The Washington Informer - December 8, 2022

Katie Ledecky Conducts STEM Presentation at Eliot-Hine Middle School

Sam P.K. Collins WI Staff Writer

By the time she entered middle school, Olympic swimmer Katie Ledecky came to fully understand and appreciate how science and math helped her measure her progress and eventu ally become one of the best in her sport.

Years later, Ledecky conveys messages about the importance of STEM [science, technology, engineering and mathematics] through STEM Forward, an education program she partici pates in as a Team Panasonic athlete.

This year, more than 400,000 young people in schools across the country have utilized resources from Ledecky’s STEM Vir tual Field Trip.

Ledecky recently took her advocacy to the next level when

Prince George’s Council Officially Swears in Members, Alsobrooks Starts Second Term

Richard D. Elliott WI Contributing Reporter

As Prince George’s County Exec utive Angela Alsobrooks took oath of office for a second term, four new members of the Prince George’s County Council were sworn in to begin their terms of service at Up per Marlboro’s Show Place Arena on Monday, Dec. 5. These new members– Wala Blegay (D-District 6), Krystal Oriadha (D-District 7), Wanika Fisher (D-District 2) and Ingrid Harrison (D-District 4)– will change the face and priorities of the Council.

“This last election was a call for a

government that acts and a diverse council,” said Council Chair Calvin Hawkins (D-At-Large), after intro ducing the new cohort of Coun cilmembers.

Hawkins has openly acknowl edged that during the primary elec tion, he heard concerns from many county residents regarding govern ment transparency and accountabil ity.

Blegay and Oriadha bring a new kind of diversity– both are children of African immigrants, the firsts to serve on the Council.

Having served as an At-Large

Raphael Warnock Wards off Herschel Walker in Georgia Senate Runoff

Stacy M. Brown WI Senior Writer

For the second time in two years, voters in Georgia have delivered a Senate runoff victory for Democrats.

Incumbent Raphael Warnock, who won a runoff in January 2021 against Republican Kelly Loeffler, defeat ed Herschel Walker in a close contest that saw both candidates earn nearly 2 mil lion votes.

Warnock’s vic tory underscored

Celebrating 58 years. Your credible and trusted source for Black news and information.

5 Students from Eliot Hine Middle School, (l-r) Sebastian Rodriguez Garzon, Maiya Stover, and Xavier Lemus Reyes interview seven-time Olympic winning medal swimmer Katie Ledecky during an interactive STEM assembly on Dec. 5. (Marckell Williams/The Washington Informer)

5 County Executive Alsobrooks, center, being sworn in by Judge Tillerson-Adams, left, at the Show Place Arena in Upper Marlboro. (Anthony Tilghman/The Washington Informer)

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PUBLISHER

Denise Rolark Barnes

STAFF

Micha Green, Managing Editor

Ron Burke, Advertising/Marketing Director

Shevry Lassiter, Photo Editor

Lafayette Barnes, IV, Editor, WI Bridge DC

Jamila Bey, Digital Content Editor

Austin Cooper, Our House Editor

Desmond Barnes, Social Media Stategist

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Mable Neville, Bookkeeper

Angie Johnson, Office Mgr./Circulation

REPORTERS

Kayla Benjamin, (Environmental Justice Reporter) Stacy Brown (Senior Writer), Sam P.K. Collins, Curtis Knowles, Brenda Siler, Lindiwe Vilakazi, Sarafina Wright, James Wright

PHOTOGRAPHERS

Shevry Lassiter, Photo Editor, Roy Lewis, Jr., Robert R. Roberts, Anthony Tilghman, Abdula Konte, Ja'Mon Jackson

HU Women Deans Make History

Nine women featured on the cover of Howard Magazine’s Fall 2022 edition represent a rising number of women deans at Howard University. The issue titled: The Wom en Deans: How they’re changing the University – and the path for students, includes articles that explore how Black women are changing the career game, mental health care for Black women, and minority women in physics. HU President Dr. Wayne A.I. Frederick, who announced his retirement earlier this year, committed to increasing the number of women deans from one when he arrived in 2014 to 10 today. (It is noted that Dean Andrea Hayes Dixon was named dean of the College of Medicine after the cover photo was taken.)

Throughout the year, Frederick has referred to his replacement, who has yet to be an nounced, using the pronoun her or she, indicating his plan to name Howard’s first woman president, following Dr. Joyce Ladner who served as interim president in 1994. The featured Deans include Sandra Edmonds Crewe, School of Social Work; Gracie Lawson-Borders, School of Communications; Danielle Holley, School of Law; Phylicia Rashad, College of Fine Arts; Andrea Jackson, College of Dentistry; Andrea Hayes Dixon, College of Medicine; Yolanda Pierce, School of Divinity; Gina Spivey-Brown, College of Nursing and Allied Health Services; Dawn Williams, School of Education and Dana Williams, Graduate School.

According to Zippia, women represent 58.2% of university deans, however, they continue to earn an average of $91,364 or $.92 for every dollar earned by men at $99,540. Whites represent 68.4% of university deans, with Hispanics at 14.0% while Blacks represent 10.4%.

In a letter written by Howard Magazine Editor Rin-rin Yu, she wrote, “It’s important for more than just Howard to see it – the world has to see it, too.” WI

Comes to Area Theatres

Loudmouth, the documentary on the life and battles of Rev. Al Sharpton, will be screened in area theatres nearly on December 9. “This is the first time a civil rights leader has lived to see their story told on the big screen,” said Rev. Al Sharpton, Founder and President of the Na tional Action Network (NAN). “I encourage all young loudmouths who want to change their community to go see this film.” The documentary spans more than 40 years of Rev. Sharpton’s journey to becoming one of the most recognizable civil rights leaders of today. From his early activism to his modern-day legacy, the documen tary tells the story of his fight against systemic injustice, racism, and white supremacy in the United States. It fea tures in-depth interviews with Rev. Sharpton and nev er-before-seen footage. The documentary premiered and sold out as the closing film at the Tribeca Film Festival in June. Check local listings for a theatre near you. WI

Holiday Toys for Children

Chuck Hicks, also known ast “Mr. Black History” hosted the annual Bread for the Souls Christmas Toys and Book Drive in Northwest, Saturday, Dec. 4. Friends and supporters delivered toys, books and do nations to support the holiday event that provides for children with AIDS and children living in families with AIDS in D.C. “Just to see all the joy and gleem in children’s eyes when they receive new toys,” Hicks said. “We are so grateful that we are able to do this every year thanks to the people from the community that volunteer to make this a success.” Hicks and the volunteers will be out de livering toys on Saturday, Dec. 17. To support Bread for the Souls Christmas Toy and Book Drive, visit https:// breadforthesoul.org/. WI

Commanders B.E.N “Shop Black” Supports Local Businesses

The Commanders are not only doing better on the field, but the orga nization is also scoring points among Black business owners in the DMV. Black-owned businesses curated by the Commanders were located near the Bud Light Party Pavilion at Fedex Field where they displayed and sold products in the “Shop Black” Holiday Market. The market will return again this year during the Commanders’ next home game against the New York Giants on Sun., December 18. Locally produced Heart of the City Candles will be among the businesses selected. In a press release, Com manders’ officials said this effort is a part of a bigger picture, of continuous ly moving the needle towards racial justice and equity, which the franchise says has been a priority in recent years. The Black Engagement Network (B.E.N.) "Shop Black” seeks to provide continuous support, awareness, promotion and resources. WI

In Memoriam Dr. Calvin W. Rolark, Sr. Wilhelmina J. Rolark

‘Loudmouth’

AROUND THE REGION

Sam P.K. Collins WI Staff Writer

In the aftermath of a D.C. Au ditor’s report that highlights the Department of General Services (DGS)’ mismanagement of work orders, D.C. Councilmember Rob ert White (D-At large) vehemently criticized the agency and revealed plans to host another D.C. Coun cil public roundtable about DGS operations.

White, chair of the council committee that oversees DGS, has also called on D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) to shape a FY-2024 budget proposal that incorpo rates suggestions from the Office of the D.C. Auditor (ODCA) to strengthen DGS’ coordination of preventative maintenance.

On Nov. 28, ODCA released a report showing how DGS fell short in using a computerized system designed to manage work orders across the District. The report also said, without proper preventative maintenance measures, the warran ty on newly installed equipment in numerous District facilities could expire.

According to the report, DGS failed to provide documentation and maintain transparency with those who requested repairs at nu merous facilities. In 17 out of 25 sampled works orders, contractors failed to provide an estimated com pletion date. Work orders often went unaddressed well beyond the mandatory 10-day period.

Common repair tickets involved malfunctioning doors and locks, electrical issues, and HVAC ser vices.

In many instances, contractors either didn’t include photographs or uploaded stock photos from the internet in place of images from the D.C. site.

District public school buildings accounted for more than 40% of more than 48,000 work orders doc umented during the timeframe ex amined by ODCA. The report also said eight school buildings counted among 20 facilities with the highest number of work orders.

In April, the D.C. Council re quested that ODCA analyze the processes that DGS uses to address the maintenance needs of District public schools. The subsequent re lease of this report comes weeks af ter teachers and community mem bers hosted a “Day of Action” that highlighted maintenance issues at several District public schools.

Parents at Whittier Elementary School in Northwest and Langley Education Campus in Northeast, among other schools, spoke about broken HVAC systems, leaky toi lets and broken door handles that DGS had failed to address upon request.

Their complaints mirrored that of others made by teachers and parents in other parts of the Dis trict. Over the last few months, White facilitated the creation of the first-ever public-facing online dashboard that provided transpar ency about repair times. He also noted that, through his oversight of the D.C. Council Committee on Government Operations and Facilities, DGS was able to prepare for students’ return to school earlier this year.

Even so, District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) Chancel lor Lewis Ferebee and D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) reported that DGS still had dozens of work orders to fulfill on the first day of school. This past summer, recreation cen ters, including Emery Heights Rec reation Center, faced similar issues with delays in repairs to its HVAC system during the summer.

That’s why, as all eyes fall on DGS once again, White continues to demand a culture change within the agency.

“We need to see significant im provement in communication be tween DGS and client agencies like DCPS about ongoing facilities is sues, and we need DGS to act with urgency on repairs—particularly work orders tied to staff and stu dent health and safety,” White said.

“I am particularly concerned by the Auditor’s finding that repair workers frequently use stock images from the internet rather than actual

“In addition, although DGS has improved its use of warranty rights to cover major shortcomings, the Auditor’s observation of lack of compliance with manufacturers’ warranties is a sobering reminder that potentially millions of the Dis trict’s dollars are on the line.”

WI @SamPKCollins

5 Disappointed with a D.C. Auditor’s report that highlights mismanagement in DGS, D.C. Councilmember Robert White (D-At large) called on Mayor Muriel Bowser to incorporate suggestions in the FY-2024 addressing DGS challenges. (WI File Photo)

AROUND THE REGION

DEC. 8

1868 – Henry Hugh Proctor, a minister, author and lecturer who formed the basis for the Atlanta Music Fes tival, is born outside Fayetteville, Tenn. 1925 – Famed singer and entertainer Sammy Davis Jr. is born in New York City.

DEC.

9

1872 – Pinckney Benton Stewart Pinchhack becomes the governor of Louisiana, the first African American to serve as governor of a U. S. state. 1922 – Comic legend is. 1972 – Ralph Bunche to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, dies in New York City at 68.

DEC. 10

1963 – The East African territory of Zanzi bar gains its independence from the Unit ed Kingdom.

1964 – Civil rights icon King Jr. receives the Nobel Peace Prize.

1967 – Soul singer ding dies in a plane crash near Madison, Wisconsin, along with four members of the Bar-Kays. Red ding was 26. 2005 – Seminal co

DEC 8 - 14, 2022

SOURCE: BLACK AMERICA WEB

Richard Pryor dies in Los Angeles at 65 after a longtime battle with multiple sclerosis.

R&B singer/songwriter Big Mama Thornton of "Hound Dog" fame is born in Ariton, Alabama. Jazz pianist McCoy Tyner is born in Phil

Soul singer Sam Cooke is fatally shot by a motel manager in Los Angeles. He was 33.

1899 – George Grant patents an improved golf tee. Grammy-winning singer Dionne Warwick is born in East Orange, New Jersey.

East African country Kenya gains its indepen dence from the United Kingdom.

1975 – The National Association of Black Journal is founded in Washington, D.C.

1995 – Willie Brown wins a runoff election to be come the first Black mayor of San Francisco.

Archie Moore, the longest-reigning world light heavyweight champion of all time, is born in Benoit, Mississippi.

1967 – Academy Award-winning actor and comedian Jamie Foxx is born in Terrell, Texas.

DEC. 14

1945 – Writer and music critic Stanley Crouch is born in Los Angeles.

1963 – Jazz singer Dinah Washington dies in De troit at 39 of an accidental overdose on sleeping pills. WI

JAMIE FOXX

DIONNE WARWICK

SAMMY DAVIS JR.

AROUND THE REGION

view

BY SARAFINA WRIGHT

AARON EDWARDS /

SAN DIEGO CALIFORNIA

Great move. All about progressing. Best of luck, Prime!

ALONZA HILL / CONYERS, GEORGIA

My issue is when Sanders took the JS job, it was Black this Black that, and again we, as Black people supported because of the Black card. But as soon as an opportunity hits, transparency is out the window, and Black out the door. Now it’s a family decision. Stop using the Black card for personal gain. When Sanders took the JS job, he should have just been the coach and helped his team become successful, not run around talking about [he’s] SWAC, because in the blink of an eye, he turned his back.

