico, Dec. 19, Twins Jazz … Salim Washington, Dec. 2122, Twins Jazz … Lena Seikaly, Dec. 22, The Alex … Sharon Clark, Dec. 28, Beacon Hotel Bar and Grill … Michael Thomas Quintet, Dec. 2829, Twins Jazz … Cyrus Chestnut, Dec. 26-31, Blues Alley … Eugenie Jones, Dec. 31, Twins Jazz … DECEMBER BIRTHDAYS: Wynton Kelly 2; Jim Hall 4; Dave Brubeck, Frankie Dunlop 5; Jimmy Smith 8; Donald Byrd 9; Ray Nance 10; McCoy Tyner 11; Tony Williams 12; Clark Terry, Cecil Payne 14; Sy Oliver 17; Fletcher Henderson 18; Chet Baker 23; Baby Dodds 24; Cab Calloway, Don Pullen 25; Earl Hines 28. Steve Monroe is a Washington, DC, writer who can be reached at steve@jazzavenues. com and followed at www.twitter.com/jazzavenues.

(continued from pg. 31)

for Reno. Toss Billy’s Wall Street broker boss, a gangster and his moll, a couple of gamblers, and a host of sailors and chorus girls into the mix; then put them all on a ship and watch the plot twists and high jinks unfold. Working with a book that was gently updated from the original for the show’s 1987 revival, the cast clearly relishes old-fashioned comedy. As “public enemy number 13” Moonface Martin, Stephen DeRosa continually drops corny puns, adopts badly improvised accents, and tells groan-inducing jokes to marvelous effect. And as the scandalously alluring Erma, Maria Rizzo is in her element, showcasing her gift for delivering snappy comebacks and commanding the stage with a sassy strut. The comedy escalates from amusing to hilarious when Bennett performs “The Gypsy in Me,” morphing from the repressed Lord Oakleigh into a love-starved lothario with a secret past. His outrageous antics are perfectly complemented and almost eclipsed by Ross’ priceless response, vacillating from confusion and slight disgust to irresistible attraction and unfettered desire as she falls under Bennett’s weird spell. Set designer Ken MacDonald has beautifully evoked the SS America, from the battered floorboards to the maritime flags strewn overhead. The set features an ingenious central platform that periodically rises from beneath the stage, exposing the cabins and jail cells in the bowels of the ship where various characters hatch their schemes. And Alejo Vietti’s lavish costumes embody the sartorial elegance of a lost era, when men always sported dapper suits and women never left home without a hat. Thanks to this blend of musical and visual pizzazz, cruising back to 1934 has never been more de-lovely. Anything Goes will be performed at Arena’s Fichlander Stage through Dec. 23. Barbara Wells is a writer and editor for Reingold, a social marketing communications firm. She and her husband live on Capitol Hill.

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east washington life

Meet Your Neighbor

Jabari Jefferson by Anthony D. Diallo

ike most of his peers in Anacostia, Jabari Jefferson enjoys spending time with close friends and family and having a good time. Unlike many 20-somethings in the same Southeast neighborhood, Jefferson is a college graduate, with his own business and focused on his career. He wants to tell interesting stories visually as a videographer and inspire others from Anacostia and Ward 8 by expanding his business, Mass Comm

Jabari filming a AU volleyball game in 2018.

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Guru Production, LLC (www.masscommguruproduction.com). Jefferson graduated from Delaware State University in May, 2018 and began a photojournalist internship with WUSA Channel 9 in September. He works about four hours a day shadowing reporters, filming their stories and contributing on a need-by-need basis on the weekdays and even some weekends. “I have been working in the media since I was a freshman in college. When I started out on the college TV station, it was really intimidating, but I was determined,” he explained. “I eventually became a technical director and was communicating with the camera operators through our headsets. It was like a control room.” The 22-year-old credits family, mentors and his steely drive for the success he has already attained and the achievements he plans for the future. As a senior at the Phelps Architecture, Construction and Engineering High School, Jefferson traveled to Beijing with nine other students as part of the Americans Promoting Study Abroad (APSA) Summer Program, and was featured in www. eastoftherivernews.com. Nothing has ever simply been handed to Jefferson. Every achievement has been earned through

