DOWNTOWNER
GU272: Advocating for Descendants of the Enslaved
BY KATE OCZ Y P OK
NATS SPRING TRAINING STARTS UP
Now that the Super Bowl winner has been decided, it’s time to think about the return of the 2019 World Series Champs. The Washington Nationals are starting spring training today, Wednesday, Feb. 12, in West Palm Beach, Florida. The first game, against the Houston Astros, is set for Feb. 22.
16TH ST. RUSH-HOUR PARKING BAN OPPOSED
Dupont and Logan Circle residents along 16th Street NW between U and O Streets are protesting plans to ban rush-hour parking on the non-rush-hour side of the north-south thoroughfare. The plans also include a dedicated 16th Street bus lane and extension of the morning rush to 10 a.m. and the evening rush to 7:30 p.m, both of which are welcomed by area residents.
POTOMAC PHIL DIDN’T GET PUNXY’S MEMO
Despite both being groundhogs, Potomac Phil did not get Punxsutawney Phil’s earlyspring memo. D.C.’s version of the famous groundhog saw his shadow on Feb. 2 (Groundhog Day), resulting in a prediction of six more weeks of winter — even though D.C. has barely had a winter as it is. Mayor Bowser with daughter Miranda.
BOWSER DAUGHTER GOING TO PUBLIC SCHOOL
Mayor Muriel Bowser, who rarely shares anything about her young daughter Miranda, announced that she will be sending her to her assigned neighborhood public school: Shepherd Elementary. The topic came up during a meeting of the DC Public Charter School Board.
D.C.’S OFFICIAL MAMMAL: LITTLE BROWN BAT?
Typically, bats are seen as creepy nocturnal animals that carry diseases, but a few D.C. Girl Scouts think otherwise. About a dozen scouts testified before a Council committee in support of a bill that would make the little brown bat, an endangered animal, the District’s official state mammal. D.C. already has an official state bird, tree, fruit, stone and dinosaur.
MAYOR WANTS 4 PERCENT MORE FOR EDUCATION
Mayor Bowser announced earlier this month that she is planning on increasing spending for public school students by four percent, said to be one of the biggest hikes ever. The four-percent increase in the Uniform Per Student Funding Formula will mean about an eight-percent local budget increase for DC Public Schools.
THE VILLAGE
Girl Scouts want to protect little brown bats.
BY L ILY M ARTIN In 1838, Georgetown University sold the school’s 272 enslaved persons to plantations in Louisiana to ward off financial ruin. It was not until 2016 that the institution began a series of reparative actions in response to student and community outcry at the evaded history. In that year, admissions preference was granted to descendants of the 272. Photos of Donna Comeaux's family. Donna is a GU272 descendant. Available to students of Photo by Claire Vail. college age and older, the preference gives the descendants certain priority in the The presence of the GU272 descendants admissions process but does not guarantee has not shrunk since last year. Instead, it has acceptance. While it was a big step in the taken on a role of advocacy, education and right direction, it did not satisfy everyone in outreach. Online resources like the GU272 the Georgetown community. Descendants Association homepage, By 2019, the Georgetown University gu272.net, which shares regular updates Student Association and the GU272 on the descendant students and the group Advocacy Team put together a plan for at large, have emerged to make the further reparative action. The referendum issue accessible to those seeking more they proposed would add a fee of $27.20 to information. each student’s yearly tuition for the benefit The GU272 Memory Project website, of the descendants. April of that year saw gu272.americanancestors.org, features a 58-percent student voter turnout, with 66 historical content that traces what is percent backing the referendum. It is the considered the “best-documented mass sell first fund of its kind proposed in the United of enslaved people in the United States.” States, displaying majority support for the It provides history on the group, lineage continuation of reparations. charts for those who might be interested Direct action was not taken on the in the genealogy of the 272 and a special referendum when it reached the university’s search engine to search for an ancestor if board of directors that fall. Instead, a plan someone believes they have a connection. of support for projects and groups in the Short clips of descendants speaking about descendant community was established. their experiences, as well as clips from the The plan includes a $400,000 fund, not to perspectives of historians and genealogists, are be created out of a separate tuition fee, that also featured on the site. Additional resources will be used to support descendants both at and familial descriptions are accessible the university and outside it. through the data shared on the page.
COMMUNITY CALENDAR WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12 WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19 ANC 2E: SPECIAL MEETING
GBA/GEORGETOWN At 6 p.m., the Georgetown-Burleith- MAIN STREET Hillandale Advisory Neighborhood Commission will hold a special meeting on proposed changes to D.C.’s 2006 Comprehensive Plan and consider a resolution at Georgetown Visitation School, 1524 35th St. NW, second-floor Heritage Room. For details, visit anc2e.com.
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 24 CITIZENS ASSOCIATION OF GEORGETOWN
Going National: Bowser Endorses Bloomberg Presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg was endorsetd by Mayor Muriel Bowser Jan. 30 at the Atlas Performing Arts Center on H Street NE during a political rally. Bowser is co-chair of Bloomberg’s national campaign. Photo by Bill Starrels.
CAG will hold a meeting on public safety at the Ritz-Carlton, 3100 South St. NW. The program, from 7 to 8 p.m., will be preceded by a reception at 6:30 p.m. For details, visit cagtown.org.
The February reception for the Georgetown Business Association and Georgetown Main Street will be at Harper Macaw, 2920 M St. NW, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. For details, visit georgetownassociationdc.org or georgetownmainstreet.com.
TUESDAY, MARCH 2 ANC 2E
The Georgetown-Burleith-Hillandale Advisory Neighborhood Commission will meet at 6:30 p.m. at Georgetown Visitation School, 1524 35th St. NW, second-floor Heritage Room. For details, visit anc2e. com.
GMG, INC.
FEBRUARY 12, 2020
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