OLIVIA SLOAN / PALM HARBOR, FLORIDA

I’m sad that he’s leaving, but I understand it. I’m happy for him and grateful for what he accomplished. When you can leave something better than how you found it, you’ve truly accomplished something great.

JENNIFER BANKS / CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA

TONYA GETTIS / WASHINGTON, D.C.

All money ain’t good money. I believe he made a terrible choice. … Colorado will show him. He was respected and gained notoriety at Jackson, and just like that, he sold out to Colorado. He could’ve left himself a great legacy, but now it’s tarnished. But his choice. Still, I wish him the best.

I’m happy for him — nothing wrong with a better oppor tunity!

Deion Sanders is leaving Jackson State University after two seasons as the HBCU’s head football coach to take the same post at the predominately white University of Colorado — a move that has drawn backlash from critics. What are your thoughts?

The ‘Week of Healing’ Mixes Yoga, Conversation and D.C. Culture

Sam P.K. Collins WI Staff Writer

As District residents continue to reel from the trauma of poverty and violence, dozens of local orga nizations have joined forces to host events this week that promote uni ty, clarity and thought and various healing modalities.

The “Week of Healing” kicked off with a Sunday brunch at Da Culture DC, an event space on Minnesota Avenue in Southeast. That’s where several people nibbled on popular brunch delights while discussing how to foster healthy, tight-knit nuclear families.

Other events from Dec. 5 to 10 have been tailored to meet the needs of young people, commu nity members and policy makers. For instance, community members practiced meditation and art thera py on Monday during an event at The Alliance of Concerned Men that focused on domestic and sex ual violence.

Charnal Chaney, a yoga prac titioner, who founded Bold Yoga and organized the “Week of Heal ing,” said those who atttend the various events have a safe space to participate in on-site yoga and meditation sessions while reflecting on their experiences with domestic violence, sexual assault, gun vio lence, homelessness, addiction and other societal ills.

Chaney said these solution-ori ented conversations have proven es pecially beneficial for young people unsure about how to live in their community without fear.

“The youth said they want safer communities,” Chaney said..

“Young people want to be able to come outside and not hear gun shots or worry about losing one of their friends,” she continued.

“They want to be heard by their parents [so] they can vent without judgment. Even though this is for the youth, it’s for the community at large. We’ve passed down this trau ma. It doesn’t start with the youth, but the adults.”

“Week of Healing” started last year as a “Day of Healing” hosted by Bold Yoga, Guns Down Friday and T.R.I.G.G.E.R. Project.

As people gear up for what will be a bittersweet holiday season for those who’ve lost loved ones, more than 30 organizations have coor dinated events for the “Week of Healing.” Sponsors include Harri et’s Wildest Dreams, The Creative School, The Sober Living Project, The Rainbow Wellness and activ ist-author Tony Lewis, Jr.

Chaney and others said the “Week of Healing” had been in spired by the individual work of participating groups, as well as events that other organizers have hosted in the past. For instance, the “Week of Healing” will wrap up on December 10 with “Heal Moe Chella,” where community mem bers get to practice yoga, sound

5 QueenAfi, founder of Domestic Violence Wears Many Tags, speaks to youths as part of the “Week of Healing” in Southeast on Dec. 5. (Anthony Tilghman/The Washington Informer)

AROUND THE REGION

Homeland Security Extends REAL ID Enforcement Deadline for Two more Years

Stacy M. Brown WI Senior Writer

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced on Monday, Dec. 5, it would extend for two years the REAL ID full enforce ment, from May 3, 2023, to May 7, 2025.

Officials deemed it important to allow states additional time to ensure residents have driver’s licenses and identification cards that meet the security standards established by the REAL ID Act.

5 The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) an nounced it would extend the REAL ID enforcement from May 3, 2023 to May 7, 2025. (Courtesy Photo)

the backlogs created by the pandem ic,” DHS officials wrote in the news release.

As required by the law, following the enforcement deadline, federal agencies, including the Transpor tation Security Administration (TSA), will be prohibited from ac cepting driver’s licenses and identifi cation cards that do not meet these federal standards.

“DHS continues to work closely with U.S. states, the District of Co lumbia, and the U.S. territories to meet REAL ID requirements,” Sec retary of Homeland Security Ale jandro N. Mayorkas, said in a news release.

“This extension will give states needed time to ensure their resi dents can obtain a REAL ID-com pliant license or identification card,” Mayorkas, 63, continued.

“DHS will also use this time to implement innovations to make the process more efficient and ac cessible. We will continue to ensure that the American public can travel safely.”

According to DHS, the extension is necessary, in part, to address the lingering impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the ability to obtain a REAL ID driver’s license or identi fication card.

REAL ID progress over the past two years has been “significantly hindered by state driver’s licensing agencies having to work through

Many of these agencies took various steps in response to the pandemic including automatically extending the expiration dates of driver’s licenses and identification cards and shifting operations to ap pointment only.

As of November, the District of Columbia reportedly had the high est rate of those already in compli ance, with more than 600,000 peo ple REAL ID compliant.

Maryland currently enjoys an 88% compliance rate, while Virgin ia is relatively stagnant at 43%.

Passed by Congress in 2005 fol lowing a 9/11 Commission recom mendation, the REAL ID Act estab lishes minimum security standards for state-issued driver’s licenses and identification cards.

Security standards include incor porating anti-counterfeiting tech nology, preventing insider fraud, and using documentary evidence and record checks to ensure a person is who they claim to be.

Under the new regulations, be ginning May 7, 2025, every traveler 18 years of age or older will need a REAL ID-compliant driver’s license or identification card, state-issued enhanced driver’s license, or another TSA-acceptable form of identifica tion at airport security checkpoints for domestic air travel.

Officials noted in the release

that, since enactment of the REAL ID Act in 2005, advancements in technology have enabled TSA to make significant improvements in checkpoint screening, particularly in the areas of identity manage ment, on-person screening, acces

sible property screening and alarm resolution.

Through the deployment of tech nologies such as Advanced Imaging Technology (AIT), Advanced Tech nology (AT) X-ray, then Computed Tomography (CT), Bottled Liquids

Scanners (BLS), and Credential Authentication Technology (CAT), as well as deployment of Passenger Screening Canines (PSC) and the rollout of TSA PreCheck, TSA has continually advanced its security ca REAL ID Page 44

CAPTURE THE MOMENT

Who’s Reading the Informer?

Minister Joyce Frazier, First Major Ouida W. Harding, and Minister Sharon Hon or read the Washington Informer. (Roy Lewis/The Washington Informer)

WORDS TO LIVE BY – John Lewis

“I believe in freedom of speech, but I also believe that we have an obligation to condemn speech that is racist, bigoted, anti-Semitic, or hateful.”

The Silver Spring Alumnae Chapter of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority held a fundraising campaign to benefit the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation at the Silver Spring Civic Center in downtown Silver Spring on Dec. 3. (L-R) Dr. Chery Simmons Gray - Northern Region Philo Coordinator SGR Inc., Robeena Walker - Photo Advisor, Rita Brown Smith - First anti-Basileus, Dr. Aisha Ocala – Epistoleus, and Crystal Hawkins - Grammateus. (Robert R. Roberts/The Washington Informer)

GOODProjects, Ari Lennox, Long Live GoGo Team Up for ‘Party with a Purpose’

Micha Green Managing Editor

When GOODProjects, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in Southwest, D.C., decided to partner with singer Ari Lennox and Long Live GoGo for the GOOD Holiday Ball, the goal was to host the biggest toy drive Washington, D.C. has ever seen.

“We [originally] had a not auda cious enough goal to provide 350 families with toys this holiday season, and we hit that goal on day one,” said Darius Baxter, president, CEO and co-founder of GOODProjects.

The nonprofit is a dream between friends– realized and founded in 2016.

Held at The Park at 14th in North west, D.C. on Dec. 1, the GOOD Holiday Ball was a “party with a pur pose.”.

While tickets lasted, there was free admission with a toy. For $25 and a donated toy, guests were granted entry. There were also $40 tickets available if people didn’t have time to stop to get a donation before heading to the extrav aganza.

The morning of the event, Baxter said there were already 400 registered guests excited to bring presents and celebrate holiday cheer. But he said the party was about more than toys.

“[It’s] to remind people that the work isn’t finished,” he said “Imagine a world if even only 10% of those [400] people dedicated themselves on a weekly basis, biweekly basis, month ly basis, to come connect with a kid, to mentor, to come read with some body, to go sit with somebody’s grand mother, to come pick up trash, there’s no telling what we’d be able to do in this city.”

Recently named Washingtonian Magazine's “Top 20 Charities Where Your Donation Will Make an Impact,” GOODProjects seeks to help 500 families living in Southwest’s public housing community to realize what the organization calls “self-sufficiency,” by the year 2030. In order to achieve that, they do family success planning.

“All of the clients…receive one on one support that then helps them navi gate through, what is called their ‘fami ly success plan,’ which is, quite literally, a checklist that they develop with their coach to get to their version of the American Dream,” Baxter explained.

From their Daily Feeding Program,

to after school programming, summer camps and housing and workforce development support, Baxter said GOODProjects is the “one stop shop.. for what it takes to lift the community out of poverty.”

The toy drive is yet another exten sion of GOODProjects’ mission to help make “doing good cool,” and Baxter is excited to be collaborating with DMV native Ari Lennox and Long Live GoGo to further that mes saging.

When people reach out to collabo rate with GOODProjects, Baxter said he emphasizes that volunteering “isn’t just a one-off.”

“It rubs people the wrong way, but for some people, it inspires them,” he said, before adding Ari Lennox has been volunteering with GOODProj ects for quite some time. The GOOD Projects CEO said the star lends more than just her name and money– she offers her time.

“She’s been in the community with us several times and… was sending me a picture of her on her own going shopping for toys. So she speaks to this all hands on deck approach to ensure that these families are really being gift ed more than toys, but gifted hope this holiday season,” Baxter said.

In addition to getting more people to do good, partnering with Long Live GoGo also emphasizes the importance of working together in the District.

Baxter said Long Live GoGo found er Justin “Yaddiya” Johnson once told him, “‘We’re in a movement right now… and it takes guys like us linking

up together to really show the rest of the city what it could look like for us to ultimately reach the goals for young people and families in the city.’”

Long Live GoGo brought the Moechella movement to life, with thousands attending gogo activations around the District and other parts of the United States. The organization also holds rallies, parties, panels, edu cational events, donation drives and more.

“Working with GOODProjects and Ari Lennox continues to allow us to find creative and unique ways to intertwine the culture with giving back,” said Johnson. “It was important for Long Live GoGo to work with the GOODProjects because they’ve been able to directly touch kids on a daily basis, and although we’ve mobilized the masses, we want to begin to direct ly educate and mentor kids on a daily basis in 2023.”

The CEO also said teaming up sends a message that local organiza tions don’t have to be competitive with one another.

“It’s a demonstration [that] we don’t need to be crabs in a barrel,” the GOODProjects president said.

Baxter said he hopes partygoers understand the larger message– help others.

“It takes all of us. Just bringing a toy for one night doesn’t solve all of the problems that this city has. A lot of people are suffering, a lot of people are hopeless, but we all have the oppor tunity in small ways and big ways to make a difference.” WI

PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY

SWEARING IN from Page 1

Councilmember in Bowie, Harrison will now represent District 4 on the Prince George’s County Council. A Maryland State Delegate repre senting District 47B and the Prince George’s County House Delegation Democratic Caucus Chair, Fisher said she is “so excited to get to work for District 2.”

Olson, a former Delegate, has returned to the seat following two terms of Councilmember Danielle Glaros.

Blegay, Olson, and Oriadha were supported by organizations such as unions and Progressive Maryland, while Fisher was supported by Coun ty Executive Alsobrooks and Harri son was primarily supported by the 23rd District Slate.

Before the swearing-in ceremony began, advocate Rochelle Harrod spoke about the Prince George’s Commision for Individuals with Disabilities, founded in 1986, which provided interpreters and accessibility services for those in attendance.

Dr. Charlene Mickens Dukes, the President Emerita of Prince George’s Community College and a mem ber of Wes Moore’s transition team, served as Mistress of Ceremony. When she began the procession, the DCFD Pipes and Drums played bag pipes and drums that continued as the Councilmembers took the stage with their loved ones.

The ceremony began with the entrance of County Executive Al sobrooks and her daughter. After acknowledging and honoring the numerous elected officials who were present and the outgoing Coun cilmembers, Clerk of Court Mahasin El Amin administered the oath of office to the incoming and returning Councilmembers.

Council Chair Calvin Hawkins gave remarks, which he opened by acknowledging the presence of for mer County Executive Rushern Bak er. He took a moment of silence for the recent passing of Delegate Tawa nna Gaines and Sheriff Melvin High and thanked Lieutenant Governor Boyd Rutherford, who was in atten

dance, for providing counsel during times of turbulence.

The Council Chair also talked about his recent trip to South Africa with members of Alsobrooks’ cab inet. Hawkins sat on a bench that South African leader Nelson Man dela once sat on and contemplated the potential and future of Prince George’s County. To build that fu ture he envisioned, Hawkins request ed that the FBI headquarters come to Prince George’s and for additional funding to improve local education.

His remarks ended by asking the audience to grant grace, tough love and unwavering support to their loved ones in trying times.

After Hawkins’ remarks, Dukes in troduced Alsobrooks as “the first, but not the last” woman elected as Coun ty Executive and a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta before Judge Shei la Tillerson Adams administered the oath of office for County Executive Alsobrooks.

