Washington City Paper (May 22, 2020)

FOOD NEW DIFFICULTIES FOR FOOD COURIERS 16 ARTS A REGGAE TRIBUTE TO BELOVED MUSICIANS 18 NEWS A GUIDE FOR WHEN TO WEAR A MASK 24 THE DISTRICT'S FREE WEEKLY SINCE 1981 VOLUME 40, NO. 20 WASHINGTONCITYPAPER.COM MAY 22 –28, 2020

IN CLOSING photographs by

Darrow MontgoMery

TABLE OF CONTENTS COVER STORY

8 In Closing: Darrow Montgomery captures a different-looking D.C. in the midst of a pandemic.

NEWS

4 Line Items: The Mayor’s adjusted FY2021 budget boosts school funding and freezes pay for government workers.

24 Do I HAVE to Wear a Mask?: An illustrated guide to help you figure out when to cover your face

SPORTS

6 Road Hazards: For local black runners, the death of Ahmaud Arbery feels personal.

FOOD

16 Couriering Favors Delivering food during the COVID-19 crisis is even more difficult than it was before.

ARTS

3 2020 Revision: In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, Artomatic prepares to go fully digital.

17 Arts Club: Randall and Warren on Locke 18 Revolutionary Road: The music of Gil Scott-Heron and Brian Jackson gets a reggae update.

19 Film: Gittell on The Lovebirds

CITY LIGHTS

20 City Lights: Participate in an interactive theater piece or play biking bingo.

DIVERSIONS

7 Crossword 22 Savage Love 23 Classifieds

Cover Photo: Darrow Montgomery; Storefront, H Street NW

Darrow Montgomery | 1100 Block of 18th Street NW, May 15 Editorial

Advertising and Operations

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ARTS

2020 Revision

Courtesy of David Baxter

Artomatic continues to evolve and problem solve as it looks to mount its first digital-only event.

Artomatic 2017 in Crystal City

By Stephanie Rudig Contributing Writer (Disclosure: I participated in Artomatic’s 2012 event as an artist.)

Artomatic founder George Koch recalls a year when the eccentric arts festival was held in a vacant office building in Crystal City. The building had previously housed classified workers, and, as Koch tells it, “all the doors were these SCIF doors, [and] required all kinds of codes to get into. The county required us to take the doors out, so we used the doors to make the stages, to make the bars.” When one door needs to be removed due to government regulations, another one opens, as it were. Creative problem solving and scrappy resourcefulness have always been baked into Artomatic’s DNA, but with all arts organizations scrambling in the face of social distancing shutdowns, that ingenuity can be a necessary survival skill.

Artomatic debuted in 1999 as a non-juried, volunteer-run exhibition in the Manhattan

Laundry laundromat, which also lent the event its washer-inspired name. Over time, it has grown into a 501(c)(3) with a board of directors and tens of thousands of attendees at each iteration, but until now, the model has remained largely unchanged: Participants pay a modest entry fee and take volunteer shifts staffing the event, in exchange for ample space to exhibit or perform pretty much whatever they want for multiple weeks. Events have happened more sporadically in recent years, but organizers wanted to mark the 20th anniversary year in a meaningful way. However, 2019 came and went without finding a location to host a celebration, so anniversary plans were moved to 2020, only to be upended by the outbreak of COVID-19.

This summer, from July 20 to Aug. 20, the Artomatic team will put their characteristic nimbleness to use, mounting the first digital-only event, titled Artomatic 2.0: A Virtual Experience.

In the time since its last event in 2017, Artomatic’s board and staff have been in the process of doing a soft reset to bring the event

into a new decade, tweaking the organization behind the scenes and reevaluating how parts of the event work. As co-president Olivia Garcia puts it: “The demographics of the board have changed. The demographics of artists in the DMV has changed. We have to take all of that into consideration.”

Ramping up for the banner anniversary year, executive director Natalie Graves Tucker, who was brought on as Artomatic’s first paid staff member, immediately set about updating Artomatic’s digital presence. “I wanted to make sure we could build up communications leading up to the event, not just around the event, all year round,” she explains.

The social media pages and e-newsletter, which had been mostly quiet, began teasing the forthcoming event and posting other helpful information for the creative community. While that effort was already in place, it has become an increasingly important way to engage with the local artist community and connect them to resources for applying for grants and creating art while in quarantine.

Keeping in the collaborative spirit of Artomatic, Graves Tucker sent out a survey to gauge whether potential participants would rather wait until a physical event could be held or try the uncharted waters of an online event.

“A large percentage of them said they had canceled exhibitions, lost income, lost gigs, so what can we do to help?” she says. The event will now take the form of an online gallery, as well as a calendar of virtual concerts, performance art, and workshops, many of which will be done in conjunction with other local arts organizations.

The website, which was revamped last year, will now feature categorized and searchable artist profiles where participants can include not only their galleries of images, but links to websites, social media, and online storefronts for selling work.

The festival has typically included some lessons and activities, particularly for children, but this year’s event will tout an increased focus on artist education, as well as bringing in artists and partners from the Artomatic network to do the teaching. Co-president Jamila Canty says new programs will provide focused instruction on topics like “the legal aspects of art, how do you manage and promote your work,” to serve first-time exhibitors and novice artists. The group was already looking into the possibility of putting workshops online, and now there is the opportunity to explore topics and events that are particularly suited to the current moment.

Until recently, the biggest challenge facing the Artomatic team each year was finding a spot for the event to be held. The explosion of D.C.’s real estate market has made securing 10,000 square feet of space a taller order than it was in 1999. The lack of a physical space has perhaps turned out to be a blessing in disguise: “We’ve grown so much that now we need so much space to accommodate all the artists,” Canty says. Artomatic has always been unlimited by genre restrictions, qualifiers of taste, or rules; an online event presents a host of new possibilities. Graves Tucker points out that folks who often clear out of the D.C. area for the summer are now likely stuck at home during the course of the event, and might make for a captive audience. She continues, “You don’t have to be in D.C. to participate.”

Anyone attempting to produce an event in the midst of a global pandemic probably wishes the timing were different, but like a SCIF door that becomes a stage, the Artomatic team will work with what they have in the current moment, and leverage this time to uplift the local arts community. “Our mission is about strengthening the art community. We’re artists too, and we’re in this too,” Graves Tucker says. Details are forthcoming for participants and performers who want to sign up, and over the coming months the schedule of events and workshops will be filled. The work done to refresh the organization will help to usher in a totally different kind of event. Now more than ever, Artomatic is an organization dedicated to much more than the festival that takes place every few years. “A lot of times people think we’re an events organization, and we’re not,” Koch says. “We’re an organization that focuses on individual artists.”

washingtoncitypaper.com may 22, 2020 3

NEWS CITY DESK

Line Items

Darrow Montgomery/File

According to Mayor Bowser’s FY 2021 budget, taxes won’t go up.

Neither will salaries for D.C. employees.

Mayor Muriel Bowser

By Amanda Michelle Gomez @amanduhgomez Mayor Muriel Bowser’s proposed $16.7 billion budget for fiscal year 2021 relies heavily on savings and surpluses, as well as hiring and pay freezes for D.C. government employees, to address expected revenue losses due to the coronavirus pandemic. Her plan will eliminate the need for tax increases or major programmatic cuts.

The budget, subject to D.C. Council approval, still manages to invest in education and housing, increasing per-student funding by 3 percent for a total of $1.92 billion and committing $100 million to the Housing Production Trust Fund.

But financial losses related to the pandemic mean the executive declines to make significant investments in these sectors, as well as others, like officials hoped and advocates demanded before the pandemic hit. “This budget really reflects our community’s priorities,” Bowser said during a Monday press conference. “This is not the budget that I expected to send to the Council early this year. It is a budget that I am proud of and that the city should be proud of.”

The budget is based on a grim financial

outlook Chief Financial Officer Jeffrey supports affordable housing, and pay-go capiDeWitt offered in late April that suggests it tal, which supports government construction will take two years for D.C. to recover from projects. Now, these dollars are being redithe pandemic. DeWitt said the projected rev- rected to cover losses.

For fiscal year 2020, D.C. closes the budenue loss for the current fiscal year, which ends on September 30, is $722 million; the get gap by cutting $190 million from agency projected revenue loss for fiscal year 2021, budgets, mostly through hiring and spending freezes instituted which begins October 1, is $774 million.

“Because we had 24 years of i n M a rc h ; s h i f t i n g $214 million from the “The impact on our balanced budgets and AAA federal government’s revenues has been significant,” Bowser said. bond ratings, because we fully C oronav i r u s R el ief “Just as this pandemic fund our pensions and health Fund; and relying on at least $267 million has forced our resicare, and because we ended from prior years’ surdents and businesses fiscal year 2019 with 60 days pluses. For fiscal year to make difficult spending decisions, the D.C. of extra cash, it has made us 202 1, t he prop osed cuts $166 milgovernment has been more resilient and able to move budget lion from agency budforced to do the same through this very difficult and gets, with a freeze on thing.” all pay increases; shifts How did D.C. make challenging time.” $38 million from fedup for expected revenue losses? For starters, D.C. uses its entire eral resources; uses $213 million from the fisfiscal year 2019 surplus. D.C. ended FY2019 cal stabilization reserves, which is the total with a $500 million budget surplus. $324 amount in one of four local or federal reserves million of that surplus was intended to go to available to the city; and relies on at least $320 the Housing Production Trust Fund, which million in prior year surpluses.

4 may 22, 2020 washingtoncitypaper.com

“Because we had 24 years of balanced budgets and A A A bond ratings, because we fully fund our pensions and health care, and because we ended fiscal year 2019 with 60 days of extra cash, it has made us more resilient and able to move through this very difficult and challenging time,” said City Administrator Rashad Young in a press conference Sunday evening where he previewed the budget.

Cuts to agency budgets appear to impact government personnel more than the services they deliver and residents depend on.

There are no recommended furloughs or pay cuts in this budget, but financial planning assumes no pay increases for anyone, including Bowser, teachers, and other unionized workers. The mayor’s budget could mean the government operates slower given that a number of vacancies have not been filled and won’t be for a while.

“It may have the impact of not having us move programs as fast as we would otherwise like,” said Young, “but preserve the program.” And while there are some cuts to the scope of programs, residents are assured there is no material impact in how services are delivered. The executive tries to capture all the savings it can by making hundreds of tweaks to agency budgets, finding efficiencies in programs where it could, and evaluating all government contracts so that critical services like trash pickup continue.