hard work, sweat and tears, including becoming a full-time media student. “While at Delaware State University, I was in the band too. I received scholarship money to be in the band and was getting $2,000 per semester. The band took up a lot of my time and conflicted with my TV schedule,” said Jefferson. He had to make a choice. With the aid of a faculty member, he decided to leave the band and scholarship money and focus completely on academics. He was able to rectify the loss of income by raising his grade-point average Jabari Jefferson filming in Southern California for and earning additionthe first time with MTV 2017 al academic scholarships and grants. This friends who smoked marijuana and at was accomplished through hard work, one time I did too. But I stopped, and study and his support system – his famit allowed me to elevate. It is easy to get ily: mother (Raquel Jefferson), stepfacaught up with the robbing, drug abuse ther (Eric Humes) and 11-year-old sisand getting out of focus.” ter (Jalia Humes). According to statistics from cen“I can definitely attest to his work sus data filed in 2016, there is still a ethic and wanting to grow. I’m so proud great disparity between the residents of him,” said Professor Jalaal Hayes, in Ward 8, where Anacostia is locatwho met Jefferson at Delaware State ed, and the rest of the District of CoUniversity, his alma mater, while giving lumbia. The stats show that out of the a speech this past January. Although 70,712 people residing in Ward 8 beHayes teaches in the chemistry detween 2017 and 2018, 93 percent were partment, Jefferson considers him one black or African American. The meof his main mentors and is in constant dian age was 29.9 and the average incommunication with him. come $31,139, compared to $72,935 Admittedly, Jefferson did not always in the other seven wards. possess that confidence, character and “My father did not come from a charisma that he showcased in college totally good environment, but he was and at the Channel 9 internship. “Someable to keep me in the right direction times it is hard for a young black man to and not fall into peer pressure. My parstay positive. I think being a resident of ents saw the trajectory that I was going Anacostia has inspired me. I used to let down. They would always encourage a lot of people influence me. I got into me and tell me that I was going to be trouble as a kid in middle school. I had

homes & gardens / changing hands Changing hands is a list of most residential sales in the District of Columbia from the previous month. A feature of every issue, this list,based on the MRIs, is provided courtesy of Don Denton, manager of the Coldwell Banker office on Capitol Hill. The list includes address, sales price and number of bedrooms.

Jefferson with one of his mentors, Justin Dickson.

successful. I wouldn’t be the man that I am today if it wasn’t for my parents and mentors,” said Jefferson. Prince George’s County native Justin Dickson, a chief lighting technician (gaffer), based in Los Angeles for the past 11 years, and another of Jeffer-

son’s mentors, is thoroughly impressed by the intern and “the accelerated rate on how he focuses on his craft.” Dickson, another Delaware State University alumnus, met Jefferson a couple of years ago when a mass communications and television professor suggested Jefferson work with him after Dickson mentioned wanting to mentor a student in the media field. Besides interning at WUSA, Jefferson spends many hours volunteering at the Anacostia Playhouse, where he has finished a documentary and taken photos for owner Adele Robey, who is yet another close mentor. You will not find Jefferson shopping for the latest brand-name clothes or spending money frivolously. “Most of the money I make on gigs goes to my household or to buy new equipment for my company. I know it is not the status quo. I don’t let my friends or colleagues define success for me. I define it for myself. I generally don’t follow the crowd, and I feel blessed for it.”

NEIGHBORHOOD

PRICE BR

5721 Blaine $291,000 5239 Ames $447,000 5401 Hunt $320,000 ANACOSTIA 1411 S $414,000 3 FORT DUPONT PARK 1435 Good Hope $600,000 5 4139 Alabama $342,000 1223 Pleasant $528,000 3 4120 Southern $378,000 1472 Bangor $220,000 4 515 Hilltop $374,900 2514 High $490,000 4 1520 Fort Davis $415,000 1416 18Th $345,900 3 4518 Texas $309,900 4011 Q $256,500 CONGRESS HEIGHTS 47 Brandywine $325,000 5 HILL CREST 3927 1St $489,000 5 2811 Terrace Unit#429 $59,000 742 Congress $330,000 3 2108 38Th Unit#102 $117,000 765 Wheeler Hill Unit#765 $211,000 4 1501 38Th $545,000 164 Danbury $330,000 3 1806 Branch $580,000 3984 2Nd $349,900 3 3805 V $185,900 3435 10Th $499,000 3 3313 Highwood $634,900 710 Mississippi $339,000 3 3679 Alabama Unit#B $175,000 228 Malcolm X $250,000 3 3608 Carpenter $598,200 103 Brandywine $363,000 3 3816 W Unit#A $135,000 83 Danbury $345,000 2 3699 Highwood $649,900 91 Danbury $350,000 3 1236 Savannah $418,000 3