Alsobrooks thanked God, her par ents, her sister, and in particular her daughter for her resilience and intel ligence amid the pandemic. “You are truly the best team this side of Heav en”, she said about her colleagues on the County Council. “These past four years I’ve seen Prince George’s County rise to handle so much adver sity and the power we share together is our pride.”

Alsobrooks used the Capitol Heights’ Van Horn house as a symbol

of the long history of Prince George’s County, from a red plantation house on the hill to a stop on the Under ground Railroad and hotel for Black Americans who were denied lodging.

The event information provided to all attendees included a booklet of Alsobrooks’ administration’s accom plishments. A variety of first-term accomplishments include: $400,000 in Blue Line investments and new school construction, were shared during her speech. The former State’s Attorney deeply discussed her plans on criminal justice and her desire to address mental health by means other than incarceration. She promised the audience that she wouldn’t forget the rare opportunity to lead this proud county and her speech ended with a standing ovation from many in Show Place Arena.

Greg Amobi, a staffer with the County Executive, said that the his toric swearing-in was “amazing”.

“County Executive Alsobrooks is an amazing woman and has done a lot for the community and with the team she has, it seems they will be able to do a lot more.”, he said. “I’m excit ed to see her on this journey.” While he does have strong regards for the County Executive, he does want to see the County government do more to amplify the voices of African com munities.

Among those in attendance during the swearing in were Delegates Dar ryl Barnes (D-District 25), Nick

Charles (D-District 25), Jazz Lewis (D-District 24) and Nicole Williams (D-District 22), Maryland Dem ocratic Party Chair Yvette Lewis, U.S. Congressman Steny Hoyer (D-Maryland) and Mayors from sev eral towns. Maryland State Sen. Ron Watson (D) attended as the special guest of his fiancée, Councilember Ingrid Harrison, and Congress man-Elect Glenn Ivey (D-Mary land) was the special guest for Coun cilmember Jolene Ivey.

Tom Dernoga (D- District 1) was elected as Council Chair and Wala Blegay as Vice Chair at the Gavel Ex change on Tuesday. Dernoga is the longest-serving active Councilmem ber and previously served as Chair of the County Council during his first stint on the Council. The Laurel Democrat was first elected in 2002, served 2 terms, and returned to the Council in 2018. Dernoga, Ivey and former Councilmember Monique Anderson-Walker frequently voted as a bloc, particularly on development issues. With the new Council major ity, Dernoga will be able to reform several processes.

This new Council does not have any Latino representation for the first time in 16 years. Outgoing Councilwoman Deni Taveras, the newly-elected District 47 Delegate, said “I feel sad that my community doesn’t have the representation that it deserves.”

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5 Prince George’s County Council-Member Krystal Oriadha (center), is sworn in on Dec. 5 during a ceremony at Show Place Arena in Upper Marlboro with her family on stage. (Anthony Tilghman/The Washington Informer)

5 Prince George’s County Council-Member Edward Burroughs III (center), surrounded by family and friends is sworn in on Dec. 5 during a ceremony at Show Place Arena in Upper Marlboro. (Anthony Tilghman/The Washington Informer)

Governor-Elect Moore Headlines Black Educators Conference

Richard Elliott WI Contributing Writer

The National Alliance of Black School Educators (NABSE), a nonprofit organization dedicated to furthering the academic success for students, particularly those of African descent, held its 50th an nual conference featuring a histo ry-making keynote speaker: Mary land’s Governor-Elect Wes Moore.

The incoming governor opened this year’s NASBE conference fol lowing an introductory speaker who shared the many accomplish ments Moore achieved even before becoming the first Black man to be elected Maryland’s governor, including: being CEO of Robin Hood and a five-time published author, and his time working with Oprah Winfrey.

Receiving a rousing welcome from the over 500 attendees who

filled the National Harbor’s Gay lord Convention Center ballroom, Moore opened by saying that he was thankful for the hard work and complexity that educators have faced, particularly during the pan demic.

“Being a counselor and repre sentative of so much more than just educating,” Moore said, alluding to the enormous additional burden in a demanding, yet pivotal ca reer. Moore’s appreciation for that kind of dedication goes back to his younger days when educators helped him to find his path in life following troubles in his early life.

He acknowledged his two-year college, Valley Forge Academy in suburban Philadelphia, as a huge foundational piece of his upbring ing, shown by wearing his com memorative ring. That doesn’t di minish his pride in being the first Black Rhodes Scholar from Johns

Hopkins University or his pride in Maryland’s four HBCUs (Morgan State, Bowie State, Coppin State and University of Maryland-East ern Shore).

Moore recited his family’s histo ry, going back to his grandfather who immigrated to the United States from Jamaica and became the first Black minister in the Dutch Reformed Church, and his grandmother, who was an educator herself. His family history and his experiences have led Moore to be lieve that “making history is not the assignment: it is the opportunity to fulfill the assignment”.

As he prepares to enter office this January, Moore said he is extreme ly excited he won with the largest margin since Donald Schaefer in 1986— giving quite a mandate for change.

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5 Governor-Elect Wes Moore giving the keynote address before the 50th Annual National Alliance of Black School Educators (NABSE) Conference. (Marckell Williams/ Washington Informer)

BUSINESS

Richard D. Elliott WI Contributing Reporter

On Nov. 23 online sports bet ting became officially legal in Maryland. State revenue from sports betting will be a critical funding piece for the upcoming Blueprint for Education, and the early frenzy of activity on these apps is likely to surpass projected annual revenue.

Now that online betting is legal, advertisements for each different app have permeated social media

and television commercials, par ticularly Twitter as many adver tisers have fled the site in recent weeks. Many of these commercials showcase the perks for signing up, such as free bets. DraftKings offers a $50 free bet and 20% deposit bonus, while BetMGM offers a $1,000 risk free bet and FanDuel offers $200 in free bets.

The existing gaming houses are DraftKings, Caesars, BetMGM, FanDuel, PointsBet and BetRiv ers. There are currently nine retail gaming locations, including the

MGM National Harbor.

Three licenses were granted to operators that were not ready for launch on the opening day of legalized gambling: Betfred, Fa natics, and BetPARX. On Dec.1, Bally’s Interactive and WynnBet were approved for mobile wager ing licenses during a meeting of

the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Commission. On Dec, 14, the Sports Wagering Applica tion Review Commission will ap prove or deny their license.

According to the sports betting website Gaming Today, up to 60 sports betting apps and 47 retail gaming locations are expected to

operate in Maryland by “full ma turity” of the new industry.

Across the seven existing mo bile sports betting apps, 477,365 unique accounts were made by us ers and over 16.5 million transac tions were placed during the first

5 Maryland officially legalized sports betting on Nov. 23. (Courtesy photo/Washington Nationals Twitter )

‘Destroy this Temple’ Re-Release Highlights International Reach of Black Power Movement

Sam P.K. Collins WI Staff Writer

At a time when any mention of Black Panther brings to mind King T’Challa, Princess Shuri and other fictional characters, the re-release of a Black Power-era book provides an opportunity to reaffirm the global reach and last ing impact of a mid-20th century Pan-African liberation movement.

In “Destroy this Temple: The Voice of Black Power in Britain,” the late Nigerian-born novel ist-playwright Obi Egbuna, Sr. ex plained the meaning of Black Pow er in the context of his experiences organizing with the Black Panther Party in the United Kingdom.

“Destroy This Temple,” reprint ed on Paul Coates’ Black Clas sic Press, also delves into the late Egbuna’s travels to the United States and what he describes as a life-changing meeting with Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad.

Egbuna released “Destroy This Temple” in the early 1970s. He wrote the book while facing trial in Brixton for an alleged plot to murder police officers. This book counted among more than a doz en non-fiction books, novels and short stories Egbuna wrote during his life.

In reflecting on “Destroy this Temple,” Obi Egbuna, Jr., a D.C.based Pan-African journalist-ed ucator-playwright and Egbuna's namesake described it as the ideal tool for reinforcing Africans’ col lective need for self-determination.

“When you go back to [the source], it becomes clear that Af rican people made nationalism beautiful and that’s a contribution to world peace that we should nev er overlook,” said Egbuna, Jr.

“Before what we did, national ism was associated with fascists, rapists, thieves and plunderers,” Egbuna, Jr. continued.

“We brought a brand of na tionalism that showed the world it is noble, brave and just good

for people to take back what be longs to them, from their names, the language to their land. That’s what Black Power represents and that’s what you’re going to get in this book.”

EXPANDING AN UNDERSTANDING OF BLACK POWER

On Friday, Dec. 2, an interna tional group of political organiz ers, artists, educators and children gathered virtually to celebrate “Destroy this Temple.”

The event served as a history lesson of sorts, with comments from Black Power pioneer Muka sa Dada and poems from Egbuna, Jr. and the children of the Thomas Sankara Centre in Burkina Faso.

Antone White and Eric Hicks, two returning citizens from the District, also received recognition for their mastery of the law to se cure their early prison release after serving nearly three decades of a life sentence.

During other heartfelt mo ments, Samia Nrkumah, daugh

Circumventing Crisis

Aimee D. Griffin, Esq.

Thanksgiving and this time of year has taken on a greater appreciation as we reflect on the past two years of living under the pandemic rule. Many of us have been denied the opportunity to gather with the people we love in order to be protected. Now, although the virus is still a reality, many of us have had enough of the separation. We have created enough strategies for safety that we feel outweigh the risk of coming together. This reality has created the realization that although the food is good, and the gifts are pretty awesome too, the greatest value is the people that we love.

We cherish the people that we choose to have in our lives. There are fami ly members in our lives that have been instrumental in our development and foundation. There are the family members that will always show up when called irrespective of the fact that it has been years since we last spoke. The bloodline may have brought you together, but the relationship has been established and reinforced to withstand the test of time or distance.

We cherish people who have no blood relationship whatsoever. The friends who stick closer than a brother/sister are valued more than words. It didn’t take DNA or marriage to create the relationship but the “ride or die” framily has been created. This time has reminded us of the value of having those people in our lives.

So, this year we hugged a bit longer and laughed a little louder, to make up for the lost time where we were not able to come together.

In these last two years we have had a great deal of sickness and death. We have lost far too many people from toddlers to seniors. I have had the unfortunate experience of knowing too many young adults who have passed away during this time. The transition of life always leaves grief in its path, but the unpreparedness of the tragedy compounds the crisis.

As we continue to navigate the COVID realities, we are still uncovering the impact of the long-term effects of the virus. The country is about to enter its fourth calendar year of the coronavirus outbreak. Researchers think most Americans have had Covid-19 at this point. Millions of Americans are experi encing what is being called “Long Covid”, also known as long-haul Covid, post-Covid or post-acute Covid syndrome. While definitions vary, long Covid is, at its core, a chronic illness with symptoms that persist for months or years after a Covid infection.

According to CNBC, Long Covid demonstrates that the virus is taking a lingering, pervasive, and perhaps even more insidious toll. Medical experts have called it “the next public health disaster in the making”.

While COVID is a real threat to our normalcy. We face tragedies in our lives regularly. The lack of preparation is what enhances the crisis. The reason we have a spare tire is to prevent the tragedy from becoming a crisis. The reason we have health and life insurance is to prevent the tragedy from becom ing the crisis. The reason we have the emergency savings account is to prevent tragedy from becom ing crisis. The reason we have a comprehensive estate plan to mitigate the tragedies we are promised to encounter from becoming a crisis that could be avoided.

The Life and Legacy Counselors of the Griffin Firm would be glad to walk with you to planning for the complexities of life. Allow us to serve you to build the legacy that will empower and strengthen your family. We know that strong families build strong communities.

5 On Dec. 2, an international group of political organizers, artists, educators and children gathered virtually to celebrate Obi Egbuna, Sr.’s “Destroy this Temple: The Voice of Black Power in Britain.”

NATIONAL

the major disappointment experi enced by the GOP after pundits and Republicans anticipated a so-called red wave that never materialized.

Importantly, it gives Democrats a 51-49 edge in the U.S. Senate.

Despite already enjoying the ma jority in the Senate because Vice President Kamala Harris carries the tie-breaking vote, the victory allows Democrats breathing room.

It also means that the Senate can

nominations for the federal bench.

“Democrats, with Mr. Warnock, could also be in position to replace a Supreme Court justice,” Ross Bar kan, a novelist and New York Times contributor wrote.

Barkan said the 6-3 conservative majority makes this seem less press ing, but Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death “was a lesson that Stephen Breyer, who retired this year, seemed to heed: Once you’re of retirement age, it’s best to leave the court if an ideolog ically friendly president and Senate majority are in control.”

The novelist further pointed out that Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan are 68 and 62, respec tively. Both can serve for decades, but Democrats have to think seri ously about the practical advantage of installing liberal justices who are in their 40s or early 50s.

The author noted that Amy Co ney Barrett was confirmed at 48; Neil Gorsuch was 49.

“Justice Breyer wisely gave way to Justice Jackson. Perhaps Justice Soto mayor, at least, should give thought to stepping aside with Mr. Biden in the White House and Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer guiding the Senate.”

“With 51 votes, Mr. Schumer could steer through a judge who is as progressive as either Justice Sotomay or or Kagan, helping to nurture a lib eral minority that could theoretically expand someday,” Barkan wrote.

And then there’s 2024.

With a Walker win, Republicans would have enjoyed a huge advantage in their quest to not only flip the Sen ate but also build a durable majority that could last a generation or more.