The largest change in spending between FY2020 and FY2021 comes from funds for the highly anticipated paid family leave program, along with the unemployment insurance program. The FY2021 budget sets aside $309 million for the Council’s paid family leave law, but the CFO has yet to certify whether there’s enough money in the fund to support what’s expected to be withdrawn. That could delay the July rollout.

Notably, D.C. did not tax the rich, as some progressives called for, or provide tax breaks, as a coalition of businesses called DC2021 asked for. The mayor’s budget does close at least three tax loopholes to raise revenue. It appears that tax abatement for businesses hurt by the pandemic is off the table for now, and instead the executive is looking to provide targeted support, as it did with the small business microgrant program. D.C. is also hoping for more support from the federal government, seeing as the city was cheated when it was treated like a territory instead of state in the first COVID-19 relief package.

Everyone is still trying to understand the hundreds of pages of financial documents submitted to the Council. But a few shared their initial reactions to the mayor’s proposed budget. ANC 4B02 Commissioner Erin Palmer tweeted “Raise my taxes,” while Marcus Goodwin, a candidate for D.C. Council At-Large, said he was “very happy to see that [the mayor] was able to balance the budget without raising taxes,” in a campaign statement.

The DC Fiscal Policy Institute, a progressive think tank, commended the mayor’s

NEWS decision to use some of the city’s reserves and FY2019 surplus. “While the local fund budget protected and slightly expanded some crucial programs, it also missed an opportunity to respond to some immediate needs by failing to create a fund to stabilize child care providers, provide assistance to our undocumented brothers and sisters, and adequately fund the Affordable Housing Preservation Fund, among other needs,” the organization’s leadership said in a statement.

D.C. also released financial planning for FY2022 through 2026, showing how the city balances its budget over time by leveraging reserve and federal funds. Here’s what the executive ultimately decided to invest in: Education The mayor proposes a 3 percent increase to the per-student funding formula (UPSFF), which funds both DCPS and public charter schools. In February, Bowser had proposed a 4 percent UPSFF increase, one of the largest increases in recent years, and education experts heralded the news. But the pandemic has changed things.

Supplemental money for students considered “at-risk” is maintained, so advocates won’t see the increase to the at-risk weight of the UPSFF that they were hoping for in the mayor’s budget. Funding for the charter school facility allotment also remains unchanged.

Other budget highlights include $6 million for technology expansion, $1.5 million for the school-based mental health program; $75 million for 17 schools to create 540 new early child care and 180 new pre-K seats; and $1.4 billion to expand or modernize 41 schools.

The budget also includes a permanent home for Excel Academy, an all-girls school in Ward 8 that was looking to secure a building after its lease expired.

Health Care Money is set aside for new hospitals planned in Ward 1 and Ward 8. Specifically, the mayor budgets $25 million for the development of a new Howard University Hospital, plus future tax abatements that amount to $225 million over a 20-year period. The hospital is expected to be completed by 2026. $365 million is allocated for the new hospital and ambulatory center planned for the St. Elizabeths campus, which will replace United Medical Center.

The budget also includes $4.8 million to implement recommendations from the mayor’s Commission on Healthcare Systems Transformation, and $35 million to support increased enrollment in Medicaid.

Affordable Housing Bowser keeps her commitment and budgets $100 million for the Housing Production Trust

Fund in FY2020 and FY2021 to create 1,000 new units of affordable housing. The mayor has exceeded her annual commitment of $100 million in years past, but officials say the pandemic prevents increases this time around.

The mayor also budgets $76 million across FY2021 and FY2022 for a new initiative at DC Housing Authority that looks to renovate and rehabilitate the agency’s portfolio. Other housing highlights include $19.5 million for the Home Purchase Assistance Program, which supplies interest-free loans to qualified individuals looking to purchase property, and Employer-Assisted Housing Program, which offers District government employees loan and grant opportunities so they can purchase property, as well as $15.6 million in anticipated federal funds for increased rental assistance and nonprofit project delivery support.

For individuals experiencing homelessness, an additional $5 million is budgeted for permanent supportive housing units, $7.8 million to open new emergency housing, and $35 million to expand and renovate permanent and temporary supportive housing facilities.

Public Safety The budget for the Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement is reduced, but funding for the Pathways Program should go

uninterrupted. The executive anticipates using federal resources for school-based intervention, which faces budget cuts. The Office of Victim Services and Justice Grants also sees its budget reduced.

The mayor wants to increase enrollment in the police department’s cadet program from 100 to 150. Bowser had originally proposed to increase the cadet program to 200 members.

This adds $1.7 million to the Metropolitan Police Department budget. Money is also budgeted to purchase new emergency response vehicles and cardiac equipment used by first responders, and to add correctional officers and upgrade critical building systems at DC Jail.

To improve code violation enforcement in the aftermath of the fatal Kennedy Street NW fire, $200,000 is set aside for a new management system at the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs.

What’s next?

The Council will hold hearings on the mayor’s proposed FY2021 budget and financial plan starting Tuesday. Don’t expect hundreds of residents to crowd the Wilson Building for government or public testimony due to the pandemic. Committee mark-ups and reporting on agency budgets is expected to start late June, and final consideration of the mayor’s budget could happen as early as late July.

#VoteSafeDC in the Tuesday, June 2, 2020 Primary Election: In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the DC Board of Elections is committed to providing a safe environment where every vote is counted. All voters are strongly encouraged to request a mail-in ballot instead of voting in person, unless absolutely necessary. Voting by mail is safe, secure and simple. Ballot request forms are available now at www.dcboe.org. If you must vote in person, 20 Vote Centers will be open throughout the District. Social distancing measures will be enforced, and voters will be required to wear face coverings inside the Vote Centers. Curbside voting will be available.

Only voters affiliated with one of the major parties (Democratic, Republican, DC Statehood Green or Libertarian) will be issued a ballot. Same-day registration will be available at all Vote Centers.

Need to Vote in Person?

If you must vote in person, Vote Centers will open from May 22 through June 1, 2020, from 8:30 am to 7:00 pm. All sites will be closed on Memorial Day, May 25, 2020. Vote Centers will open from 7:00 am to 8:00 pm on June 2, 2020, Primary Election Day. Voters can cast their ballot at any Vote Center regardless of where they live in the District.

You may visit us online at www.dcboe.org or call us at (202) 741-5283 for more information.

washingtoncitypaper.com may 22, 2020 5

Darrow Montgomery/File

SPORTS RUNNING

Alex Amankwah

Road Hazards Even in D.C., the story of Ahmaud Arbery feels all too familiar to many black runners.

By Kelaine Conochan and Kelyn Soong Many black men in America, Frank Tramble says, have a story involving a pickup truck.

In 2014, Tramble went for a run while in Madison, Georgia, for his cousin’s wedding.

That run, he remembers, felt different than others. Every driver that passed stared at him, looking confused.

Then a pickup truck went by, made a U-turn, and came back in his direction. At that point, Tramble felt a gripping fear come over him.

“My heart sinks. The questions in my mind go crazy: ‘Is he coming back for me? Is this man going to mess with me? Is this the moment I always feared as a black man?’” he recalls. “I couldn’t help thinking: ‘Is this the one that’s going to end my life?’”

Tramble, the 32-year-old founder of DC Run Crew, a running club based in the District, reflected on this incident when he saw the news of the shooting death of Ahmaud Arbery, a

black man who was running near his home in Glynn County, Georgia, when he was gunned down. Two white men, Gregory McMichael and his son Travis, the alleged shooter, followed Arbery, believing he was involved in nearby burglaries. A video of the fatal Feb. 23 shooting went viral this month and prompted outrage and widespread discussion about the fears of running while black in a predominantly white space. The McMichaels were ultimately arrested — 74 days after the deadly shooting.

For a lot of black men and women, Arbery’s story feels all too familiar.

“Seeing the video of Ahmaud Arbery took me back to the moment I had,” says Tramble.

“I find that every one of these stories takes me back, speaking as a black man, to a moment that I had that worked out in my favor. But that’s not a given for everyone, or every time.”

The Fenty family, which includes former Mayor Adrian Fenty, has been well-known in

6 may 22, 2020 washingtoncitypaper.com

the D.C. running community since 1984, when Adrian’s father, Phil, opened the Fleet Feet running store on Columbia Road NW. Since then, running has been not only core to their business, but a core family value.

“We believe in running as a lifestyle to promote health. We try to do that through our business and the example we set in our lives,” says Shawn, Adrian’s older brother and the owner of Fleet Feet in Adams Morgan.

Shawn believes Arbery’s story has gotten attention because it touches on running and the black community, but that the incident is even more impactful because of what it represents.

“It goes to a culture and a values system that is deeper than just the death of Ahmaud Arbery,” he says. “I think that this particular situation brings awareness to the fear black people live with in the way that the Rodney King incident brought police brutality to the evening news. Now, black people can say, ‘See? This is what we live through. Our stories have

been dismissed and devalued, but now you can see it. There it is.’”

In the United States, running tends to be a predominantly white space. Only 3 percent of runners who responded to Running USA’s 2020 National Runner Survey identified as black or African American.

But local runners see things differently in the District.

“It’s a bit more convoluted in D.C. This is a majority black city,” Shawn says. “There’s more black affluence concentrated here, so we may get a very distorted cultural view of what it’s like elsewhere in America.”

Runners point to D.C. as a relatively safe space, where the racial demographics are perceived as more balanced, and runners of color encounter more inclusivity than they might in other places.

“This city is so oddly diverse. If you go out to RFK Stadium today, you’ll see every type of person working out — white, black, old, young — all types of people in the same space,” says Tramble, a Detroit native whose organization focuses on helping inexperienced or beginner runners come to the sport. “The city is so small, so you have to be in each other’s lives whether you want to or not. Because of that, you have to develop a respect for one another ... The gentrifier has to learn about the older black couple that lives next door, and that couple has to learn from the gentrifier.”

In an effort to reach further into the black community, DC Run Crew has moved some of their workouts out of the gentrified areas of Northwest D.C. near U Street NW and Shaw.

“What we want to do is show our black brothers and sisters that running is something that can help you mentally grow,” Tramble says.

“So, we’ve moved some of our workouts into Northeast, Southeast, and Anacostia to bridge the gap between gentrified newcomers — like me — with the original residents of D.C.” The death of Arbery has made black runners second-guess whether others’ perceptions and attitudes have ever put them in danger.

The black runners City Paper talked to for this story say they alter their behaviors and appearances to ensure that they come across as non-threatening — passing as a “real runner” — in white neighborhoods and communities.

But these accommodations are not acts of politeness; they’re the result of runners’ deep fear for their safety, should someone feel threatened or compelled to call the authorities to report “suspicious” behavior.