MARSHALL HEIGHTS 5028 Kimi Gray $355,000 DEANWOOD

Jabari filming with colleague in 2016

66 55Th 5807 Eads 106 56Th 4834 Sheriff 5090 Just 4725 Eads 95 55Th 4982 Just 5220 Blaine 136 35Th 5703 Eads 5341 Hayes 5025-5031 Sheriff 4609 Meade 5328 Ames 5037 Just

$250,000 $239,000 $358,000 $385,000 $350,000 $200,000 $436,990 $327,000 $358,000 $325,000 $185,000 $255,000 $223,000 $475,000 $365,000 $350,000

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4719 Bass 5520 C 5214 C 4713 B 5418 B

$283,000 $382,000 $477,000 $175,000 $349,900

RANDLE HEIGHTS 1310 Congress Unit#302 2838 Hartford Unit#303 2219 Hartford 2732 Knox 2850 Hartford Unit#203 2835 Gainesville Unit#103

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$93,000 $106,000 $181,000 $335,000 $107,100 $92,900

D ecember 2018

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kids & family

by Kathleen Donner

questions or help with registration, contact Christopher Chapman at 202-741-0792 or christopher.chapman@dc.gov.

Atlas Arts For Young Audiences

Strong Start Community Playgroups The Strong Start DC Early Intervention Program Community Playgroups are monthly hour-long sessions led by early intervention professionals at locations across the city. Families engage in family-centered, child interest-driven play and learn about early childhood development, developmental screenings and the Strong Start DC Early Intervention Program referral process. Each session includes songs, stories, sensory experiences, motor activities and more geared toward the targeted age group. Registration is required. The program repeats on the second Tuesday of every month at 10 a.m. to 24 to 36-month-old kids and 11 a.m. for 12 to 24 month-old kids at the Anacostia Library. Space is limited, and registration is required For

CELEBRATE KWANZAA

On Dec. 28, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., bring the entire family for the Anacostia Community Museumâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s annual Kwanzaa celebration program. Enjoy energetic and interactive introduction to Kwanzaa with Harambee, Baba Ras D. Additionally there will be a rhythmic dance extravaganza by LeSole Dance Project. Enjoy making Kwanzaa-inspired arts and crafts from a variety of materials. Workshops will be led by artist/educators Brwwvian Barber and Alma Robinson. This program takes place at Town Hall Education Arts Recreation Campus (THEARC), 1901 Mississippi Ave. SE. anacostia.si.edu. Photo: Jonathan Hsu.

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In The Adventures with Mr. Bear, the wonder and magic of a childâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s imagination are brought to life in this charming world premiere. One cozy winter afternoon, a young girl and her favorite stuffed animal, Mr. Bear, play a game of hide and seek that evolves into a series of exciting adventures. Best for ages 2 to 5. All patrons age one and above must purchase a ticket. On stage at the Atlas from Dec. 19 to 22. $12. The Atlas Performing Arts Center, 1333 H St. NE. atlasarts.org.

The Elves and the Shoemaker The lone shoesmith of Grimmsville, makes shoes that are miserably uncomfortable and impossible to walk in, leaving a lot of barefoot villagers and him without a means to provide for his family. While alone in the woods, his daughter is asked to exchange her torturous pair of shoes fora magical medallion that holds the charm of the elves. Wanting to help her family, Shannon agrees. Nightly, she conjures a pair of elves, who create the most fabulous shoes EVER! With his shoes now wanted throughout the land, the shoemaker and his family have more gold than they can count. But, all the money in the

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CINDERELLA

This wacky retelling of the beloved fairy tale takes Cinderella on a royal adventure complete with a wisecracking rat, evil stepsisters and a smitten prince. When Cinderellaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s stepmother forbids her from attending the ball, her fairy godmother convinces here that if the shoe fits, wear it! True love may await her if only she can put down her sword. Best for ages 4, up. Plays Nov. 3 to Jan. 6, at Imagination Stage, 4908 Auburn Ave., Bethesda, MD. imaginationstage.org. Image: Courtesy of Imagination Stage

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world doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t necessarily buy happiness. On stage at the Keegan Theatre, 1742 Church St. NW, Dec. 22 to 30, 11 a.m. keegantheatre.com.

answer questions about the Moon, planets, stars and more. Stargazing is free and open to the public. airandspace.si.edu.