Noting how foreboding the 2024 map is for Democrats, three incum bents represent states that Trump handedly carried in 2020.

“A 51-49 majority is a better hedge against such a possible wipeout. It

“Until 1963, plurality voting was widely used in Georgia county elections, and the decision on whether to have a majority or plurality was left to the option of each local party executive committee throughout the state,” researchers noted.

also gives Mr. Warnock a chance to shine on the national level and demonstrate whether he can become a formidable member of an expand ing Democratic bench, the kind of senator who could end up president someday,” Barkan concluded.

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5 Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA) delivers a victory speech at his election night party in Atlanta, Georgia on December 6th, 2022 following the stateâs Senate runoff election.

(Photo by Nathan Posner/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Savvy Ways to Use Your Equity

Marcia Griffin CEO/Founder HomeFree-USA  Homefreeusa. org

There are ben efits to home ownership.

One of the biggest benefits is equity. Equity is the part of your house that you own outright. Each time you make a mortgage pay ment, a part of the payment goes toward the principal of the loan. Because of this, each month you have more equity in your house, which is the difference between what your home is worth and what you owe.

The good news is you don’t have to sell your house or pay off your entire mortgage loan in order to take advantage of your equity. You may be able to borrow against your equity and use the money today. Here is how your equity can work for you.

HOW TO BORROW AGAINST YOUR EQUITY

There are two ways to borrow against your equity. You can take out a home equity loan, or you can open a Home Equity Line of Cred it (HELOC).

A home equity loan is a one-time loan in which you have set month ly payments and a pay-off date. You might take out a home equity loan to pay for a new roof or to pay off higher interest debt.

The amount you can borrow is based on how much equity you have in your home, as well as how much you can afford to pay back.

A HELOC, on the other hand, is a revolving line of credit. Rather than you taking out a specific loan,

the line of credit is there for you when you need it. Think of it like a credit card. You have a line of credit that is available when you need it, such as if you have a large unexpected expense. It is then your responsibility to repay what you have borrowed over time.

HOW TO GET A HOME EQUITY LOAN OR HELOC

In order to be approved for a home equity loan or HELOC, you have to go through some of the same steps you would go through in other in stances when you are borrowing money. The bank may ask you for the following:

• Proof of income

• Bank account statements

• Tax statements

An appraisal will also have to be done since the appraisal provides the best estimate of how much your house is worth and how much equity you have. The more equity you have, the more you could potentially borrow.

Finally, the bank will conduct a credit check and factor your credit score into their decision. The higher your score, the more likely you’ll be approved for a home equity loan or HELOC with low interest rates.

If your credit isn’t where you want it to be, there are steps you can take to improve your score before applying for a home equity loan or HELOC. You could:

• Pay all your bills on time.

• Try to pay down your debts.

• Check your credit report to make sure it is accurate. Mistakes on your credit report can bring down your score.

WHY YOU MAY WANT TO USE EQUITY

There are a number of reasons you may want to tap into your home eq uity.

• You may want to make home renovations

• You may need unexpected home improvements

• You may have an unexpected financial need

• You may lose your job

• You can be diagnosed with a chronic illness and face major medi cal bills

• Your child may be denied the college scholarship you were count ing on

• Your pet may get sick and you may be faced with high veterinary bills

• You could get a divorce and have to start all over

Any of these events could leave you racking up credit card debt. However, using your equity to pay for some of these expenses may be a better choice.

RISKS OF TAKING OUT A HOME EQUITY LOAN OR HELOC

If you do decide to borrow against your equity, it’s important that you take it seriously. If you borrow mon

ey against your home and you fail to pay it back you run the risk of losing your house since your lender could foreclose on it. On top of that, you would likely damage your credit.

However, if you come up with a plan for paying back the money, a home equity loan or a HELOC can bring you substantial savings since interest rates are typically lower than those of personal loans and credit cards.

As a homeowner, you have fi nancial power. Your equity is an asset. Make it work for you.

EARTH OUR

National Environmental Justice Advisory Council Hosts Alexandria Conference

Kayla Benjamin WI Contributing Writer

The council, which advises the En vironmental Protection Agency on environmental justice matters, listened and responded to public comments for nearly four hours straight on their first of a three-day public meeting.

After more than two years of vir tual-only work, 26 members of the National Environmental Justice Advi sory Council (NEJAC) kicked off an

in-person public meeting in Alexan dria on Nov. 29. When the meeting first began, many members expressed joy at coming together.

Hours later, as the council listened and responded to dozens of public commenters’ ongoing battles with toxic pollution, the mood began to change.

“We get to a point where we’re done being sad about things. I’m angry,” NE JAC member Sylvia Orduño, a com munity organizer from Michigan, said.

Orduño was responding to testimo

ny from Ana Parras, an environmental justice advocate from Houston, Texas. Parras shared her recent cancer diag nosis, which followed on the heels of her father’s passing from lung cancer. Thousands of petrochemical facilities surround her city. Despite nearly three decades of advocacy, she said she’d seen little change.

The NEJAC advises the Environ mental Protection Agency (EPA) on

environmental justice issues. Its mem bers include grassroots organizers, ac ademics and officials from state, local and tribal governments. Founded in 1993, the council has little direct pow er but helps to connect communities to decision-makers at the EPA.

A series of stories like Parras’, some in-person and some via video call, went on for several hours. The pro ceedings, originally scheduled to end

at 7 p.m., stretched until almost 9 p.m. It was just day one of the threeday public meeting.

The council’s sessions over those three days addressed big changes at the federal level that impact environmen tal justice. Several have focused on eq uitable implementation of the many climate change and environment pro grams outlined in the Inflation Reduc tion Act.

The council also met with lead ership at the EPA’s Office of Envi ronmental Justice and External Civil Rights. The office just launched this fall, and is set to include more than 200 full time positions—more than tripling the number of people current ly focused on environmental justice at the agency.

“It really feels like there’s an energy, a zeitgeist, around [environmental jus tice] right now,” said Sandra Smithers, a public commenter, during a break between sessions. She had come in person from her home in Delaware. Like Parras, Smithers has been fight ing for her community for years.

“We have to seize that energy now, because if we don’t, it might not come back for 40 or 50 years.” WI

Vacuum Leaf Collection Program

How to Prepare for Leaf Vacuum Collection:

• Check the DPW website to confirm your area’s leaf collection dates;

• Move vehicles from curb lanes to help ease the leaf vacuum collection process;

• Rake leaves to the curbside or tree box at the front of the residence the Sunday before the scheduled leaf collection date;

• Remove all cans, bottles, sticks, toys and debris from your piles of leaves—these items can damage equipment and prevent safe and proper collection

For more information, please visit dpw.dc.gov/service/leaf-collection

5 Michele Roberts, a D.C.-based environmental justice activist, was one of the last public commenters to speak at the National Environmental Justice Advisory Council’s meeting in Alexandria on Nov. 29. (Kayla Benjamin/The Washington Informer)

HEALTH

Millions of Children At-risk of Growing Measles Threat Lowest Coverage Rates of Measles Vaccination Since 2008

Sarafina Wright WI Contributing Writer

Measles vaccination coverage has steadily declined since the begin ning of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a joint publication by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

In 2021, a record high of nearly 40 million children missed a measles vaccine dose: 25 million children missed their first dose, and an addi tional 14.7 million children missed their second dose.

The agencies wrote, “this decline is a significant setback in global progress towards achieving and maintaining measles elimination and leaves millions of children sus ceptible to infection.”

“The paradox of the pandem ic is that while vaccines against COVID-19 were developed in re cord time and deployed in the larg est vaccination campaign in history, routine immunization programs were badly disrupted, and millions of kids missed out on life-saving vaccinations against deadly diseases like measles,” said WHO Direc

tor-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

“Getting immunization programs back on track is absolutely critical. Behind every statistic in this report is a child at risk of a preventable dis ease.”

The situation is grave, the agen cies said. Adding that measles is one of the most contagious human vi ruses but is almost entirely prevent able through vaccination.

Coverage of 95% or greater of two doses of measles-containing vaccine is needed to create herd

immunity in order to protect com munities and achieve and maintain measles elimination.

The world is well under that, ac cording to WHO, with only 81% of children receiving their first mea sles-containing vaccine dose and only 71% of children receiving their second measles-containing vaccine dose.

These are the lowest global cover age rates of the first dose of measles vaccination since 2008, although the coverage varies by country.

In 2021, there were an estimat

ed nine million cases and 128,000 deaths from measles worldwide as 22 countries experienced large and disruptive outbreaks.

The report found that declines in vaccine coverage are primari ly due to interruptions and delays in immunization activities due to COVID-19. In addition, in 2021, nearly 61 million measles vaccine doses were postponed or missed due to COVID-19-related delays.

The CDC and WHO said im munization delays increase the risk of measles outbreaks and urged co ordinated and collaborative action from all partners from global to local levels to prioritize efforts to find and immunize all unprotected children, including those who were missed during the last two years.

“The record number of children under-immunized and suscepti ble to measles shows the profound damage immunization systems have sustained during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said CDC Director Dr. Rochelle P. Walensky.

“Measles outbreaks illustrate weaknesses in immunization pro grams, but public health officials can use outbreak response to iden tify communities at risk, understand causes of under-vaccination, and help deliver locally tailored solutions to ensure vaccinations are available to all.” WI

World Health Org Recommends New Name for Monkeypox

The Agency Cites Stigma and Racialized Language

Sarafina Wright WI Contributing Writer

The World Health Organization (WHO) said it would begin using a new preferred term for monkey pox, “mpox,” after concerns from public and private individuals brought attention to the racist and stigmatized language surrounding the disease online.

WHO said both names would be used simultaneously for one year while “monkeypox” is phased out.

In accordance with the Inter national Classification of Diseas es (ICD) process, the agency said WHO held consultations to gather views from a range of experts, as well as countries and the general public, who were invited to submit suggestions for new names.

Based on these consultations, and further discussions with WHO’s Director-General Dr.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the agency recommendations, in cluded the following: Adoption of the new synonym mpox in English for the disease and the term “mon keypox” will remain a searchable term in ICD, to match historical information.

“Considerations for the recom mendations included rationale, scientific appropriateness, extent of current usage, pronounceability, usability in different languages, ab sence of geographical or zoological references, and the ease of retrieval of historical, scientific informa tion,” WHO said in a statement.

According to the agency, the usual ICD updating process can take up to several years, but in this case, the process was accelerated, following standard steps.

“Various advisory bodies were heard during the consultation process, including experts from

the medical and scientific and classification and statistics adviso ry committees, which constituted representatives from government authorities of 45 different coun tries,” WHO said in a statement.

“The issue of the use of the new name in different languages was ex tensively discussed. The preferred term mpox can be used in other languages. If additional naming is sues arise, these will be addressed via the same mechanism.”

Human monkeypox was given its name in 1970 (after the virus that causes the disease was dis covered in captive monkeys in 1958) before WHO best practices in naming diseases, published in 2015.

According to these best practic es, new disease names should be given with the aim of minimizing the unnecessary negative impact of names on trade, travel, tourism, or

animal welfare and avoid offend ing any cultural, social, national, regional, professional, or ethnic groups.

“WHO will adopt the term mpox in its communications and encourages others to follow these recommendations, to minimize any ongoing negative impact of the current name and from the adop tion of the new name.” WI

(Courtesy photo/CDC/Sohail Ahmed, Pakistan)

africa now

Activists Raise Alarm Over Increasing Femicide Cases

Activists and Champions against Gender-Based Violence (GBV) in Rwanda and other countries have recommended mechanisms for the early detection of women who are affected by violence, addressing the root causes of violence against women and girls, and ensuring access to justice, The New Times, Rwanda’s leading daily newspaper, reported on Sunday, December 4, 2022.

5 Delegates follow a presentation during a meeting on Gender-Based Violence in Kigali on Friday, December 2.

The reactions follow findings from a new study by the United Nations Of fice on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and UN Women, which shows that, on average, more than five women or girls were killed every hour by someone in their own family in 2021.

The report informs this year’s 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, an international campaign that kicked off on November 25.

An estimated 81,100 women and girls were killed intentionally last year as women and girls were particularly affected by gender-based violence in their own homes, according to the findings.

Of all the women and girls intentionally killed last year, some 56% or 45,000 out of 81,000 were killed by intimate partners or other family members showing that home is not a safe place for many women and girls.

Meanwhile, the report shows 11% of all male homicides are perpetrated in the private sphere.

The report stressed that although its findings on femicide were "alarmingly high," the real figures were likely to be much higher.

Africa was the second-deadliest continent when it came to family violence against women and girls, with 17,200 record ed victims, according to the report.

The report says that this year’s figures also show that over the past decade, the overall number of female homicides has remained largely unchanged, underscoring the urgency to prevent and respond to this scourge with stronger actions.

“Even though these numbers are alarmingly high, the true scale of femicide is higher. Too many victims of femicide still go uncounted – given inconsistencies in definitions and criteria amongst countries, for roughly four in ten women and girls killed intentionally in 2021, there is not enough information to identify them as femicide, especially for those killings happening in the public sphere,” reads the report.

As for regional disparities, while femicide is a problem that concerns every single country in the world, the report shows that in absolute numbers, Asia recorded the largest number of gender-related killings in the private sphere in 2021, whereas women and girls were more at risk of being killed by their intimate partners or other family members in Africa.