“I can’t assume that [people aren’t] thinking that I’m a threat,” says Fred Irby, a 40-yearold runner in D.C. “That’s something that white people don’t have to deal with.”

Black men in particular say they carry the unfair burden of trying to be nonthreatening to white individuals.

“For every black person, we are brought up understanding that the context we give people could be a matter of life and death,” Tramble says. “We go out of our way to present less of a threat or to appear more professional to white people. We change our clothes, our hair ...

SPORTS DIVERSIONS CROSSWORD We’ve learned to build ourselves in a way that makes white people feel comfortable.â€? “I always do things to make myself less of a target,â€? Irby adds. “I found that running with my dog helps ‌ I need to put on bright clothing, so that people can identify that I’m a runner. I’m a black person running, not a black person running from something.â€?

Alex Amankwah, a professional middle distance runner for the D.C.-based and Under Armour-sponsored District Track Club, hasn’t experienced any incidents of racism while out running in the D.C. area, but the video of Arbery brings back memories of his own encounters with racists while living in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

During the first incident, which Amankwah says happened in 2016, he was running approximately a half mile away from the University of Alabama track with two white teammates when several middle-aged white men in a car drove by and shouted the N-word at him. The second time, which Amankwah remembers occurring in late 2018 or early 2019, a different set of older white men shouted “fuck you� plus the N-word, Amankwah says, while he was running alone on a sidewalk near campus.

A Ghana native who grew up in Los Angeles, Amankwah, 28, says it was his first time dealing with explicit racism. “At first I was just angry,� he says. “I knew racism existed, and I knew certain people with that mindset. I was just angry. ‘Why would you say that? You don’t know me. Why are you comfortable enough to say something like that to me?’ I had a lot of questions.�

Even with those experiences, Amankwah emphasizes that he holds nothing against his alma mater. “Overall, I had way more people loving me for who I am rather than judging me for my skin tone,� he says. “I don’t want to destroy the warmth that I got from the city and the university with just those two instances, because that isn’t what Alabama or the city of Tuscaloosa is about.�

As a professional runner, Amankwah consistently trains outside, and while he hasn’t felt uncomfortable doing that in the D.C. area, he plans to be more cautious and cognizant of his surroundings after watching the Arbery video.

Amankwah says he doesn’t want to find himself in a position where he’s at the wrong place at the wrong time. “I’m mainly just cautious, and that comes across my mind after the video with Ahmaud,� he says. “It’s kind of a weird line. I don’t want to think everyone who’s white would do something like that, but it’s just being more cautious, being in certain neighborhoods, and keeping an eye out.�

Making these accommodations feels selfdefeating for many, in that it forces black runners — and black people in general — to go more than halfway to overcome harmful racist stereotypes and generalizations that black people are suspicious or don’t belong in certain neighborhoods. “It’s extremely heavy. It’s something you get used to, but should never have to get used to,� says Tramble. “As I look at my 1-year-old, I think to myself, ‘I have to raise a black man,’

and I am terrified. Every single moment can be the wrong moment.�

Reflecting on Arbery’s death, black runners want white runners to step up and recognize their role in creating meaningful change. “The default needs to be shifted with race relations between whites and blacks. I’m of the mind that a white person’s silence when a black person is killed in a way like Ahmaud Arbery — your silence is, in effect, complicity,� says Irby.

Irby recognizes that advocating against racism may get a little uncomfortable, but believes that is what is most essential for creating real change. “As it concerns race, we’re all involved in this. But for the most part, white people have gotten away with not having any skin in the game .... Collectively, white people have been sitting on the sidelines because it’s convenient, it’s comfortable,� he says. “I know sometimes white Americans, sometimes they have white friends who have those [racist] views,� Amankwah adds. “Don’t leave it alone. It’s not OK ... Don’t let it slide that they are racist. It’s not OK to be racist, and just because you’re not racist and you have racist friends, it’s not OK. Let them know why it’s not OK to be racist.�

That expectation extends into the running community, as well. “Reach out to your fellow runners and encourage them to do something, to do some advocacy,� Irby says. “You need to let them know that their lack of advocacy will impact your relationship with them.�

Tramble feels lucky. His story involving a pickup truck did not end in violence.

He credits something so small that many might not even think of it: his outfit. “I think the reason the person [in the truck] never said or did anything to me is because I had on expensive Nike clothes. I had the ‘right’ clothes,� he says. “When I started running, I just had regular shorts and a T-shirt. If I only had that on that day, I truly believe that my story could have ended differently.�

Tramble wants the running community to lead by example.

There is a push to make running clubs and the sport overall more inclusive by proactively welcoming and drawing in runners from different backgrounds. This would both strengthen the running community and increase understanding and empathy across backgrounds. It may also help change perceptions, so that people with bigoted views don’t think it’s dangerous or suspicious to see a black person running down the street.

To lead, or even to follow, means publicly showing solidarity with black runners and on issues that affect the black community. It’s more than just hashtags. “White people who want to be on the side of morality, it has to be more than social media posts,� Irby says. “The onus is not just awareness, but also action. If you are a white person who actively desires to eliminate racism, then the onus needs to be on you.�

Name Callin’

By Brendan Emmett Quigley

28. “Me too�

29. Equate 30. Second family under the Clintons 31. Middle Easterner 32. The Blacklist channel 33. Happen 34. Number of spectators in the stands at the recently relaunched Bundesliga matches 38. “You got that right, pal�

40. Neigh-sayer of early TV 41. God of war 44. Slightly amiss 46. University of Kansas athlete 48. Reason for being bounced 49. Heidi in fashion spreads 52. Slab of beefcake 53. Very very 54. Page from someone’s book 56. Dumb brute 57. Sandwich style 58. Elderly empowering org.

60. Asian territory in Risk 61. Man’s name that sounds like a woman’s 62. Chip in for a hand 64. Dumbbells abbr.

65. Hoped-for answer to “did you enjoy that puzzle?�

Across 1. Dummkopf 5. Prince under a spell, maybe 9. Driveway material 14. Fencing necessity 15. Ride provider for the smartphoneless set 16. Had a technicolor yawn 17. Like Trump’s youngest son’s trust fund?

20. Sign up 21. Bar on a tire 22. Pop-pop’s wife 23. “Don’t just stand there!�

25. Baker’s meas.

27. Quarterback Rodgers doing a movie cameo?

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washingtoncitypaper.com may 22, 2020 7

Clockwise from left: Sandwich shop, 14th Street NW; Bar, Mount Pleasant Street NW; Restaurant, U Street NW

8 may 22, 2020 washingtoncitypaper.com

IN CLOSING As summer creeps closer and temperatures climb, so does the desire to spend time outside.

You can still walk by the river (so long as you stay 6 feet away from people you don’t live with, of course), but the patios where drinkers and diners kick back are closed. In some cases, caution tape makes the closures extra stark.

Indoors, businesses’ lights remain off and chairs are stacked in ordered rows, not spread around tables waiting for guests to occupy them. Plants, unattended since the stay-at-home order took place in late March, wither. Mannequins are the only bodies found in stores.

City Paper staff photographer Darrow Montgomery set out on foot to capture what D.C. looks like after two months of suspended activity. Dark, empty storefronts are today’s new normal, but bits of what might still be here when the pandemic fog lifts can be found if you look hard enough.

The sun will still rise tomorrow and catch a glimmer of gold on a curtain tassel or shine on the face of a wax president stoically watching the street.

—Caroline Jones

washingtoncitypaper.com may 22, 2020 9

Clockwise from top: Theater, U Street NW; Clothing store, M Street NW; Restaurant, 14th Street NW

10 may 22, 2020 washingtoncitypaper.com

Clockwise from top: Beauty supply shop, 8th Street SE; Restaurant, 7th Street NW; Shops at City Center, Restaurant 6th Street NW

washingtoncitypaper.com may 22, 2020 11

Clockwise from top: Restaurant, 7th Street NW; Restaurant, Q Street NW; Nightclub, U Street NW

12 may 22, 2020 washingtoncitypaper.com

Top: Candy store, 7th Street NW Bottom: Restaurant, 18th Street NW

washingtoncitypaper.com may 22, 2020 13

Clockwise from top left: Carryout, U Street NW; Restaurant, G Street NW; Unknown business, M Street NW

14 may 22, 2020 washingtoncitypaper.com

washingtoncitypaper.com may 22, 2020 15

FOOD YOUNG & HUNGRY

Couriering Favors

By Laura Hayes @LauraHayesDC The delivery worker who fetches your falafel has always faced a gauntlet of obstacles while earning minimal pay. Every third-party company has an algorithm that takes time and ingenuity to master. Takeout pirates can grab food that isn’t theirs. Bad weather can derail a bike courier. A parking ticket can cancel out a driver’s income. And forget about finding a bathroom.

“These workers are isolated,” says Katie Wells, a postdoctoral research fellow at Georgetow n Universit y’s Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor. She’s been studying gig workers, like delivery drivers, in D.C. for four years. “They internalize workplace difficulties as personal failures. ‘I wasn’t smart enough to make it work.’ Or, ‘I didn’t work hard enough.’” Instead, Wells argues, delivery drivers should be asking why the system sets them up to fail.

When the COVID-19 pandemic put dine-in service at restaurants on hold, delivery drivers became essential workers. Their services enable restaurants to make a little money, while also allowing residents to obtain hot meals without cooking or leaving the house. Although their work allows others to stay safe, delivery drivers face contracting the virus themselves.

“These jobs might have always been financially questionable or predatory, but now we’re talking about something very different,” Wells says. “Those who are wealthy think, ‘I’m going to offload the risk of contracting this virus to those who can’t afford to stop working.’”

Uber Eats, DoorDash, Grubhub, Caviar, and Postmates currently classify couriers as independent contractors, which allows them to skip out on offering benefits such as workers’ compensation, guaranteed minimum wage, or overtime pay. That means the workers who bring your pizza from point A to point B are doing somewhat dangerous jobs with limited physical or financial protection from the companies they contract for. They constantly weigh risk and reward, race the clock, and face the realities that come with relying on tips.

Wells explains that gig economy companies “can be vindictive when drivers speak out,”

Darrow Montgomery

Food delivery has always been a grueling job. Now, due to COVID-19, it’s also a dangerous one.

citing an example of a protest ride-hailing app drivers joined at Reagan National Airport. She says some drivers who participated were subsequently kicked off the platforms. City Paper offered couriers anonymity for this story and, unless otherwise noted, is referring to couriers by their first names only.