Stargaze at the Observatory

First Night Alexandria

On Dec. 14; 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., stargaze with the Air & Space Museum staff. Use the museum telescopes and

First Night Alexandria is a celebration of the new year through the performing arts. For $30 for enjoy entertainment in

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over 30 indoor venues, featuring more than 100 performances, throughout the evening. Children 12 and under are free. There are three Kids Karnivals from 6 to 9 p.m. There will be clowns, face painting, music, games and a special guest host at each location all for only $5 per child or free with adult with a First Night Badge. The evening ends with fireworks at the foot of King Street. firstnightalexandria.org.

Children’s Christmas Service On Dec. 24, 11 a.m. to noon, enjoy a joyful a lively service with Christmas carols, prayers and the Nativity story. Children are invited to come dressed as angels, animals and shepherds to be part of the story as it unfolds for this unrehearsed Christmas pageant. All are welcome.

Washington National Cathedral, 3101 Wisconsin Ave., NW. cathedral.org.

The Lion, the Unicorn, and Me As the first Christmas nears, who among the animals can lead Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem? Fearsome Lion and graceful Unicorn are the top contenders. It certainly won’t be Donkey, whose only humble gift is a small but sturdy back. With the birth of a very special king on the horizon, Donkey soon discovers that miracles can happen anywhere! $49 to $79. On stage at the Kennedy Center, Dec. 14 to 16. kennedy-center.org.

NSO Holiday Pops On Dec. 14, 8 p.m., and Dec. 15, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., listen to fresh takes on com-

STEP AFRIKA!: HOLIDAY SHOW

Step Afrika!’s Magical Musical Holiday Step Show, on stage at the Atlas, from Dec. 14 to 30, is a foot-stomping, family-friendly performance. The show is suited to adults and kids age 4, up. In the lobby 30 minutes before show time, decorate a musical instrument and participate in the performance. $45 for adults; $25 for kids. atlasarts.org. Photo: Jonathan Hsu

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forting classics in this singalong tradition with the NSO and The Washington Chorus, featuring Ashley Brown in her NSO debut. $25 to $99. kennedycenter.org. On Dec. 24, 11 a.m., bring the kids to the Kennedy Center to listen to the Choral Arts Chorus fill the concert hall with holiday classics. $20 to $45. kennedy-center.org.

On Jan. 6, 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m., GALA’s traditional Three Kings celebration features the Magi, live animals, local performers, a walk through the neighborhood and gifts for every child. Free tickets will be distributed at the GALA Box Office at 10 a.m. for the 11:30 a.m. show, and at noon for the 2 p.m. show. No tickets reserved by phone. Maximum six tickets per person in line. galatheatre.org.

How to Catch a Star

Photo: Gerald Martineau

A Family Christmas

Once there was a boy who dreamed a star could be his new friend — if only he could catch one. He tried climbing to the top of the tallest tree. He tried flying in a paper rocket ship. Nothing worked. Just when the boy was about to give up, he discovered something as dazzling and special as the star he was seeking Featuring colorful projections and choreographed movement, “How to Catch a Star” is a whimsical tale of discovery, friendship and delightful surprises. For ages 3, up. $20. On stage at the Kennedy Center, until Dec. 16.

Fancy Nancy’s Splendiferous Christmas What could be fancier than Christmas? Presents with elegant wrapping paper,

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festive decorations, Christmas cookies with sprinkles-and who could forget the tree? After all, there is no such thing as too much tinsel. Ooh la! This year, Nancy is especially excited. After selling some of her old gowns and accessories, Nancy has enough money to buy a brand-new sparkly tree topper. She can’t wait to decorate the Christmas tree. But when things don’t turn out the way Nancy planned, will Christmas still be splendiferous? On stage at Glen Echo until to Jan. 6. For all ages. adventuretheatre-mtc.org. Have in item for the Kids & Family Notebook? Email it to bulletinboard@hillrag.com.

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