In 2021, the rate of gender-related killings in the private sphere was estimated at 2.5 per 100,000 female population in Africa, compared with 1.4 in the Americas, 1.2 in Oceania, 0.8 in Asia and 0.6 in Europe. WI

Bahamas and Saudi Arabia Sign MOU on Knowledge Sharing in Tourism

The Ministry of Tourism, Investments & Aviation (MOTIA) and Saudi Arabia have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on cooperation in the field of tourism during a meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia for the World Travel and Tourism Global Summit held November 28 to December 1, 2022.

Deputy Prime Minister Chester Cooper (left), who is also Minister of Tourism, Investments and Aviation, announced the signing of the MOU in a statement released in Nassau on Friday, December 2. The statement explained that the MOU is a pledge that puts tourism to the forefront of the economic development and promotional relationships between the two countries.

DPM Cooper, who headed The Bahamas’ delegation that participated in the summit, said the agreement “between the two countries is about coordinating and unifying efforts to achieve sustainable tourism development, whilst always being considerate of local traditions and social values.”

“The WTTC Global Summit has been a great opportunity for myself and fellow ministers and delegates to share knowl edge, experience and ideas on a global level across the tourism sector,” DPM Cooper said.

“We are delighted to be forging these international relations to the benefit of global tourism and the memorandum of understanding between The Bahamas and Saudi Arabia is a clear way to demonstrate that international collaboration,” Cooper continued. “

“We have much experience in the tourism sector and this agreement will enable us to share our insight whilst working towards the same global goals.” WI

COMPILED BY OSWALD T. BROWN, WI CONTRIBUTING WRITER

INTERIM DIRECTOR JESSICA SMITH

December 2022 Message from Department of Aging and Community Living

of course danced the afternoon away!

As the Interim Director, I’m particularly excited for this year’s celebration. We’re going back to the DC Armory and we have so much in store for you. With more than 80 community and government services and a vari ety of entertainment, this year’s celebration will be nothing short of amazing. And if you’ve never had the experience of hundreds of people lined up cheering and thanking you for coming, I can promise you it’s one experience that’s unforgettable and not to be missed.

Happy holidays, seniors!

While it’s always true, the holiday season is a reminder of just how important it is to be around the ones we love. Loved ones are often more than just our family and friends – they are our neighbors, our care pro viders, and new friends we have yet to meet. Many of those same neighbors, care providers, and new friends will be at the Mayor’s Senior Holiday Cele bration! This annual celebra tion is the perfect place to be surrounded by love, friendship, and fellowship. It’s the place many of you have made life long friendships, got enrolled into programs to help you age the way you choose, reconnect ed with services you haven’t engaged with in a while, and

To register, give us a call at 202-727-8955 or visit www.ti nyurl.com/holidaycelebration22. While vaccinations and masks are not required, we strongly encourage you to get vaccinat ed and bring your masks. And if you’re not fully vaccinated or in need of a booster, we’ll have a vaccination clinic on site for your convenience, so be sure to stop by to keep you and your loved ones safe this holiday sea son.

As we head into the winter season, we’re reminded of what this time of year means for some of us. It can be a time that feels lonely and isolated. But I want you to know that DACL and the entire District Government are here for you and there’s no better time to get connected. To learn about all the activities and events that are available to you, visit us at dacl.dc.gov or call us at 202724-5626.

See you December 6!   Jessica Smith

As we head into the winter season, we’re reminded of what this time of year means for some of us. It can be a time that feels lonely and isolated. But I want you to know that DACL and the entire District Government are here for you and there’s no better time to get connected.

EDUCATION

D.C. Students Showcase Their Artwork at Lidl’s at Skyland Town Center

Wright WI Staff Writer

Four students from the District

who are participants in Project Create, a youth-oriented arts ed ucation non-profit, made limited edition reusable charity tote bags

that are available for sale only at the Lidl’s at

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The Project Create students whose work appears on the bags are Akilah Daniels, 12; Gabriel Trembath-Nicholson, 12; Nyzear Allen, 13; and Zoe Amen, 13.

The bags are available for $3.99, Lidl company officials said. All of the sales of the bags will benefit Joyful Food Markets, a program supported by Martha’s Table, the Capital Area Food Bank and D.C. Health. Joyful Food Markets are free, pop-up monthly grocery markets designed to provide Ward 7 and 8 residents fresh fruits and vegetables.

Lidl Store Manager Malashia Mitchell praised the student at the unveiling on Dec. 7 at the Lidl.

“It has been a privilege working with Project Create and being able to see these young artists’ work come to life with the launch of these charity bags,” Mitchell said. “At Lidl, we are committed to sup porting fresh, healthy, affordable options for the local community and we are thrilled to expand that access further through this initia

Martha’s Table Interim Presi dent & CEO and Chief Program Officer Tiffany Williams said healthy food is essential for devel

oping children and young adults.

“When children are nourished and full, they perform better in school and are more engaged in their communities,” Williams said. “Together with Lidl and Project Create, our mission to eliminate food insecurity can go further. Thank you to both organizations for their creativity and commit ment to food access in the District of Columbia.”

The designs by the four students, nominated by Project Create, de pict iconic scenes throughout the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, incorporate fresh fruits and vegetables available at the Skyland Lidl. Project Create Executive Di rector Christie Walser said the stu dents’ artwork reflects the talent they possess.

“At Project Create, we see ar tistic genius in our students every day—we’re thrilled for a chance to share their amazing talent with our community,” Walser said. “Thank you to Lidl for the opportunity for these young people to do what they do best—create imaginative, clever and unique art for all to see and to be inspired by.”

WI

@JamesWrightJr10

James

5 Akilah Daniels, Gabriel Trembath-Nicholson, Nyzear Allen and Zoe Amen outside of the Lidl at Skyland Town Center in southeast Wash ington. (Courtesy Photo/Lidl)

Skyland Town Center

EDUCATION

STEM from Page 1

she spoke to students at Eliot-Hine Middle School in Northeast and con ducted science experiments aligned with her experiences as an Olympic swimmer.

For Ledecky, a District native, sev en-time Olympic gold medal winner, and Stanford University alumna, the Monday morning presentation provid ed ample opportunity to stress to young people the importance of STEM in their daily lives.

“We want our country to be success ful and we want our young people to be the leaders of tomorrow. We need to continue to have great problem solv ers,” Ledecky said.

“Looking at STEM careers encour ages young people to focus on STEM,” she added.

“It’s also about trying to get more young girls and women into STEM fields and fill that gap. If I can encour age one young girl to pursue something in STEM, it’s awesome and has a ripple effect.”

For more than an hour, students

watched Ledecky and Patti Duncan of Panasonic conduct various science ex periments. One experiment about wa ter absorbity highlighted why Ledecky and other competitive swimmers wear water-resistant swimsuits and shave the exposed parts of their body before en tering the pool.

Other experiments involving water, balloons and fire highlighted the po larity of water and its ability to absorb energy. Students also used scientific reasoning to determine why Ledecky stays near the surface of the water while swimming.

Azola Burton, a sixth grader at El iot-Hine, counted among the first students to participate in the science demonstration. He said that experience sparked a desire for similar activities in the classroom.

“I like how I went to the stage and they had everything set up and were very specific about what to do,” Azo la said. “This type of science class was exciting. I like in-person experiences [where I get to] touch things. It helps me learn.”

A strong grasp of STEM concepts

at the K-12 level increases a young per son’s likelihood of successfully pursuing STEM-related degrees in college and entering what have become the more in-demand, economically vibrant fields. However, American math and sci ence standardized test scores haven’t increased in more than a decade, wid ening a job skills gap and placing the United States in the middle among its global competitors. Since the pandem ic, there have been more openings for epidemiologists, medical sciences and biochemists, among other STEM pro fessionals.

Black people account for less than 10% of the STEM workforce. A re port compiled by the National Science Board earlier this year attributed this trend to persistent racial and socioeco nomic disparities in STEM education that the pandemic exacerbated.

That’s why Alexis Fleming, a sev enth grade life science teacher at El iot-Hine said activities like what took place at Eliot-Hine can help young people improve their critical think ing and make observations about the world they navigate.

Fleming noted that the academy has pivoted toward an approach where teachers conduct experiments either before or while teaching the lesson. She described that as an acknowledgement of young people’s desire to ask ques tions.

“Hands-on experiments help to in crease inquiry and curiosity. It’s not the final step,” Fleming said.

“The world is always changing and there is new technology. We need peo ple who are confident and have some basic scientific knowledge to enter these conversations. We need people who are curious enough to dive deeper and learn more for the sake of solving prob lems.”

WI @SamPKCollins

5 Azola Burton, a sixth grade student at Eliot Hine Middle School participates in an experiment with Panasonic employee (right) Patti Duncan and seven-time Olympic winning medalist Katie Ledecky during an interactive STEM assembly on Dec. 5. (Marckell Williams/The Washington Informer)

THE WASHINGTON INFORMER NEWSPAPER (ISSN#0741-9414) is pub lished weekly on each Thursday. Periodi cals postage paid at Washington, D.C. and additional mailing offices. News and ad vertising deadline is Monday prior to pub lication. Announcements must be received two weeks prior to event. Copyright 2016 by The Washington Informer. All rights reserved. POSTMASTER: Send change of addresses to The Washington Inform er, 3117 Martin Luther King, Jr. Ave., S.E. Washington, D.C. 20032. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written permission from the publisher. The Informer Newspaper cannot guarantee the return of photographs. Subscription rates are $55 per year, two years $70. Papers will be received not more than a week after pub lication. Make checks payable to:

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REPORTERS

Kayla Benjamin, (Environmental Justice Reporter) Stacy Brown (Senior Writer), Sam P.K. Collins, Curtis Knowles, Brenda Siler, Lindiwe Vilakazi, Sarafina Wright, James Wright

PHOTOGRAPHERS

Shevry Lassiter, Photo Editor, Roy Lewis, Jr., Robert R. Roberts, Anthony Tilghman, Abdula Konte, Ja’Mon Jackson

Disrupting Disparities by Shaking off Fears

Dr. Shantella Y. Sherman WI Special Edition Editor

At the close of each year insurance companies and health care providers give patients an opportunity to change their coverage through “open enrollment.” Open enrollment coincides with the personal goals of many to improve their health by cutting out harmful habits and taking measure of their overall health through annual assessments and tests. Increasingly, this end-of-the-year ritual fosters a level of dread or anxiety for those who do not trust or feel intimidated by health systems. Many of the health dispar ities facing the African American community have roots in a distrust of physicians or the lack of quality care they believe they are receiving (real or perceived) based on race.

Much of this fear surrounding healthcare has been squarely documented across racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic lines. For instance, a 2017 Mayo Clinic report found that millions of Americans suffer through “hostage bargaining syndrome” in the company of doctors. Hostage bargaining syndrome is a form of fear and anxiety in the presence of healthcare professionals that leads patients to mask symptoms, attempt to ingratiate themselves to those who must care for them, or remain silent when they need assistance to avoid “bothering” or “upsetting” nursing or hospital staff.

One study respondent gave this example, which is considered a textbook example: “Immediately after undergoing major abdominal surgery, I overheard a nurse label me as “difficult” when I refused an attempted blood sample draw until I felt that my pain was more adequately controlled. I sat, wordless, as the surgical team she summoned interro gated me about my home pain regimen (there was none). I felt hopeless as they attributed my pain to an imagined tolerance to opioids. In that bed, in pain, I felt terribly, frighteningly vulnerable, dependent on strangers for my most basic needs in addition to their complex care. I felt powerless in a way that is impossible to imagine when one is in a privileged position of wholeness and well-being. I know this because after that comment, I pathetically tried to ingratiate myself to the care team,” the respondent noted. “I suppressed my fear and sadness, and attempted to make small talk with people who just moments earlier had made me feel belittled and somehow ashamed. I offered compliments and commiserated about burdensome charting responsibilities and unwieldy patient assignments. I believed that I needed to make them like me in order to receive their best care—in effect, to earn pain control through good behavior. I felt I had to prove to them that I was deserving.”

While the relationship between patient and physician requires open communication, it also demands an embrace of the Hippocratic oath to “do no harm,” as well as a bedside manner that recognizes that a person experiencing illness is vulnerable and weak.

Delia Lunger, a retired orthopedic surgeon said that she always found ways of making her patients feel com fortable and took extra time to ask about their sleeping habits, fears, and worries, to ensure they were comfortable enough to discuss their health in detail.

“We have other people’s lives in our hands and they are depending on us to not only do the job, but to be caring and loving in our engagements. With managed care, physicians are encouraged to see a set number of patients in a given time period; that is not always tenable,” Lunger said.

She said she often ran over scheduled appointments and worked into the late evenings to ensure every patient was seen and felt comfortable with the quality of care they received.

“When selecting a new physician, it is important to ask around about the doctor’s bedside manner – how much time do they spend with patients? Do they listen intently to the needs of the patient or are they overtalking them or assessing and writing prescriptions without a full picture? The other side of the coin, which is very important, is that patients must be open, honest, and persistent with having their health needs addressed. You cannot leave a physician’s office without a satisfactory treatment pro gram or care solution.”

This Washington Informer health supplement encour ages readers to find the help they need and address the fears they may have in seeking treatment. Being the best “you” possible requires taking charge and disrupting dis parities.

Read, Learn & Grow Dr. Shantella Sherman

5 Dr. Shantella Sherman (Photo by India Kea)

African American Health Disparities

By Lee Ross WI Staff Writer

One possible contributing factor: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says African Americans are more likely to die at early ages for all causes, as young African Ameri cans are living with diseases that are typically more common at older ages for other races.