“You’re definitely putting yourself at risk every time you leave your controlled environment,” says Sarah, a DoorDash courier who asked that City Paper identify her with a pseudonym. She typically works in retail, but since her store is currently closed, she’s trying out delivering food. “You have to decide how much you feel comfortable with, which is hard when you don’t know what to expect,” she says.

She hopes t he ReOpen DC Advisor y Group, tasked with plotting D.C.’s reopening strategy, comes up with uniform rules for keeping deliver y drivers safe.

“If we’re all on the same page, we can do this work and not feel like we should be getting occupational hazard pay.”

Some delivery drivers are new to the job, including restaurant workers who were laid off, like Sam. He’s using his bike to deliver for Caviar while he waits for his old job to be restored. “I’m a mostly healthy 27-year-old dude with some bad habits, but there is assumed risk,” he says. “There’s no guarantee that you’re going to make much money on any given day.

It really is like going fishing.” On a busy Friday or Saturday, he pedals up to 40 miles to bring people food. “I find joy in it because I like being out,” he says, “but I really do have misgivings about the nature of the company I work for.”

Some individuals who drive for ride-hailing apps are trying out food delivery because

16 may 22, 2020 washingtoncitypaper.com

Le Diplomate they worry about having passengers in their cars. “A number of drivers who didn’t do food delivery have gotten into food delivery for the first time or drastically ramped that up,” says Taylor Woods from rideshare driver advocacy group Drive United. “Food delivery is not seen as a liberating mechanism, but more of a necessary evil.”

Derege and Carlos made the switch from Uber to Uber Eats because of COVID-19. “I don’t have any other options,” Derege says. “I have bills to pay. It’s really busy, but you still have to hustle. I’m worried about the virus.

Every time you have contact with other people, you think you’re safe if you’re wearing gloves, but how many times are you touching your phone or cleaning your car?”

“Once the pandem ic ca me, I didn’t feel comfortable putting anyone in the car,” Carlos says. “That’s my car and I have a family, so I have to make sure they’re OK. That’s why I switched over to Uber Eats.” Carlos wears a mask and carries hand sanitizer. “It took me a month and a half to find some,” he says. “I constantly use that. I have six or seven bottles. I guess I shouldn’t say that too loud.”

Mayor Muriel Bowser’s most recent executive order mandates that everyone entering an essential business, including restaurants, wear a face covering. That doesn’t always happen, according to Espita Mezcaleria managing partner Josh Phillips. “About three quarters of drivers coming in nowadays don’t wear one, or at best cover their faces with their arm,” he says.

When he asks why their faces are bare, they respond that they can’t find or afford a mask.

“These people are risking their health so we can all feel safe at home and still eat fancy restaurant food,” Phillips continues. “The least

“These people are risking their health so we can all feel safe at home and still eat fancy restaurant food. The least these companies could do is provide free protective equipment for them.”

these companies could do is provide free protective equipment for them.”

The delivery drivers City Paper interviewed procured their own protective gear, despite the fact that Uber Eats, Grubhub, and DoorDash say they have masks, gloves, and sanitizer available for free. The disconnect suggests companies either aren’t communicating effectively or aren’t following through on their promises.

Yannick has been driving for Postmates since 2018. She’s been wearing a mask and gloves and covering her head while working ever since the pandemic took hold in D.C. She purchased everything herself, except for the masks and sanitizer some customers have left her as a gesture of thanks. “[Postmates] has offered, however we’ve had difficulty receiving it because of the scarcity of a lot of items,” she says. Postmates declined to comment about protective equipment and what steps they’re taking to keep couriers safe.

Uber Eats told drivers to pick up PPE at their Greenlight Hub, according to both Carlos and an Uber Eats representative. Uber’s website says all Greenlight Hubs are temporarily closed.

Carlos also tried asking for a mask by mail and has been waiting more than a month for it to arrive. Meanwhile, Uber Eats instituted a new policy on May 18: Drivers must prove they’re wearing a face covering by taking a selfie before they can start working.

Caviar bike courier Sam recalls receiving a notification two months ago that said the company, which DoorDash acquired last year, would be delivering protective gear to couriers.

“That hasn’t materialized yet,” he says.

A DoorDash spokesperson says they created free health kits and added masks once the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended people wear them. To obtain a kit, couriers are supposed to put in a request through the app using their email address on file with DoorDash or Caviar and then pay a subsidized shipping fee.

Still, there are some delivery drivers who don’t believe the money is worth gambling their health, even if they can find suitable protective equipment. Some may live in multigenerational households with relatives at higher risk of complications from the virus. Couriers who can’t work can apply for unemployment benefits, though contract workers sometimes receive less benefits than traditional employees.

Couriers constantly watch the clock.

Long waits at restaurants and late arrivals at residences are often beyond their control but can cost them money at the end of the day.

“I was picking up on Cinco de Mayo from Surfside in Dupont,” Sarah says. “I pull up and 30 other drivers are waiting. If you’ve been there, you know it’s just a tiny window.

Everyone was crowded together. Two groups of people were screaming at each other. I’m standing back, not trying to get too close. Someone cut the line and a literal fist fight broke out.”

Pickup spots can become pressure cookers.

“People are worried if they’re five or ten minutes late, they’re not going to get a tip at all,” Sarah says. “People are really desperate.”

FOOD ARTS ARTS CLUB Drivers are battling new external factors, and some restaurants are doing to-go food for the first time and might take longer to fulfill orders, so customers should be patient. “We’re so used to instant gratification—where food is at your door within 30 minutes without fail,” Sarah says. “So when that doesn’t happen, we’re so quick to blame each other or not tip someone.”

Long waits for small orders are a big frustration for drivers. Ahmad, a former rideshare driver who asked to be identified only by his last name, tried Uber Eats, but determined it wasn’t worth the trouble after a bad day at the McDonald’s on 14th Street NW. He accepted what he thought would be a quick order guaranteeing him $3.25 from Uber Eats. But then he was stuck waiting under the Golden Arches for 25 minutes. With a $2.75 tip, he netted $6 for 30 minutes worth of work.

For for mer deliver y dr iver Caitlin Schiavoni, finding parking was the biggest time suck. She drove for most companies, but found Caviar the most favorable. “Customers can track couriers,” she says. “‘Why is this idiot going around in circles? Why haven’t they stopped and given me the food?’ Because they can’t find somewhere legal to park!”

When Schiavoni sensed her tip money was slipping away, she’d park illegally, hoping to slip in and out unscathed. “There were so many times I’d run out to them putting a ticket on my car,” she says. She wishes the city would grant permits to delivery drivers so they could park in loading zones and other designated areas. “It would solve so much anxiety about parking and money issues.”

Parking wasn’t the only problem. When Schiavoni pulled up to residences, customers wouldn’t always pick up the phone. “They’re showering, they took their dog for a walk, or they fell asleep,” she says. “I can’t tell you how many times I got somewhere and called and called. Did you not think I was going to try to go fast? That’s the whole point of me doing this. The whole time you’re waiting, you’re losing money.”

Schiavoni, who has also worked in restaurants, isn’t sure people ordering on apps know drivers depend on tips for the lion’s share of their earnings. “To get a good tip depending on how far you’re driving, you need to accept something over $35,” she says. “Just like serving, you don’t want to serve somebody who only orders a Coke and sits there for two hours.”

Some platforms assign drivers a score based on a number of factors, including customer ratings and percentage of deliveries accepted.

Schiavoni knew how to work the system, but could only control so much. “I’d try to wait for a big one, and I’d decline 10 little ones. But I’d have to take a small one eventually or my score would go down,” she says Schiavoni says she “got stiffed” on tips more frequently as a delivery driver than as a restaurant worker. “Or they only give you a couple of dollars for delivering large orders,” she says, noting she was tipped in cannabis once, but gave it away. “That’s when you fall back on delivery fees, which you don’t always get all of.

You’re not making hourly. People don’t treat it like the tip model that it is.”

One bad delivery can throw off a whole day’s wages, especially because some delivery apps permit couriers to complete multiple deliveries at once. “If you have three deliveries to pick up and you get a call that the first one gave you the wrong food, now you have three [orders] that are late because you have to go back to get the correct food,” Schiavoni continues. “Then you have three customers who don’t tip you.”

Drivers can predict when they’re going to get slighted. “I had to go to Toastique to pick up one juice,” Sarah says. “As soon as I got it I was like, ‘I’m definitely not getting tipped for this.’”

She delivered it three blocks away and left it on an empty desk as she was instructed. During the COVID-19 pandemic, couriers offer contactless delivery to minimize interaction. She was right.

“I understand you want the convenience, but why won’t you tip?”

Even though contactless delivery is now the norm, Sam still wants to provide good service.

He estimates that 50 to 60 percent of his Caviar income comes from tips. “As much as I don’t like random calls from people, I’ll text the customer and say, ‘Enjoy and be safe,’ to add some modicum of a human element. Otherwise it feels like a ghost is dropping off your food.”

He’s intrigued by the new DC To-GoGo grassroots delivery platform that the owners of Ivy & Coney started earlier this month. Its goal is to provide an alternative to third-party apps that puts more money in the hands of restaurants and delivery drivers. The middle membership tier involves restaurants hiring their own delivery drivers—ideally employees they’ve laid off. DC To-GoGo asks restaurants to pay these drivers a base wage of $18 an hour.

“If they can sustain that, that’s incredible,” Sam says. He thinks only restaurants that crank out orders can afford to pay that much. “I don’t know that the average restaurant, especially on a weekday, can handle that.”

While hyperlocal alternatives to traditional delivery services may respond to some of the injustices of the job, the reality is the industry suffers from what Georgetown’s Wells calls “the Titanic problem.”

“These workers have been told the automated vehicle is coming and their jobs are going to disappear,” she says. “The thought is, why unionize the engine room while the ship is sinking? Why work to fix these jobs if they’re going to disappear anyway?”

It’s a dejected feeling shared by delivery drivers, including Tony. “Nobody wants me to make a good living just delivering food,” he says. “All these things are done to make it cheaper for the customer.”

While drones are currently prohibited in D.C., Tony doesn’t think it’ll be long before he’s replaced by one. “The lobbyists will get that taken away,” he says. “Jeff Bezos lives here. In the future, maybe chefs will have a personal touch for food that you can’t replace.

But as far as delivery—we can be replaced in seconds.”

Locke For this week’s edition of City Paper Arts Club, arts editor Kayla Randall and multimedia editor Will Warren quarantined in a car for an hour and a half with a man named Ivan Locke. He was not having a good night. Locke, which premiered in 2013 at the Venice Film Festival and was released in 2014, is a compelling, experimental film written and directed

by Steven Knight and centered on the title character’s car ride to London to be present at the birth of his child. Locke (Tom Hardy) gets into his car at the very start of the film, and he stays there for the film’s entire duration. He’s the only character we ever see. And this film’s experiment pays off in spades.

These Arts Club chat excerpts have been edited and condensed for clarity. For the full chat, subscribe to Washington City Podcast.

Will Warren: It is the story of one man driving to the hospital to see the mother of a child that he has as a result of an affair. He, over the course of this drive, makes 30-something phone calls: [calling] his work, who is upset because he will be unable to do his [concrete] pouring duties, calling the mother of his child, who is in labor, and then also calling home, where he admits he had the affair. And that’s the movie.

Kayla Randall: This movie really resonates with me. Living through a pandemic, it’s really interesting — he is isolated in the film. The filmmaker chose to have a character be isolated the whole time. He’s in his car, making calls.

WW: Which is the only way that many of us are able to communicate with anyone in our lives right now.

KR: You learn so much about him, and you learn so much about his life and his family, just through him making those phone calls. He and his two sons really love football, and they’re excited for a big match the night the film takes place. Mom’s making sausages, the whole thing.

And then he has to tell her, oh, by the way, this woman’s having my baby and I’m driving to go to the birth. It’s horrible, it’s so sad. But on the same night, there’s this huge concrete pour that has to happen and he’s on the phone with coworkers trying to figure that out. Basically, this film is this one man’s life getting blown up in a single night.

WW: We learn that he’s a super control freak, that’s why it’s so interesting [that] his life is unraveling. His whole life is crumbling. There are just so many tiny writing flourishes that tell us who this guy is. For example, his boss is calling to say that he’s going to be fired. He was saying, “I tried to appeal to the higher-ups and said you’d been at the company for 10 years.” And then, Ivan says, “Actually it was just nine years.”

Like, he’s just so precise and literal and trying to be in control of every situation. Ivan is definitely a psychopath.

KR: It captures your attention. It’s actually really suspenseful because of the nature of the filmmaking, which is so compelling: Who’s he going to call next? Who’s going to call him? What’s happening? It feels so real.

Within the drama are a million other little dramas. On the subject of Ivan being a psychopath — he totally is. But I think that’s why he’s such a compelling character. It’s that kind of psychosis that makes him so good at his job. It’s the only reason his co-worker was like, “OK yeah, I will do all these things for you and make sure your concrete pour goes well.”

washingtoncitypaper.com may 22, 2020 17

ARTS

Revolutionary Road The Archives’ new reggae album celebrates the work of Gil Scott-Heron and Brian Jackson.

By Alona Wartofsky Contributing Writer Just in front of the stately cream-colored duplex at 1 and 2 Logan Circle, a Neighborhood Heritage Trail sign displays a photograph of two young men sitting on the house’s front landing during the early ’70s.

In the foreground is Gil Scott-Heron, the visionary poet, writer, and musician most famous for his brilliant, withering critiques of America’s racism and injustice. Just behind him, holding a cigarette and smiling, is his lesser-known longtime collaborator, Brian Jackson. In 1972, they lived in an artists’ commune at 1 Logan Circle, where they wrote and recorded their seminal album, Winter in America. Over the ensuing years, they recorded more than 10 albums together before parting ways around 1980.

Jackson, 67, currently lives in Portland, Oregon, but during one of his many recent visits to D.C., he walked over to take a look at the sign.

Now, he notes wryly, it may serve to legitimize his presence in the area. “It’s kind of ironic,” he says. “When I go by there, maybe I can show that to somebody if they want to arrest me for being in that neighborhood.”

Decades ago, Jackson could not have predicted his reason for ret u r ning to D.C. He has been here contributing to Carry Me Home: A Reg gae Tribute to Gil Scott-Heron and Br ian Jackson, a new album from local reggae ensemble The Archives. The album’s May 27 release on all music streaming platforms marks the ninth anniversary of Scott-Heron’s death, and a limited edition vinyl release is set for September.

For Archives keyboardist and bandleader Darryl “Trane” Burke, having Jackson playing flute and keyboards as well as providing vocals to an album that celebrates him is nothing short of a dream come true. “It’s like getting Paul McCartney on a Beatles tribute,” Burke says. “I’m still pinching myself.”

A veteran reggae musician, Burke came up with the album’s concept several years ago, after learning that Scott-Heron’s father, professional footballer Gil Heron, was Jamaican.

“I had never heard any reggae covers of Gil Scott-Heron’s songs,” Burke says. “I think that’s because a lot of people don’t even know that his dad was Jamaican. But Gil’s music is very melodic. He’s almost like a poet singing,

18 may 22, 2020 washingtoncitypaper.com

but when you break the songs down and listen to the melody line, they’re awesome songs.”

Burke discussed the project with Thievery Corporation’s Eric Hilton, who had released The Archives’ self-titled debut album on his Eighteenth Street Lounge Music label in 2012.

Hilton signed on as co-producer and is releasing Carry Me Home on his new Montserrat House label. One thing led to another, and this fall, Montserrat House will also release an as-yet untitled solo album by Jackson. “We’re super excited about that record,” Hilton says. “We’re kind of doing it in a future-meets-past paradigm with a lot of analog synthesizers and really high-end gear.”

Burke grew up in Alexandria, Virginia, and played bass before shifting to keyboards.

“Every band I was ever in, the bass player was really good, so I had to pick up the keys,” he says.

In the mid-’80s, he played in Total Control, a young suburban go-go band, but soon gravitated to reggae. By 1994, he was playing reggae professionally with Moja Nya and touring with Culture and other high-profile reggae acts.

He formed The Archives in 2011, and the group played originals and covers at weekly reggae nights at Patty Boom Boom on U Street NW. He has long admired Scott-Heron: “I think he was one of the most brilliant minds of his century.” When he reimagined Scott-Heron and Jackson’s songs as reggae, he knew immediately what they should sound like. “We’re doing a tribute record, but we’re not a tribute band like those bands going around playing Led Zeppelin covers,” he says. “I wanted to get the sound of The Wailers, Black Uhuru, early Steel Pulse. That kind of soulful roots reggae sound works so well with Gil’s music.”

While recording Carry Me Home, Burke found Jackson through percussionist Larry MacDonald, an alumni of Scott-Heron’s Amnesia Express band, who appears on most of the album’s tracks. (He found MacDonald through D.C. cultural activist and music promoter Dera Tompkins.) Burke contacted Jackson to ask if he would listen to the work in progress. “When I heard it, it felt as though the music we wrote was made to be done in a rootsreggae type style,” Jackson says. “They picked tunes that actually make sense playing them in that style, and, as it turned out, there are many.

They dug down and found those that not only had melodic content that fit the melody and chordal context of reggae, but also that meant something lyrically, that had powerful messages and images.”

As they continued talking, Jackson suggested that he could add some flute or keyboard embellishment and possibly some vocals as well. Now, he is deeply gratified by the finished product: “It’s one of those albums where you really should put on some headphones or earbuds, and just live with it and breathe with it,” he says.

Carry Me Home consists of 14 tracks, half of which were co-written by Scott-Heron and Jackson. Joining the core members of The Archives—vocalist Puma Ptah, drummer Leslie “Black Seed” James Jr., bassist Pierre Stone, and guitarist Henri Tanash— are guest performers Jackson and MacDonald,

as well as Afrobeat-go-go collective Crank LuKongo’s Matt “Swamp Guinee” Miller, vocalist Mustafa Akbar, and Jamaican dub poet Mutabaruka. And on “A Toast to the People,” the first song that Jackson and Scott-Heron wrote together, one of D.C.’s favorite R&B singers, RaheemDeVaughn, provides sumptuous vocals.

“What I love about Raheem is that he’s the perfect bridge between the old school and the new school,” Burke says. “This guy can channel Sam Cooke, Marvin Gaye, Brian McKnight; he’s just that whole spectrum.”

For DeVaughn, “A Toast to the People” has taken on a deeper resonance during this uncertain era. “The subject matter of this record really speaks to the trying times that we live in,” he says. “We still fight to endure. This song is recognizing those community leaders, the common man and woman, who deserve that toast of life, especially those ones who are most overlooked—first responders, nurses, and the quote, unquote, ‘essential’ workers.”

Another Carry Me Home track, Jackson’s “It’s Your World,” was inspired by an old-school greeting. “It played on the phrase that we used to say in D.C. a lot,” Jackson says. “When you walk up to somebody and say, ‘Hey man, how you doin’, what’s happening?’ And the other person would say, ‘Hey man, it’s your world.’ I was kind of ruminating on that.” He describes the result as a song about personal and musical freedom. “It’s a song about spiritual real estate,” says Jackson. “It’s about having the right to be who you are.”

Jackson first met Scott-Heron when they both attended Pennsylvania’s Lincoln University. It is a story well-polished by its retelling, about how, when the lanky young Scott-Heron first approached him in a music practice room, he had to move sideways through the door so his Afro would fit. Almost immediately, they started working together, and eventually they moved to Washington, D.C. “My most cherished memories are from Logan Circle,” Jackson says.

“We used to call it the squircle, because it was really a square, but it was shaped like a circle.”

Later, they relocated to Arlington, where they shared a house and pooled limited resources with members of their group, The Midnight Band, which was mostly composed of fellow Lincoln alumni. “We just became really close friends and brothers, and we would wake up and just start writing,” Jackson says. “Our whole life was just writing music and being on the road.”

Scott-Heron died in 2011, and now, so many years after bearing witness to Scott-Heron’s struggles with addiction, Jacksons says his memories are not painful. “Actually it’s just the opposite—it was one of the happiest periods of my life. I’m happy now, but I can honestly say that I couldn’t have been any happier back then.”

Throughout the process of recording Carry Me Home, all participants were acutely aware of an undeniable truth: That Scott-Heron and Jackson’s raw and powerful songs, viscerally limning the raw struggles of black people in America, are as relevant today as they were four decades ago. “We’re still dealing with the same institutionalized racism, the same brutality,” Burke says.

ARTS ARTS FILM REVIEW

Birds Of A Feather The Lovebirds

Phoenix Wright

Directed by Michael Showalter

Brian Jackson next to the Logan Circle Heritage Trail sign featuring him and Gil Scott-Heron In DeVaughn’s view, the rise of systemic right-wing racism makes Scott-Heron and Jackson’s work crucial listening for our time.

“They say history repeats itself,” he says. “It’s almost like we’ve entered into a new millennial era of the civil rights movement. You think about what our brothers and sisters go through, and the LGBTQ community, also.