Black patients represent as much of a third of all patients in the U.S. receiv ing dialysis for kidney failure, though they don’t represent anywhere near that proportion of the U.S. popula tion, they added. Individuals who are black alone, the Office of Minority Health says, make up 12.7 percent of the U.S. population.

Another area of health care where there is disparity is renal dis ease. African Americans can suffer from kidney failure at as much as 3 times the rate of Caucasians, according to the National Kidney Foundation.

whites, affect African Americans at younger ages: unemployment, living in poverty, not owning a home, cost-prohibitive effects of trying to see an MD, smoking, inactive lifestyle, or obesity.

Diabetes is common in 10 percent of blacks aged 35-49 compared to 6 percent of whites.

Stroke is present in 0.7 percent of blacks aged 18-34 compared to 0.4 percent of whites the same age.

Stroke is common in 2 percent of African Amer icans compared to 1 percent of whites aged 35-49 and 7 percent vs. 4 percent , respectively, in those aged 50-64.

High blood pressure is common in 12 percent vs. 10 percent of blacks vs. whites aged 18-34 years, respectively. High blood pressure is common in 33 percent vs. 22 percent of those aged 35-49 years, respectively.

A white paper from Cigna went further, acknowl edging mental health disparities between African Americans and white patients. They noted blacks are 20 percent more likely to report psychologi cal distress and 50 percent less likely to receive counseling or mental health treatment due to the aforementioned underlying socioeconomic factors.

ALANNAH, Nutritionist on the Healthy Living Team

Eugenia’s Story: Why Flu Vaccines are Important

Submitted by Amerigroup Maryland

It was the Holiday season and school was out, so Eugenia had the opportunity to visit and spend qual ity time with her grandchildren. Her youngest, who was five years old and on break from kindergarten, had what seemed to be a mild case of the sniffles, but she was Eugenia’s favorite and that was not going to stop her from hugging, snuggling and spend ing time together. Almost a week af ter that visit, Eugenia started to feel under the weather. She thought that she might have caught a bug that the kids brought home from school, but it wouldn’t be the first time and thought it would pass. Eugenia hadn’t gotten

around to getting her flu vaccine yet that year, and she had type 2 diabetes – a disease that is all too familiar to the Black community. As the days passed, it became obvious that Eugenia had the flu, and she was struggling to con trol her glucose levels. She knew how much insulin she was supposed to take as well as what she should and should not be eating, but she didn’t know that when a person is sick, their body man ufactures additional glucose to provide energy to fight infection, and that the body releases stress hormones that can reduce the effectiveness of insulin. After not being able to get her glu cose levels under control, Eugenia’s next visit was to a hospital. She ex perienced diabetic ketoacidosis, then pneumonia, then kidney failure and finally multiple organ failure. Eugenia didn’t make it home from the hospi tal, and her family was left wonder ing what if she had gotten vaccinated against the flu before visiting the kids? What if all the grandchildren and the entire family had been vaccinated against the flu?

Eugenia was one of 42.9 million people in the U.S. who caught the flu that year, and one of approximately 52,000 people who died. A dispropor tionate number of these deaths were among adults who were Black, and there could be a number of reasons for this disparity. Black adults have lower rates of immunizations against the flu than white adults. The CDC reports that less than 43 percent of Black men and women were vaccinated during the 2021-2022 flu season. Addition ally, people who have chronic disease are more likely to suffer complications, be hospitalized and die from the flu. Black adults have higher rates of heart disease and diabetes than their white counterparts, and during the 20212022 flu season, flu hospitalization rates were 80 percent higher among Black adults than white adults.

Many people miss opportunities to vaccinate, and many times it turns out to be regrettable, but misinformation and vaccine distrust should never be the reason a person loses their life to the flu. The flu vaccine has been prov en to be safe for most people over the age of six months. There are even safe alternatives for children and adults

with certain allergies and sensitivities. Flu vaccines are easily accessible via pharmacies, shopping super centers, at doctor’s offices and clinics, and they are available at no cost to people with health insurance. Most importantly, decisions to vaccinate should always be based on credible information: https:// www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/vaccines/ flu-vaccine.html.

Amerigroup Maryland is a huge supporter of flu vaccination and offers assistance to people who need help accessing vaccines or information. Amerigroup offers a website where members or guests can search for care providers who administer vaccines: https://findcare.amerigroup.com/ search-providers. Amerigroup also of fers its member help by phone: 1-800600-4441 (TTY 711). Additionally, Amerigroup members may be eligible for gift card rewards – just for getting vaccinated against the flu. To read more about Amerigroup Maryland’s Healthy Rewards, visit https://www. myamerigroup.com/md/benefits/ medicaid-healthchoice-benefits.html.

Thousands of lives can be saved if individuals and their families get vacci nated against the flu. Eugenia’s family will always wonder how things could have been different if their entire fam ily had been vaccinated. Take action today to catch up on your vaccines, so your family doesn’t have to experience the tragedy Eugenia’s did – or be left wondering.

AMERIGROUP MARYLAND UPDATES AND REMINDERS:

On January 1, 2023, Amerigroup Community Care, also known as Amerigroup Maryland, will begin operating as Wellpoint. There will be no change to members’ coverage as a result of this name change. Until Jan uary 1, 2023, members can continue to use their Amerigroup ID cards to access benefits as they always have.

Amerigroup members should expect to receive updated materials and more information about this change by ear ly December 2022. Learn more by visiting: https://www.myamerigroup. com/md/mdmd_caid_faqwellpoin trebrand.pdf. WI

Black Americans’ Views of Health Disparities Uncovered in Pew Research

By Lee Ross WI Staff Writer

In a recent study from Pew Re search, African Americans provided a mixed assessment of the progress that has been made improving health out comes for Black people. Roughly 47 percent said health outcomes for Black people have gotten better over the past 20 years, while 31 percent say they’ve stayed about the same and 20 percent think they’ve gotten worse.

Less access to quality medical care is the top reason Black Americans see contributing to generally worse health outcomes for Black people in the U.S. Large numbers also believe environmental quality problems in Black communities, and hospitals and medical centers giving lower priority to the well-being of Black people also play vital roles in health inequity.

“The pandemic has been a stark reminder of the disparate health out comes Black Americans face. It was essential for the survey to be able to speak to health and medical experi ences. The health and medical care system is one of the primary ways people encounter science in their daily lives,” said Cary Funk, director of the Pew Research Center’s science and society research. “There are ongoing efforts to address systematic bias in the medical care system, as well as ef forts to improve trust between Black Americans and the broader science, medical science, and public health communities. And while this research was in the works before the coronavi rus outbreak, the pandemic has been a stark reminder of the disparate health outcomes Black Americans face. It was essential for the survey to be able to speak to health and medical expe riences.”

Funk said that one of the chief aims of the study is to gain insight into the potential barriers and opportunities to deepen engagement with science among Black Americans. More im portantly, the research highlighted the impact of discrimination – real or perceived – in how African Americans sought care, from whom, and to what extent healthcare advice was followed.

The experiences of younger Black women in the medical system, for instance, showed that a large majority of Black women ages 18 to 49 report ed having experienced at least one of

seven negative health care experiences. They are also more likely than other Black adults to say they would prefer a Black health care provider for routine care and to say a Black doctor or other health care provider would do a better job than medical professionals of other races and ethnicities at providing them with quality medical care.

Such was the case with Charleesa Graham, 32, a graduate student liv ing in D.C.’s Petworth neighborhood, who recently relocated from Florida. After developing asthma while living near Coral Gables, she said she could not get a grasp on the condition or even a proper diagnosis because the physicians had such a poor bedside manner or treated her disrespectfully.

“The attitudes of the hospital work ers was very curt and direct, there was no compassion or empathy even though it was clear I was having trou ble breathing. They seemed more interested in whether I was taking il legal drugs,” Graham said. “I left the hospital and returned to my apart ment where a neighbor recognized my symptoms as a potential asthma attack and took me to a local botanica for an herbal tincture.”

Graham said since then, she choos es only doctors with cultural compe tencies of the Black community or naturopathic physicians who treat holistically. She said that while natu ral medicine is not for everyone, every person should feel comfortable in the care of the doctors who are paid to treat them.

The complexities of public trust were found to drive the breakdown in communication between health systems and physicians and the people they serve. Pew also found that Black Americans expressed a wariness about medical researchers’ trustworthiness when it comes to admitting their mistakes and taking responsibility for them when they happen – with 61 percent of Black adults noting that medical research misconduct is just as likely to occur today as it was in the past. With historical injustices including the Henrietta Lacks (HeLa cell) abuses and those of the Tuskegee Syphilis experiment ever-looming, Af rican Americans readily reject the idea that safeguards are in place today to prevent serious cases of research mis conduct.

“This is not about bad doctors; it

is about finding the right fit to ensure we get the best care possible. It is also important that Black people keep up with those preventative healthcare appointments and adhere to the com mon-sense guidelines that they are given. This cannot happen if we do not trust the doctors, or the doctors have a not-so-hidden bias.” Graham said. WI

Funk said that one of the chief aims of the study is to gain insight into the potential barriers and opportunities to deepen engagement with science among Black Americans.

Recovery Is Possible

Submitted by DC Department of Behavioral Health (DBH)

Opioid-related overdose deaths in the District have risen steadi ly in recent years and the pan demic exacerbated the problem, with lockdowns initially making it harder to access addiction ser vices. In addition, a large portion of drugs — including heroin, co caine, MDMA and methamphet amine — are now being laced with fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that is 50 to 100 times more po tent than morphine.

Last year, there were 427 opi oid-related overdose deaths in the District. According to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, 95% of those deaths included the presence of fentanyl.

DC’s Department of Behavioral Health (DBH) and its communi ty partners have announced the continued expansion of its nal oxone distribution program and the launch of a new campaign to encourage treatment for those suf

fering from addiction. Both initia tives are part of LIVE.LONG.DC.

2.0, the District’s strategic plan to reduce opioid use, misuse, and re lated deaths.

DBH makes naloxone, a life-saving medication used to re verse an opioid-related overdose, widely available and easy to get for free, without a prescription or ID required in pharmacies and at community sites. The program has grown from a handful of ini tial distribution sites to nearly 40 pharmacy locations and over 120 community organizations in all eight Wards.

In addition, in 2020, DBH launched a unique naloxone dis tribution service. By texting the words LiveLongDC to 888-811, District residents get a message back with a link to a map of the locations where they can pick up naloxone. Recently, an option for free home delivery and mail deliv ery was added to the service.

“Naloxone should be near at hand like any lifesaving medica

tion. Family, friends, and others in the community can use naloxone to save someone who is overdos ing,” said Dr. Barbara J. Bazron, Director of the Department of Be havioral Health. “We want all Dis trict residents to be ready to save a life and carry naloxone.”

Recognizing that a substance use disorder is a disease and that users often must seek treatment multi ple times as part of their recovery journey, DBH has launched a new public education campaign de signed to encourage users to try again at treatment with the hope that “this time can be different.” The campaign highlights DBH’s comprehensive set of treatment supports, including:

• Free substance use disorder treatment, available seven days a week at sites across the District;

• Three medications (metha done, buprenorphine and naltrex one) proven effective at treating the disease of addiction;

• Enhanced care coordination so that individuals receive compre

hensive care;

• Peer counselors who have been there, and can support an individual through treatment and recovery; and

• Transportation, recovery housing and other support ser vices.

“We need DC residents with substance use disorders to know that DBH has the services and supports to help them succeed,” said Bazron. “We know that treat ment works, and recovery is pos sible.”

Information about the District’s recovery services is available online at MyRecoveryDC.org or by call ing the 24-hour Access Helpline at 1-888-793-4357 (7WE-HELP). WI

meth cocaine pills heroin

How to Make Eating More Dark Leafy Greens a Habit that Sticks!

By Elaine Magee MPH, RD, Safeway Corporate Dietitian (@therecipedoctor and author of 25 books)

If someone were to ask me what’s one of the best food habits they could make…I would en courage them to enjoy dark leafy greens each and every day! Dark leafy greens are just one of those super food categories that nutri tionally cross all the “T” s and dot all the “I” s. As a group, these veg gies boost your intake of several powerful plant compounds with antioxidant and anti-inflammato ry action, and are also tops in vita min C and E, potassium, calcium, magnesium and of course, fiber.

the three “R” s: Reminders, Rep etition and Rewards.

As you are forming this new habit, you need reminders that you are committed to including them every day. Then to really solidify it as a habit, you need the repetition so eventually it’s some thing you just do without even thinking about it. And along the way you need plenty of rewards as you are building this new awe some habit. Rewards can be as simple as writing a checkmark on your calendar with a fun green pen or patting yourself on the back because your new habit is de creasing your risk of heart disease and some cancers, to noticing that your intestines seem happier. You might even observe you feel fuller

a serving of dark leafy greens ev ery day. Within several months, it became a habit that stuck. I approached it similarly to when I made flossing my teeth at night a habit (albeit several decades ago). My reminder back then was sim ply keeping a container of floss right near my sink where I got ready for bed every night. Eventu ally it was an automatic part of my routine and the floss could then move to the upper drawer where I kept the toothpaste. The rewards were the way my teeth and gums felt after flossing and of course the praise from my dental hygienist when she noticed a difference!

Here are some of my favorite tips to inspire you to make eating dark leafy greens a habit that sticks

refrigerator so you are reminded that they are there for you to use every time you open the refriger ator door.

A picture is worth a thousand words. Inspire yourself to include them in your meals by placing a beautiful picture of dark leafy greens in your kitchen where you can see it.

dark leafy greens to whatever egg dish I was making (from omelets to scrambled eggs and quiche!