Think about how, weekly, you hear these stories of police brutality or racial profiling, or you think about the hate groups that are online supporting violence. It’s kind of like the ’60s all over again, but with a new millennial flair.”

These days, when Jackson performs the song “Winter in America” in concert, audience members often ask whether he and Scott-Heron had some psychic vision of the future. “When we were writing, we were talking about the time period that we were living in,” Jackson says. “Never in my wildest dreams

would I have thought nor wanted these songs to be relevant today.”

“I like to talk about Frederick Douglass’ speech from two centuries ago, ‘What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?’” Jackson continues.

“I love that speech because it basically says, while you guys are celebrating your independence, we’re still waiting for that party. And you know it’s pretty much as relevant today as it was then: issues with voting, issues with health care, issues with housing, issues with racist supremacist terrorism. All those things are still happening.”

Nearly five decades after the Winter in America album, Jackson no longer expects to see his country change during his lifetime.

“Look at Germany, which has faced a lot of their crimes, their most atrocious behavior.

They have faced them, they’ve dealt with them, and they’re still dealing with them,” he says.

“America, on the other hand, is still in denial.

America has not even begun.”

In the 1980s, action-comedies dominated the multiplexes. These movies followed a simple formula: Take two funny actors and put them in a crime plot that isn’t quite strong enough to be compelling without their goofing around. Action-comedies like Midnight Run, Romancing the Stone, and Stakeout succeeded entirely on the surprising chemistry between their two leads, and The Lovebirds, the new action-comedy starring Kumail Nanjiani (Stuber) and Issa Rae (HBO’s Insecure), does exactly the same. It’s an 86-minute lesson in film history, and not a whole lot else.

The two comic stars play Jibran and Leilani, a once-happy couple struggling to keep their relationship afloat. They argue about the things real couples argue about — like being late for a dinner party or whether Mythbusters is reality TV or a docu-series — but with more zingers because director Michael Showalter (The Big Sick) seems to have let them improvise half of the script. Nobody talks in complete jokes the way that these two do, but it doesn’t matter because nothing that’s about to happen is the slightest bit realistic, and it’s better if we’re prepared for it right away.

On the way to a dinner party, their car is hijacked and used to commit a murder.

Assuming that they will be suspects, they run from the police and decide their only path to

proving their innocence is to find the murderer themselves. Where it might be a ludicrous plot contrivance in other films, it’s an understandable beat here: Leilani and Jibran, a black woman and a man of Pakistani descent, know they are innocent, but fear they won’t be believed. They feel their best shot at survival is to dive headfirst into the criminal underworld to clear their names.

Playful and predictable, The Lovebirds is a casually enjoyable film, and, like many other Netflix originals, it feels designed to be watched in between text messages. But it relies too heavily on one-liners from its talented cast, instead of creating any comic setpieces or meaningful character arcs. It loses steam as it goes, getting big laughs early on as the two stars banter liberally, but falling apart completely with a third act that’s overwhelmed by its crime plot. It’s hard to care too much about what happens to these characters when they’re constantly firing off one-liners like they’re on stage at the Improv.

Even worse, it squanders its best opportunities. As Jibran and Leilani make their way through the underbelly of New Orleans, they find themselves confronting various subcultures of white institutional power. One scene finds them accosting a group of frat boys, and the climax is set at a secret ceremony populated by the super-rich, complete with masks and strange sexual rituals. Throughout, the characters comment on how out of place they are in these settings, but they never find any real comedy in the confrontation. Instead, it’s just more one-liners. Eddie Murphy, back in his Beverly Hills Cop days, would have made a meal out of this scenario, but The Lovebirds is content to nibble around the edges.

— Noah Gittell The Lovebirds begins streaming on Netflix on May 22.

washingtoncitypaper.com may 22, 2020 19

CITY LIGHTS

The section that (temporarily) shows you how to enjoy staying home.

City Lights

I Am a Ghost The D.C. Asian Pacific American Film Festival moved online this year, with free screenings to mark its 20th anniversary. The sprawling program showcases Asian and Asian American filmmakers who address themes that, more often than not, reflect the immigrant experience. Yet in I Am a Ghost, a 2012 film from Filipino American director H. P. Mendoza, that anxiety is expressed in an unsettling, experimental horror movie. The setting is a fantastic Victorian house with a wrap-around porch. In a series of scenes that end and loop abruptly, we see Emily (Anna Ishida) moving around the house in her daily routine: Cooking breakfast on a stove with sleek mid-century curves, stretching out in her four-poster canopy bed, and walking among the accoutrements of a long-gone era. Still, she seems lost. The first section of the film is silent, and only when we start to hear voices do we learn that Emily, as the title says, is a ghost, and the disembodied instructions from Sylvia (Jeannie Barroga), a clairvoyant hired to clean the house of spirits, are there to guide her to a peaceful afterlife. But here’s the thing: Emily was murdered—or so she thinks. How can she ever find peace? This micro-budget film was the second feature from Mendoza, who also composed the film’s score. And as evocative as the visuals are, with quirky editing (also by Mendoza) vividly conveying Emily’s conflict, the film may be most impressive for its forbidding sound, which turns a piece of prime West Coast real estate into an infernal prison.

Mendoza and Anna Ishida will be available for an online Q&A on May 23, but you can watch the film right now. The film is available at apafilm.org.

The Q&A begins on May 23 at 2 p.m. on Zoom. Free.

—Pat Padua

City Lights

#txtshow (on the internet)

receives anonymous messages from the audience. Essentially, the audience writes the show, as Feldman maintains there’s no script. It’s interactive and highly unpredictable. With that in mind, the artist flags the potential for profane language, mature themes, and sexual content—it’s all up to the audience. Feldman has used various platforms in the past, like Jitsi Meet and brand-new Twitter accounts, but he’s going with increasingly popular Zoom for the Adelaide shows. Participants will receive a link to the performance, and then a prompt to set their screen name to “anonymous.”

From there, anything goes. Tickets are available at adelaidefringe.com.au. $8 AUD. —Sarah Smith

City Lights

The National Philharmonic’s virtual performance of “Fanfare for the Common Man”

Brian Feldman has never been one to shy away from a challenge. He spent 140 hours squeezing oranges, once married a stranger to protest same-sex marriage bans, and famously held Shabbat dinners in multiple Wawas. Now, he’s rising to meet a new challenge as COVID-19 seriously disrupts the art world—though, thankfully for a performance artist, Feldman’s been using digital communication in his work for years. Although he’s many miles away from Adelaide, Australia, he’s participating in that city’s fringe festival from his D.C. apartment, reworking his #txtshow for a virtual audience. The show, now titled #txtshow (on the internet), dates back to 2009 and has inspired its own subgenre of performance art. His character “txt,” pronounced “text,” solicits and 20 may 22, 2020 washingtoncitypaper.com

A rallying cry written during World War II, Aaron Copland’s “Fanfare for the Common Man” celebrates everyday people making immense sacrifices for the larger good. It’s been heard from space (on the Endeavor shuttle in 2008) and absorbed into pop culture (played at Bob Dylan and The Rolling Stones concerts), but the National Philharmonic’s virtual rendition holds a new weight as a nod to the current moment. Using their own recording equipment, usually cell phones, members of the orchestra filmed themselves playing their respective parts of the song to be mixed into the final piece, which is dedicated to the health care workers on the frontlines of the COVID-19 response. The final video features photographs of D.C., Maryland, and New York hospital staff on the job, a deeply personal touch to an already heavy song. It’s those same types of people that Copland celebrated in his original rendition. Inspired by Vice President Henry Wallace’s remarks at the Free World Association in 1942, Copland shared the belief that the “dirty work” of overcoming difficult times falls on the backs of ordinary folks, and the fanfare is an acknowledgement of their common sacrifice. The Philharmonic’s music director Piotr Gajewski says he hopes the tribute offers hospital workers currently risking their lives some solace as they continue to keep the rest of us afloat. The performance is available on YouTube. Free.

—Katie Malone

City Lights

Trevor Young: Seeing in the Dark

City Lights

Make any week “Bike Anywhere Week” with a biking bingo card If you (used to) rely on the Metro for transportation, now is an ideal time to buy a bike—or rent one, if you can’t find a suitable one in stock. The Washington Area Bicyclist Association, which promotes biking as an affordable, environmentally friendly transport option, went forward with its “Bike Anywhere Week” this year in spite of the pandemic. Even though the week is officially over, you can still use their bingo card to play “Bike Anywhere Bingo” all year long! Fill in squares by finishing chores, performing bike maintenance, or checking out one of the D.C -area’s many trails. For instance, you can hit the Capital Crescent Trail, which was built over a railbed originally used by the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Company’s Georgetown Branch. The trail stretches from Georgetown to Silver Spring and passes through some of the District’s most picturesque (and wealthy) neighborhoods in Northwest. In Southeast, try the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail, which tracks the river for around 20 miles and passes right by Navy Yard-area takeout options. (Reward yourself with a taco from Él Bebe or a pizza from All Purpose.) You can also ride the Mount Vernon Trail along the Potomac to George Washington’s historic estate, which will also take you by the monuments and through the picturesque Old Town neighborhood of Alexandria. Or, if it’s a Netflix and newspaper kind of day, stay home and follow @WABADC on Twitter—you get a square for that too. The bingo card is available at waba.org. Free.

—Will Lennon

City Lights

Lorenzo Cardim chats with kids and adults

The coronavirus quarantine has left the outside world looking a little like a Trevor Young painting: Lots of empty space, devoid of people. So it is either ironic or eerily appropriate that Young’s fourth exhibit at Addison/Ripley Fine Art, which was due to open in April, has been postponed—hopefully—until the fall. Fortunately, the works from the show are already accessible online, and if the miniature pixelated versions don’t compare to Young’s full-sized, creamily textured paintings, their subject matter is undoubtedly of the moment: blank billboards in the twilight, empty gas stations, unclogged highways, desolate Metro platforms, and vacant parking garages. At the same time, there’s something timeless about Young’s minimalist architectural forms and evocative hues—lavender, fiery ochre, royal blue, McDonald’s yellow. Young says these recent works include a stronger presence of nature than in his usual oeuvre; the diffuse natural glow contrasts with the synthetic light of the adjoining infrastructure. “While the lockdown hasn’t changed my subject matter, I do find myself missing the outside world,” Young says. In addition to the online exhibition, a few of Young’s works will be on display in the windows of the gallery’s brick-and-mortar location, at 1670 Wisconsin Ave. NW. The exhibition is available at artsy.net. Free.

—Louis Jacobson

City Lights

A Childhood Story The friendship begins at the kitchen table, when young Tian Tian observes the snowy rabbit with cautious wonder, offering a finger through the bars of its cramped cage, only to have her parents puncture the nascent connection a moment later. They remind her, not unkindly, that this rabbit is to be served as part of her late grandfather’s memorial service the next day. It is then time for lunch (chicken wings) and the rabbit is whisked away. In just over eight minutes, with this small tragedy at its center, A Childhood Story probes the emotional corners of Tian Tian’s affection for her lapin companion and her own lost innocence. Tianyi Lu, who wrote, directed, and edited this coming-of-age short submitted to the D.C. Asian Pacific American Film Festival, rightly avoids a binary narrative that pits an idealistic heroine against villainous elders yoked to tradition, while Emre Okten (cinematographer) and Matthew Wilder (production designer and colorist) suffuse each frame with evocative hues and golden light. What’s revealed is an ethereal tableau of empathy, culture, and loss. The film is available at apafilm.org. Free.

—Amy Guay

Lorenzo Cardim creates sculptures with glamorous mediums, like 24-karat gold leaf and nail polish spread over wood. Last fall, the Mansion at Strathmore featured one such Cardim sculpture, “Limp Wrist,” as part of a larger exhibit exploring woodsy artwork appropriately titled Timber. Now, Cardim is back to chat about the meaning behind his works in two separate talks for kids and adults.

Expect the conversations to investigate themes of social injustice and the ways people of color and LGBTQ people push back against conformity. He’ll likely delve into how his unexpected materials expose the hypocrisy of social and political constructions (and if not, you’ll have a chance to ask him about it during the Q&A). His comfort with media ranging from sculpture to video makes him an ideal speaker for aspiring artists who love to experiment with different forms, so your child who loves to draw on walls will feel right at home. And, for adults who have perhaps lost that (reckless?) drive for playful experimentation, his talk might restore a childlike sense of wonder. The event caps out at 100 guests, but don’t worry if you miss out. The talks are posted online afterward, so you can revisit your favorite parts with your kiddo (or with a glass of wine, after bedtime). The talk for kids begins at 10:30 a.m. on May 22. The talk for adults is at 4 p.m. on May 22. RSVP for both at strathmore.org. Free.

—Emma Francois

City Lights

Behind the Scenes: Preparators and their Art Preparators are the unsung heroes of art exhibits, transporting and unpacking art, designing exhibition spaces, installing artworks, lighting the rooms, and posting interpretive labels. In early April, the preparators who work with the American University Museum were on the verge of opening a show spotlighting their own works, sponsored by the Alper Initiative for Washington Art. Then COVID-19 happened. While the in-person exhibition Behind the Scenes: Preparators and their Art has been scuttled, the museum is promoting it with a special collection of artist profiles and works on Instagram, as well as a Spotify playlist of music that the preparators like to play while they work. The preparator-artists in the exhibit include painter Erick Antonio Benitez, painter and mixed-media artist Jack Coyle, mixed-media artist Terence Nicholson, painter Corynne Ostermann, marker-drawing artist Sam Rietenbach, digital collagist Hillary Rochon, photographer MichaelAngelo Rodriguez, painter Kevin Michael Runyon, gouache artist Bonner Sale, and painter Juansebastián Serrano. Of special note are works by Paul Blakeslee, a video artist whose pieces focus on music; Sara Dittrich, who creates pale sculptural works with polymer clay and fabric; Caroline Hatfield, who produces finely textured, deeply black pieces made of layered tar paper and charcoal; Nieko McDaniel, who produces works from repurposed cardboard; and Chris Zickefoose, whose works come from reclaimed laminate flooring. In addition to the Instagram collection, the participating artists’ works and bios can be found in an extensive online catalog. The profiles and works are available on Instagram at @aumuseum_katzen and the playlist is available on Spotify. Free.

—Louis Jacobson washingtoncitypaper.com may 22, 2020 21

City Lights

Episode V

DIVERSIONS SAVAGE LOVE Here’s a non-COVID question for you: I’m a queer white female in a monogamish marriage.

I vote left, I abhor hatred and oppression, and I engage in activism when I can. I’m also turned on by power differentials: authority figures, uniforms, hot guys doing each other. Much to my horror, this thing for power differentials plus too many World War II movies as a kid has always meant that, for my brain (or for my pussy), Nazis are hot. Fuck me, right?

Other maybe relevant bits of info: I’m not interested in roleplaying with actual partners, I’m fairly sure this proclivity is not reflective of any deeper issues, and I’m both sexually and emotionally fairly well sorted. Not perfect, but fine working order and all that. And I get it: People like what they like, don’t judge yourself for your fetishes, just get off without being an asshole to anyone. The problem is that my usual way of getting off on/indulging my fantasies is to read erotic fiction on the internet. I’d love your input on whether seeking out Nazi porn is problematic for some of the same reasons that porn depicting sex with kids is problematic. Am I normalizing and trivializing fascism?

—Freaking About Search Histories

D.C.’s October ’71, led by multi-instrumentalist Rob Stokes (best known as rapper Sir E.U’s drummer), are back with a new album, Episode V, which, like 2019’s Episode IV, is billed as “a mob tale of a house band, steeped in sin, dipped in infidelity, an MLB championship, a rogue agent, political corruption, and mortal consequences.” On Episode V, Stokes is working with Sir E.U, two guitarists, a bassist, and a keyboardist to make artsy cuts that incorporate psychedelia, prog rock, math rock, pop, jazz, and hip-hop. Stokes, who grew up south of Pittsburgh, came to D.C. for college in 2011 and started the band in 2013. He says that, lyrically, the new album continues the last episode’s story, and that it again takes place during the 1971 World Series between the Pittsburgh Pirates and Baltimore Orioles. The tale is arcane and mysterious. There are references in the song “glass” to escaped bank robbery fugitives, while in “contact,” a voice says “I never want to see you again.” The production by Stokes, Sir E.U, and longtime Sir E.U collaborator Tony Kill emphasizes the trippy nature of the project via their use of echo, spedup sounds, and spoken word bits. “some love, not withstanding” starts off tunefully before sprawling into 11 minutes of jazz-rock. “liberty tubes suite (v),” which features Tony Kill, is even more out there with its five-plus minutes of jazzy noise exploration. “belmont st” is a highlight with a melodic, psychedelic rock feel evocative of Deerhunter. The group is also releasing a video of their hip-hop-tinged psychpop “October ’71” theme song from Episode IV that shows Stokes and Sir E.U bounding past the then-futuristic ‘70s architecture of HUD’s Robert Weaver building, plus the U.S. Capitol and other D.C. locations, as the group sings and raps about fleeing in a getaway car. Episode V will be available on Bandcamp beginning May 22. $10.

—Steve Kiviat

Seeking out child porn—searching for it online, downloading it, collecting images of children being raped and sexually abused— is problematic (and illegal) because it creates demand for more child porn, which results in more children being raped and sexually abused. The cause and effect is obvious, FASH, the victims are real, and the harm done is incalculable.

But while it may discomfort someone to know a nice married lady who donates to all the right causes is furiously masturbating to dirty stories about hot guys in Nazi uniforms doing each other, FASH, no one ever has to know that. So you do no harm—not even the supposed harm of discomforting someone— when you privately enjoy the fucked-up stories you enjoy. And while there are doubtless some actual Nazis who enjoy reading dirty stories about other Nazis, most people turned on by dirty stories about Nazis are turned on despite themselves and their politics. Transgressive sexual fantasies don’t arouse us because they violate societal norms and expectations (in a safe and controlled manner), FASH, but because they allow us to violate our sense of ourselves too (ditto). Just as a feminist can have rape fantasies without actually wanting to be raped herself or for anyone else to be raped, a person can have sexual fantasies about hot guys in Nazis uniforms doing each other without wanting Nazis to come to power.

I have to say it was easier to give antiNazi Nazi fetishists like you a pass—to shrug and say “you do you,” but please keep it to yourself—before racist demagogues, white supremacists, and anti-Semites started marching around waving Trump flags. But no one picks their kinks, and being told “that shouldn’t turn you on” has never made a problematic or transgressive kink less arousing.

And when you consider the number of nonerotic novels, movies, and television shows

22 may 22, 2020 washingtoncitypaper.com

popular culture cranks out year after year— and how many actually trivialize fascism (I’m talking to you, Hunters)—it seems insane to draw a line and say, “Okay, this story about Nazis isn’t okay because that lady over there masturbated while reading it in private.”

—Dan Savage

I’m an apartment-dweller in a dense urban area. Last night I overheard my neighbors having sex—no big deal, right? I consider myself a sex-positive person, and have always held and espoused the belief that if you can’t have loud sex in your own home, where can you have it? But the sex I overheard last night was fairly kinky.

Someone I read as a cis man was dominating

“But if the sex a couple enjoys could easily be misinterpreted as abuse or violence by someone who accidentally overhears it, that couple might wanna close the window and turn up some music themselves— not only to avoid alarming the neighbors, but to spare themselves the hassle of explaining their kinks to a cop.” someone I read as a cis woman. They were in the apartment right across from mine—about 20 feet away—and my bedroom window faces theirs. There was a LOT of derogatory talk, hitting, name-calling, giving orders, and some crying. I could tell it was consensual—she was very clearly having a good time—and I eavesdropped long enough to witness the post-coital return to equilibrium. Everything seemed great.

But physically I experienced this as overheard

violence. I was shaking and had a hard time getting to sleep afterwards. I’m glad I stuck around until the end. It helped me feel better. I guess what I’m saying is that I needed some aftercare. I’m still thinking about it this morning, and I’m concerned that being triggered by my neighbor’s sex is going to become a regular part of my life. I’m wondering about the ethics of the situation: Do kinky folks have an obligation to muffle potentially triggering sounds? Or is any overheard sex potentially triggering to someone and am I therefore applying a double standard here? What do you think?

—The Vanilla Neighbor

You went from overhearing kinky sex to eavesdropping on it—meaning, you went from accidentally hearing your neighbors fucking to intently listening as your neighbors fucked.

And you needed to do that. You heard something that sounded violent, but hearing more led you to guess it was consensual sex, and listening all the way to the end—all the way through the aftercare—confirmed your guess was correct. So for your own peace of mind, TVN, you needed to keep listening. But you don’t need to listen next time. If it triggers you to hear your neighbors fucking, don’t listen.

Close the window and crank up some music, or go for a walk and listen to a podcast.

That said, TVN, you raise an interesting ethical question: Are kinksters—particularly the kind of kinksters who enjoy verbal abuse and impact play—obligated to keep it down?