It’s a wrap!

It all starts at the supermarket! You have to buy it first, to have it on hand in order to enjoy them each day (so focus first on grab bing them at the supermarket). I like to buy bags and clam shells of triple washed greens so they are su

Out of sight, out of mind when it comes to dark leafy greens, so keep them front and center in your

REPETITION

Challenge yourself and your family and think about some of your favorite weekly meals that you can easily add dark leafy greens to every time you make them. With this repetition, it will become a healthy habit. For me this started with egg dishes. We have eggs several times a week so I got in the habit of always adding

Each time you make a sand wich or wrap, include some kale, spinach, arugula, for example. It will add a burst of color and fresh flavor and texture to your wrap. You can even add sautéed greens to grilled cheeses and quesadillas. It only takes a couple of minutes to sauté them up with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, and a sprinkle of your favorite low sodium sea soning blend, before adding them in. I usually add a huge handful of greens per person I am cooking for (because they tend to shrink up when they cook).

Toss a salad.

Ready-to-grab bags or clam shells of triple washed dark leafy greens (like spinach, super greens, kale, arugula) make salads a quick fix for lunch or dinner. If you are using a thicker green (like kale) for your salad, soften it up just by massaging some extra virgin olive oil in with clean hands. You can also cut the kale into shreds and add it to coleslaw type dishes!

Elevate salad kits during the week for easy lunches or din ners using what you have on hand! I have gotten into a habit of grab bing a couple of salad kits each shopping trip as a fun fill-in for meals where I don’t have anything planned. These are my favorite ways to elevate salad kits:

• Add shredded Kale to Caesar Salad kits!

might want to avoid the stronger flavored greens like arugula and spring mix. You definitely want to keep your smoothie green not brown, so avoid adding anything red (and avoid berries) to your green smoothie. Think yellow like banana and mango!

Passionate about pesto!

Have you discovered pesto yet? It’s one of my favorite sauces and condiments and comes in handy not just with pasta but with piz zas and sandwiches/wraps, dips and as a condiment for eggs, meat, veggies, bread and potatoes! I like going 50/50 with fresh basil and a green like spinach, kale, arugula or beet greens when making my pe

Dark

Leafy Greens are Freezer Friendly.

One way to make sure you are setting yourself up for success to make enjoying eating dark leafy greens a habit that sticks is to al ways have them in your kitchen. That’s where the freezer comes in handy. I always have a bag of fro zen chopped spinach or kale in my freezer just in case. And if you are

leaving on a trip and you have some fresh dark leafy greens you want to save for later, don’t waste

Caring for Your Mental Health

Submitted by AmeriHealth Caritas District of Columbia

THERE’S

A NEW NUMBER TO CALL WHEN YOU’RE EXPERIENCING

A MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS: 988.

If you or someone you love is experiencing a suicidal crisis or emotional distress, it can be diffi cult to know what to do. Before 2020, it was best to dial 911 for the help you needed. Today, you can call or text 988 at any time to access mental health services.

The 988 Suicide & Crisis Life line is nationwide. It provides services for those experienc ing thoughts of suicide, mental health–related distress, a substance

use crisis, or any other kind of emotional distress.1 Once you are on the line, a crisis counselor lis tens to you, works to understand how your problem is affecting you, provides support, and directs you to the best resources to help you address the problem. In addition, 988 is available if you are worried about a loved one who may need crisis support.

The counselors at the 988 Sui cide & Crisis Lifeline are trained and will use their expertise to sup port callers experiencing urgent mental health crises. Callers will be routed to the local Lifeline net work crisis center based on their area code.

HOW DOES 988 DIFFER FROM 911?

The mental health services pro vided when you call 988 will be different from those you will re ceive if you call 911.2 Dialing 988 offers easier access to crisis resourc es, as opposed to the public safety purposes of 911, which focuses on sending emergency medical services, the fire department, and police officers as needed. In ad dition, 911 responses to mental health emergencies have often led to harmful consequences for those

who simply needed mental health support.3 A small number of 988 Lifeline calls require 911-related services only when there is an im mediate risk to someone’s life that cannot be addressed during a 988 call.4

ADDITIONAL MENTAL HEALTH RESOURCES

In addition to the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, other options and resources are available:

• Department of Behavioral Health (DBH) Access HelpLine. The 24/7 HelpLine will connect you to services provided by a DBH-certified, community-based service provider and pair you with a case manager who can help coor dinate your care. You can contact the DBH Access HelpLine in two ways:

Call 1-888-793-4357. Visit https://dbh.dc.gov/ service/access-helpline.

• MyRecoveryDC. MyRecov eryDC is a District of Colum

bia Department of Health (DC Health) program. Many resourc es to help those starting recovery journeys are available at https:// myrecoverydc.org, including the following:

Stories of people who have faced addiction and whose experiences highlight their treat ment and recovery journeys Information on how treat ment and recovery processes work, why they work, and where to seek treatment and recovery services near you

Assistance finding a “peer.” Peers are people who have lived through addiction and recov ery. MyRecoveryDC’s Certified DC Peers are ready to help people find their path to recovery and will support them along the way.

• School-based services. If your child is a student at a DC public school or public charter school, they can receive counsel ing from a school-based mental health provider. Visit https://

dbh.dc.gov/node/1500291 to find contact information for the provider assigned to your child’s school.

• Help for veterans. When you call the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, press “1” after dialing 988 to get connected directly to the Veter ans Crisis Line, which serves our nation’s veterans, service mem bers, National Guard and Reserve members, and those who support them. For texts, continue to text the Veterans Crisis Line short code: 838255.

The information in this article is intended to help you learn more about this topic. It is not meant to take the place of speaking with your health care provider. If you have questions, talk with your health care provider. If you think you need to see your health care provider because of something you have read in this ar ticle, please contact your health care

The counselors at the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline are trained and will use their expertise to support callers experiencing urgent mental health crises.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE HS-10

provider. Never stop or wait to get medical attention because of some thing you have read in this material.

Sources

1. “988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline,” Federal Communications Commission, https://www.fcc.gov/sites/ default/files/988-factsheet.pdf

2. “How Is 988 Different Than 911?” Substance Abuse and Men tal Health Services Adminis tration, https://www.samhsa.gov/findhelp/988/faqs#about-988-basics

3. “Deaths of People with Mental Illness During Interactions with Law Enforcement” Interna tional Journal of Law and Psychi atry, https://perma.cc/826F-AKG8

4. “988 Frequently asked

questions”, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administra tion

https://www.samhsa.gov/findhelp/988/faqs

All images are used under license for illustrative purposes only. Any in dividual depicted is a model WI

#BestMe Corner

AmeriHealth Caritas District of Columbia (DC) has many mental health resources available for enrollees.

Behavioral health providers. You may benefit from speaking with an experienced, trained behavioral health provider if you have a problem that makes you feel overwhelmed or interferes

Visit www.amerihealthcaritasdc.com to find the Provider Directory or call Enrollee Ser vices at 1-800-408-7511 to get help with finding a behavioral health care provider.

Ginger Emotional Support app. The Ginger Emotional Support app offers 24/7 support tailored to your mental health needs. Text with a coach every day for quality care for every indi

If you are age 21 or older, download the Ginger app from the Google Play™ store or Apple App Store® to text with an emotional support coach. (Standard messaging and data fees may apply.)

MindRight. MindRight is an app that specializes in providing 24/7 emotional support for teens and young adults. You can text with a coach every day and access the support you need straight from your smartphone.

Enrollees ages 13 to 20 can text “hello” to 886-886 and use referral code “AmeriHealth” during enrollment to start texting with a MindRight support coach. (Standard messaging and data fees may apply.)

Celebrating SHIRE’s 25 Years: Past, Present, and Future

Ruth T. Perot Executive Director/CEO rperot@shireinc.org

On December 8th, 2022, Sum mit Health Institute for Research and Education, Inc. (SHIRE) cel ebrates our Silver Anniversary in Washington, DC. We will be com memorating 25 years of service, advocacy, and community engage ment in pursuit of health justice, equity, and empowerment for Afri can Americans and other people of color.

Since 1997, SHIRE has main tained a rock-solid commitment to help eradicate racial/ethnic health disparities and to promote optimal health and wellness for the com munities we serve. For example, the impact of our cutting-edge policy research focused on racial/ethnic data collection is reflected in the Af fordable Care Act. Our leadership

and advocacy aimed at the inclusion of people of color, with respect to health information technology, has served as a catalyst for federal and state policies and programs. The convening of people of color under the banner of Out of Many One has been a model for multicultural collaboration. Our refurbished web site www.shireinc.org features more information about these and other

activities.

At the same time, SHIRE has become a highly respected partner with numerous community orga nizations and has engaged thou sands of residents in the District of Columbia in wellness initiatives.

The Early Childhood Obesity Pre vention Collaborative convened over 100 stakeholders, including parents, educators, government representatives, and members from community organizations, univer sities, corporations, and the media who develop creative policies and programs. Another childhood obe sity prevention effort was SCOOP, SHIRE’s Childhood Obesity and Overweight Prevention program, that engaged young children and their teachers in activities promoting movement using music and drama created for that purpose. Our Pass port for Youth Program, conducted in partnership with the YMCA, has served as a model for encour aging middle school youth to become involved in physi cal activities, such as swimming, that were new to them. We have trained and involved over 50 in dividuals as health coaches and peer educators who have

spread the message of health and wellness throughout 5 DC wards.

Over 1500 men and women have participated in SHIRE’s Wellness Circles to date. They have acquired tools and strategies to improve their health outcomes and make lasting lifestyle changes—taking charge of their health and their lives.

The COVID-19 pandemic, which has revealed the urgent need for fundamental change in our healthcare systems, also offers an opportunity to think differently about health and wellness. SHIRE offers a compelling answer to this challenge. We have equipped com munity residents with the informa tion and tools they need to demand respect, high quality treatment, and promote changes in the healthcare systems that serve them. Although we are aware of the influence of so cial determinants, we firmly believe that fostering self-determination and empowerment is a powerful strategy for meaningful change. This is the mission that we carry into our next 25 years.

In 2023, we will vigorously promote our Wellness Circle pro gram as a concept applicable to new groups and health challenges. For example, we will seek partners and sponsors to advance improved maternal health, which has been greatly impacted by the recent Su

preme Court decision. Building on past experience, SHIRE will seek to involve youth in Wellness Cir cles—particularly those impacted by violence to aid their develop ment as self-empowered health am bassadors. Our approach is to equip individuals with the tools they need—accurate information, skills and experiences, encouragement and motivational group support— which can be applied to many challenges facing community resi dents. Lastly, we will build on the success of Wellness Circles focused on chronic health conditions by of fering this program to providers of health services and health insurance agencies in the District of Columbia and surrounding jurisdictions.

Indeed, there are many reasons to celebrate SHIRE’s past, present, and future. Over the past 25 years, SHIRE has continued to thrive and with the support of the community our collective success is assured. WI

www.washingtoninformer.com

Recent & Recommended Books About Black Health

By Lee Ross / WI Staff Writer

Sickening: Anti-Black Racism and Health Disparities in the United States

By Anne Pollock

From the spike in chronic disease after Hur ricane Katrina to the lack of protection for Black residents during the Flint water crisis--and even the life-threatening childbirth experience for tennis star Serena Williams--author Anne Pollock takes read ers on a journey through the diversity of anti-Black racism operating in healthcare. She goes beneath the surface to deconstruct the structures that make these events possible, including mass incarceration, police brutality, and the hypervisibility of Black athletes’ bodies. Ultimately, Sickening shows what these shocking events reveal about the everyday racialization of health in the United States. Concluding with a vital examination of racialized healthcare during the COVID pandem ic and the Black Lives Matter rebellions of 2020, Sickening cuts through the mind-numbing statistics to vividly portray healthcare inequalities. In a gripping and passionate style, Pollock shows the devastating reality and consequences of systemic racism on the lives and health of Black Americans.

We’ll Fight It Out Here: A History of the Ongoing Struggle for Health Equity

David Chanoff, Louis W. Sullivan Racism in the U.S. health care system has been deliberately undermining Black health care profes sionals and exacerbating health disparities among Black Americans for centuries. These health dispar ities only became a mainstream issue on the agenda of US health leaders and policy makers because a group of health professions schools at Historically Black Colleges and Universities banded together to fight for health equity. We’ll Fight It Out Here tells the story of how the Association of Minority Health Professions Schools (AMHPS) was founded by this coalition and the hard-won influence it built in American politics and health care. David Cha noff and Louis W. Sullivan, former secretary of health & human services, detail how the struggle for equity has been fought in the field of health care, where bias and disparities continue to be volatile national issues.

Black Man in a White Coat: A Doctor’s Reflections on Race and Medicine

By Damon Tweedy

When Damon Tweedy begins medical school, he envisions a bright future where his segregated, working-class background will become largely irrelevant. Instead, he finds that he has joined a new world where race is front and center and black bodies are considered pathological and in herently diseased. Black Man in a White Coat examines the complex ways in which both black doctors and patients must navigate the difficult and often contradictory terrain of race and med icine. Tweedy discovers how often race influences his encounters with pa tients, and e illustrates the complex social, cultural, and economic factors at the root of many health problems in the Black community. Tweedy explores the challenges confronting black doctors, and the disproportionate health burdens faced by black patients, ultimately seeking a way forward to better treatment and more compassionate care.