While I think people should be considerate of their neighbors, people are allowed to have sex in their own homes, TVN, and it’s not like vanilla sex is always quiet. But if the sex a couple enjoys could easily be misinterpreted as abuse or violence by someone who accidentally overhears it, that couple might wanna close the window and turn up some music themselves—not only to avoid alarming the neighbors, but to spare themselves the hassle of explaining their kinks to a cop.

For the record: I would tell a person who enjoys a good single-tail whipping to find a soundproof dungeon to enjoy that in (because that shit is loud), but I wouldn’t tell a person who screams her head off during PIV intercourse to find a soundproof box (even though her shit is just as loud). Instead, I would urge her to fuck at 8 p.m., when most people are awake, rather than at 2 a.m., when most people are asleep. (It can be annoying listening to someone screamfuck, but it’s even more annoying to have your sleep ruined by a screamfucker.) Is this a double standard? Perhaps. But it’s one I’m willing to endorse.

—DS 1. Is it safe to hook up again? 2. Will it be safe to hook up again soon? 3. You’ll tell us when it’s safe to hook up again, right?

—Getting Really Impatient. Need Dick.

Really.

It isn’t. 2. At some point. 3. I will.

Email your Savage Love questions to mail@savagelove.net

—DS

CLASSIFIEDS Legal DC HOUSING AUTHORITY PUBLIC HEARING AND PUBLIC COMMENT NOTICE NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING AND COMMENT PERIOD FOR THE PROPOSED 2021 MOVING TO WORK (MTW) PLAN The District of Columbia Housing Authority (DCHA) is providing notice of a Public Hearing and Comment Period to solicit comments on the agency’s proposed 2021 Moving to Work (MTW) Plan. MTW is a HUD program that allows select public housing authorities to design and implement innovative programs and policies with the intent to: 1) reduce costs and improve efficiencies; 2) encourage residents to obtain employment and become economically self-sufficient; and 3) increase housing choices for low-income families.

The Public Hearing will take place online on Tuesday, June 9, 2020 at 6 p.m.

Email MTW@dchousing. org to register.

Comments Written comments will be accepted through Tuesday, June 16, 2020. Email your comments to MTW@dchousing.org.

Alternatively, you can mail comments to: Hanna Koerner, Policy Analyst DCHA 1133 North Capitol Street NE, Suite 200 Washington, DC 20002 To request a copy of the MTW plan, please call (202) 918-1965; send an email to MTW@dchousing.org; or download from the DCHA website at www.dchousing.org/ mtw2.

Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation DCHA is committed to providing equal access to this event for all participants & residents with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation or sign language interpreter service, please contact our ADA/504/ Language Department at 202-535-2737 or ADA504@dchousing. org with your complete request. Please allow at least 3 business days to make the necessary arrangements.

If you need a foreign language translator, please contact our ADA/504/ Language Department at 202-535-2737 or email ADA504@dchousing. org. Please allow at least 5 business days to make the necessary arrangements.

Aviso Importante Este documento contiene información importante.

Si necesita ayuda en Español o si tiene alguna pregunta sobre este aviso, por favor llame DCHA al (202) 535–1000. Infórmele al representante de atención al cliente el idioma que habla para que le proporcione un intérprete sin costo para usted.

Gracias.

DC SCHOLARS PCS INTENT TO ENTER INTO SOLE SOURCE CONTRACTS – DC Scholars Public Charter School intends to enter into the following Sole Source contracts for SY20-21: ANet for Assessment System, Coaching, and Professional Development Services; Leonard & Associates for Executive Director Services; and Growth MindEd Consulting for Executive Consulting. The contracts will be awarded at close of business on June 11, 2020. If you have questions or concerns regarding this notice, contact Emily Stone at estone@dcscholars.org no later than 5:00 pm on June 2, 2020.

D.C. BILINGUAL PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL NOTICE: FOR REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL D.C. Bilingual Public Charter School in accordance with section 2204(c) of the District of Columbia School Reform Act of 1995 solicits proposals for vendors to provide the following services for SY20.21: * Physical Therapy Services * Board Certified Behavioral Analysis Services * School and Clinical Psychological Services * Speech Pathologist Services * Occupational Therapist Services Proposal Submission A Portable Document Format (pdf ) election version of your proposal must be received by the school no later than 4:00 p.m. EST on Friday, June 5, 2020.

Full RFP request and Proposals should be emailed to bids@dcbilingual.org No phone call submission or late responses please.

Interviews, samples, demonstrations will be scheduled at our request after the review of the proposals only.

PURSUANT TO THE SCHOOL REFORM ACT, D.C. 38-1802 (SRA) and the DC Public Charter School procurement policy, CMIPCS hereby submits this notice of intent to award a sole source contract to Ed Ops. For more information, contact heather.hesslink@creativemindspcs.

org by 12:00 pm June 5, 2020.

than 4:00 pm Tuesday, June 2, 2020.

IDEA INTEGRATED DESIGN AND ELECTRONIC ACADEMY PCS

THE SOJOURNER TRUTH PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL requests proposals for the following: * Finance & Accounting services during the school’s first operational year Full RFP document available by request. Proposals should be emailed as PDF documents no later than 5pm on Friday, May 29th, 2020. Contact: info@thetruthschool.org

NOTICE: FOR PROPOSALS FOR MULTIPLE SERVICES IDEA Integrated Design and Electronic Academy PCS solicits proposals for the following services: * Building Maintenance * Branding, Marketing, Communication Services * Accounting and Finance * Contracted Instruction * Special Education Services * Teacher Residents * Human Resource Consulting * Staffing Full RFP available by request. Proposals shall be emailed as PDF documents no later than 5:00 PM on 6/3/2020. Contact: bids@ideapcs.org GIRLS GLOBAL ACADEMY seeks proposals for services related to 1. Furniture and Fixtures, 2. Information Technology Services and Hardward 3. Minor Renovation and Maintenance Services, 4. Financial and Data Services for the the 20-21 SY. Contact Jason at jason@girlsglobalacademy.org for more informaiton.

NOTICE OF REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS CREATIVE MINDS INTERNATIONAL PCS seeks providers of SPED Evaluation and Support Services. Full RFP available at creativemindspcs.org/requests-for-proposals or via email. Bids due to heather.hesslink@ creativemindspcs.org by 12:00 pm on June 4, 2020.

WASHINGTON GLOBAL PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL NOTICE OF INTENT TO ENTER A SOLE SOURCE CONTRACT Student Assessment Services Washington Global Public Charter School intends to enter into a sole source contract with The Achievement Network for student assessment services to help identify and close gaps in student learning for the upcoming school year 2020-2021. * Washington Global Public Charter School constitutes the sole source for The Achievement Network for student assessment services that will lead to student achievement. * For further information regarding this notice, contact bids@washingtonglobal.org no later

SHINING STARS MONTESSORI ACADEMY PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL NOTICE: FOR PROPOSALS FOR MULTIPLE SERVICES Shining Stars Montessori Academy Public Charter School solicits proposals for the following services: * Legal Services * Academic Support Services * Administrative Support Services * School Apparel * Related Provider Services Support * Communication Services * Building Management Services * Classroom Materials & Furniture * Operations Support Services * Student Transportation Services * Human Resources/Talent Development Services * Building Maintenance * Contracted Instruction * Special Education Services Copier Rental & Services Full RFP available by request. Proposals shall be emailed as PDF documents no later than 5:00 PM on 6/3/2020.

Contact: procurement@ shiningstarspcs.org.

WASHINGTON GLOBAL PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL NOTICE: REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS Washington Global Public Charter School in accordance with section 2204(c) of the District of Columbia School Reform Act of 1995 solicits proposals for the following services SY20.21: * Math Coaching and Consulting Services Proposal Submission A Portable Document Format (pdf ) election version of your proposal must be received by the school no later than 4:00 p.m. EST on Tuesday, June 2, 2020 unless otherwise stated in associated RFP’s. Proposals should be emailed to bids@washingtonglobal.org.

No phone call submission or late responses please.

Interviews, samples, demonstrations will be scheduled at our request after the review of the proposals only.

Interested parties and vendors will state their credentials and qualifications and provideappropriate licenses, references, insurances, certifications, proposed costs, and work plan.

Please include any pertinent disclosures that may be present D.C. BILINGUAL PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL NOTICE: FOR REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL D.C. Bilingual Public Charter School in accordance with section 2204(c) of the District of Columbia School Reform Act of 1995 solicits proposals for vendors to provide the following services for SY20.21: * Security Services Proposal Submission A Portable Document Format (pdf ) election version of your proposal must be received by the school no later than 4:00 p.m. EST on Friday, June 5, 2020.

Proposals and full RFP request should be emailed to bids@dcbilingual.org No phone call submission or late responses please.

Interviews, samples, demonstrations will be scheduled at our request after the review of the proposals only.

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washingtoncitypaper.com may 22, 2020 23

NEWS

DO I HAVE TO WEAR A MASK? Guidelines about when you have to wear a mask or face covering in the District have been a little confusing.

Do I need to wear one while picking up medicine at the pharmacy? What about when I’m walking the dog or jogging in Rock Creek Park? We’ve attempted to simplify things with this handy chart.

By Amanda Michelle Gomez Illustrations by Julia Terbrock

How are you traveling today?

On foot

By rideshare

Using public transportation

In your own car, alone or with immediate family

Wear a mask if you can’t stay 6 feet apart from another person.

No mask required. But do think of the planet and limit your emissions.

Where are you going?

Going to an essential business (grocery stores, liquor stores, banks, gas stations, or pharmacies)

Picking something up from a nonessential business (restaurants, other retailers, or offices)

Their workers are risking their lives, so don’t risk theirs. Wear a mask once you are inside.

Going to work at an essential business

Going to work at your nonessential business that’s closed (just to see how it’s doing )

Thank you for your service. Wear a mask while you are working. Your employer should supply them, but if they can’t or don’t, DIY masks work.

District government workers have their own rules in their offices.

Wear a mask once you are inside if you can’t be 6 feet apart from another person.

What are you doing?

Exercising outdoors

Can you practice social distancing and stay 6 feet away from another person?

Yes, because I live in one of the few pockets of D.C. where there’s actually space.

No, because the sidewalks are packed with people who have the same idea.

It must be nice. Wearing a mask isn’t required, but it doesn’t hurt.

C’mon, just wear a mask.

Receiving essential services (doctor’s appointments or child care)

Walking the dog

Going to a friend’s house?

Are you under the age of 9?

Wear a mask if you can’t avoid crowds.

Don’t do that.

You don’t have to wear a mask, young ones.