Body and Soul: The Black Panther Party and the Fight Against Medical Discrimination

By Alondra Nelson

Between its founding in 1966 and its formal end in 1980, the Black Panther Party blazed a distinctive trail in American political culture, touting revolutionary rhetoric and militant action. Alondra Nelson, however, uncovers an indispensable but lesser-known aspect of the organization’s broader struggle for social justice: health care. The Black Panther Party’s health activism—its network of free health clinics, its campaign to raise awareness about genetic dis ease, and its challenges to medical discrimination—was an expression of its founding political philosophy and also a recognition that poor blacks were both underserved by mainstream medicine and overexposed to its harms. In 1971, the party launched a campaign to address sickle-cell anemia. In addition to establishing screening programs and educational outreach efforts, it exposed the racial biases of the medical system that had largely ignored sickle-cell anemia, a disease that predom inantly affected people of African descent.

Black and Blue: The Origins and Consequences of Medical Racism

By J. Hoberman

Black & Blue is the first systematic description of how American doctors think about racial differences and how this kind of thinking affects the treatment of their black patients. The standard studies of medical racism examine past medical abuses of black people and do not address the racially motivated thinking and behaviors of physicians practicing medicine today. Black & Blue penetrates the physician’s private sphere where racial fantasies and mis information distort diagnoses and treatments. Doctors have imposed white or black racial identities upon every organ system of the human body, along with racial interpretations of black children, the black elderly, the black athlete, black musicality, black pain thresholds, and other aspects of black minds and bodies. WI

Did You Know? Results of Pew Disparities Research

By Lee Ross WI Staff Writer

The health care system is also seen as contributing to the prob lem: 49 percent say a major reason why Black people generally have worse health outcomes is because health care providers are less likely to give Black people the most advanced medical care.

Large majorities of Black postgraduates (78 percent) and college graduates (76 percent) say less access to quality medical care is a ma jor reason Black people have worse health outcomes than other adults in the U.S., compared with 67 percent of those with some college experience and 51 percent of Black adults with a high school diploma or less education.

Younger Black adults are more likely than older adults to cite actions from hospitals and medical centers: 50 percent of those un der age 50 say hospitals and medical centers giving lower priority to their well-being is a major reason why Black people have worse health outcomes; 43 percent of Black adults 50 and older say the same.

Overall, 47 percent think health outcomes for Black people have gotten a lot or a little better over the last 20 years. Still, 31 percent say they have stayed about the same and 20 percent think they have gotten a lot or a little worse.

A majority of Black Americans give positive ratings of their re cent health care, but can also point to negative experiences in the past. A majority (61 percent) rate the quality of care they’ve received from doctors or other health care providers recently as excellent (25 percent) or very good (36 percent). A quarter describe the quality as good, while just 11 percent say it was fair and only 3 percent describe the quality of care they’ve received most recently as poor.

A majority of Black adults report at least one negative interaction with doctors and other health care providers at some point in the past – that was 56 percent who say they’ve had at least one of several negative experiences with doctors or other health care providers at some point in their lives.

One focus group respondent described their experience this way: “I had a situation where I had to go through about two differ ent doctors until I was able to get the results that I was requesting, because they did not believe that the issues that I had were valid, or that they were as serious as I made them out to be. It’s kind of been an ongoing thing, so I’m always leery when I’m talking to physicians. I don’t trust them just because they are doctors. I know they have the Hippocratic Oath, but it feels like it’s a little different when they deal with African American patients. And I don’t care if it’s an African American physician or White physicians.” – Black woman, 25-39

About three-in-ten Black adults (32 percent) say they’ve felt rushed by their health care provider and 29 percent say they’ve felt they were treated with less respect than other patients, either recently or in past experiences with doctors and other health care providers. Similarly, 29 percent say they’ve felt they’ve received lower quality medical care at some point; 70 percent of Black adults say this has not happened to them. WI

“This

The Holiday Suicide Rate is a Myth

Media are in a catch-22 situation regarding reporting on the holiday season. On the one hand, there’s the push to spread the news that this is the season when sales are high and consumers spend more than any other time of the year. Sales and shopping lines, shipping costs, and timely deliveries consume the headlines for weeks, while the impact of COVID-19, travel safety, and the high cost of gas, airfare and food compete for the same attention.

In addition, how the holidays impact physical, emotional and mental health also compete with warnings that suggest the best ways to get through what is described as one of the most stressful seasons of the year.

However, the good news, so to speak, is a report issued recently by the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania that debunks the myth that the year-end holiday season is the time when suicides rise. In fact, APPC reported, “although the U.S. suicide rate increased in 2021 after two years of declines, the average daily suicide rate during the holiday months remained among the lower rates of the year.”

Yet, it appears that media organizations, including newspapers and broadcasters, continue to per petuate the false myth despite APPC’s efforts to “correct the popular misconception linking the holi days with suicide.”

The report considers the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which showed reports from the Centers for Disease Control that suicides in 2021 were 4% higher than in 2020. Still, “the CDC noted that the monthly number of suicides was lower in 2021 than in 2020 in January, February, and July, and higher in all of the other months.”

The report highlighted, “In 2021, the average number of U.S. suicide deaths per day in January and December put those two months among the lowest of the 12 months – 10th and 12th, respectively.”

“For some people, this may be an emotionally fraught time of year,” said Dan Romer, research director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center. “With stories focusing on the holiday blues, seasonal affective disorder, and other changes in the seasons, there are a lot of factors that would seem to support the myth. There is also a concern for those who have lost friends and family during the year and who may be experiencing sadness about those losses. But we should not assume that these experiences lead people to suicide.”

We agree with APPC that “this suicide myth must be debunked because allowing people to think that suicide is more likely during the holiday season can have contagious effects on people who are contemplating suicide.”

Clearly, we are tougher and more resilient than we think, and the holiday season brings more hope and promise than anxiety and strife. APPC strongly urges media organizations to stop perpetuating the myth, and we will abide. However, if readers have strong feelings, we advise you to dial 988 to get the help you need. WI

It’s Official; Republicans Must Do Better

Senator Raphael Warnock has officially won the seat to represent Georgia in the U.S. Senate, giving Democrats the majority they hoped for. But what say ye, the Republicans? Yes, it was a tight race and one that required a runoff between Warnock and the other guy; the football player that happens to be African American and reportedly a man that doesn’t tell the truth about critical issues, including abortion.

Where do the Republicans find these people, and what are they doing to improve the party’s im pact, influence and status? What made them believe that the American public would support Sarah Palin, the “I can see Russia from my backyard” candidate who ran for Vice President with running mate John McCain? And, then there was Herman Cain, Mr. 9-9-9, rest his soul, who had the cre dentials, if for no other reason than he was a Morehouse man, but his candidacy for president ended following sexual harassment allegations. Many others can also be named, but the man of the hour who garnered the Republican Party’s most recent loss is Herschell Walker. What was it about Walker that made Republicans believe he would appeal to voters who are looking for a qualified representative in the Senate and not the football field?

The Republican Party is not monolithic. It’s not all White, all male, all rich, all Southern, all proTrump, or all racist. In fact, while most consider Republicans the conservative party, others who share their conservative views and would consider the party a viable option are disenchanted with a leader ship that lacks discernment of opinions and values and people to represent them. They ask why the party will not stand up to their former President Donald Trump and denounce his role in instigating an insurrectionist uprising and his reportedly most recent call to terminate the U.S. Constitution.

We praise Senator Raphael Warnock and congratulate him for a hard-fought victory. He will repre sent all of the people of Georgia, regardless of party affiliation. Meanwhile, we admonish Republicans to pay close attention to see what positive and progressive leadership looks like. There are lessons the Republican Party needs to learn, and they only need to look back at their history to find what made them the party so many voters wanted to join. WI

Obama Forever

I love the photo of Barack Obama's portrait in the White House from last week's edition! As a photography lover, this is one I will most certainly frame. Happy holidays!

Elizabeth Cozette Washington, D.C.

Readers' Mailbox

TO THE

EDITOR

Welcome Aboard!

Congratulations to Micha Green in her new role as managing editor at the pres tigious Washington Informer. As a long time reader and supporter, I look forward to where you will take the paper under your leadership.

Sherman Jones Laurel, Md.

The Washington Informer welcomes letters to the editor about articles we publish or issues affecting the community. Write to: lsaxton@washingtoninformer. com or send to: 3117 Martin Luther King Jr Ave., SE, Washington, D.C. 20032. Please note that we are unable to publish letters that do not in clude a full name, address and phone number. We look forward to hearing from you.

OPINIONS/EDITORIALS

Guest Columnist

Choices at a Table of Plenty

When I was a child, my father kept an editorial cartoon pinned up in the vestibule of our church that made a deep impression on me I have never forgotten. It was a black and white drawing by the Pulitzer Prize-winning artist Herblock that was originally pub lished in The Washington Post in October 1947. The picture shows well-dressed, happy people sitting

at a banquet table overflowing with place settings, goblets, and so much food — a roast, gravy boats, bread and butter, covered dishes, heaping platters of sides — the table cannot hold any more. Hovering behind them and filling the rest of the image is a crowd of gaunt, wide-eyed hungry children dressed in rags. Back at the table, one of the dinner guests is speak ing cheerfully to his smiling com panions. The caption reads: "Shall we say grace?"

Guest Columnist

Over Thanksgiving, many Americans were blessed and deep ly grateful to gather with family and friends and say grace around a table that looked a little like the one in the cartoon. But many oth ers were outside watching quietly with no place at America's table of plenty.

For families who couldn't gath er with loved ones during the pandemic, celebrating around full tables seemed especially joyful in 2022. But there are millions of

Americans for whom trying to put a holiday meal on the table — or just making sure everyone has enough to eat every day — be came even more difficult this year. The Child Tax Credit (CTC) and Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) expansions enacted during the pandemic in the American Rescue Plan helped millions of working people and families with children afford food and other basics. On Nov. 30, the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee released

a report showing once again the expanded CTC's dramatic success in helping child poverty fall to its lowest rate on record in 2021. But when Congress let those expan sions expire last December just as prices for many essentials were beginning to rise, many adults and parents couldn't fill the gap. Research now shows food insuf ficiency rates among households with children increased 25 percent

An Executive Order for Reparations

Congressman John Conyers (D-Mich.) introduced H.R. 40 in every congressional session from 1989 until he left Congress in 2017. Then, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) ably took the baton and ran with it, amassing more than 200 Congressional cosponsors for the leg islation that would study and devel op reparations proposals for African Americans.

losi (D-Calif.) chosen to schedule a vote on H.R. 40, it would likely have passed, given its strong cosponsorship. While as many as 40 senators have supported the companion legislation, S-40, introduced by Sen. Cory Book er, reparations legislation was not likely to pass the Senate. With Republicans poised to take the House of Repre sentatives, H.R. 40 won't get a House vote. But President Biden can move the reparations movement forward by signing Executive Order 40 (#EO40), which could establish the commission that H.R. 40 requires.

The organizations that support

H.R. 40, including the NAARC, Na tional African American Reparations Commission (on which I serve), and N'COBRA, the National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America, are urging President Biden to sign this executive order on Dr. King's birthday in 2023.

Callie House was one of the first reparations advocates, advocating for the National Ex-Slave Mutual Relief, Bounty and Pension Act, seeking pen sions for formerly enslaved people who fought in the Civil War. The govern ment, of course, opposed her efforts, with the Post Office Department ag

gressively vilifying her. House was con victed of postal fraud (the same thing Marcus Garvey was convicted of). Her jury was all white males. She was incarcerated for a year, a blow to the reparations movement. House was a threat to the illusion of white suprem acy. Her organization filed a lawsuit against the US Treasury, seeking to dis tribute cotton tax revenues to formerly enslaved people. Of course, the case failed, with the US Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court asserting that the government had immunity for the crime of enslavement and owed noth ing to formerly enslaved people. In the

eyes of white America, House had to be punished for her audacity, thus her conviction and jail sentence.

Callie House sowed the seeds that are now bearing fruit. For example, the notion that cotton tax money should be used to compensate those who picked cotton has borne fruit in the contemporary reparations move ment. In Evanston, Illinois, the first municipality to implement repara tions, marijuana tax money is being used to compensate those affected by discriminatory housing policies.

In September, lawmakers in Washington rushed through ma jor legislation that would reward massive, legacy media corpora tions at the expense of smaller community-focused and minori ty-owned newspapers. While the Journalism Competition Preserva tion Act (JCPA) is meant to pro tect publications like those in the National Newspaper Publishers

Association, it would ultimately threaten our ability to inform our communities, line the pockets of massive media conglomerates and hedge funds, and lead to the pro liferation of harmful misinforma tion. Good intentions sometimes have negative and counterproduc tive consequences.

The goal to foster quality, lo cal journalism and journalist jobs is well-intentioned. Local news outlets provide Americans with

important information about the political, economic and cultural is sues that matter to them. The news industry has reached an inflection point, and much work is still need ed to secure a bright and sustain able future for minority-owned publications.

Newspaper employment has fallen by 70% in the past 15 years, and 20% of America's counties are at risk of becoming news deserts. The top 25 media chains now own

a third of all U.S. newspapers. Thousands of newspapers have been acquired by hedge funds and private equity firms like Alden Global Capital or by media behe moths like Gannett, Lee Enterpris es and McClatchy. For these media companies, a local newspaper is an asset for profit — not a valuable source of local information. Big media chains acquire newspapers, lay off journalists and staff, drive down wages and shutter publi

cations forever — as they spend millions on executive salaries and stock buybacks.

Now, these same media com panies and hedge funds are a step closer to receiving huge payouts — without any accountability or transparency to direct funds to local journalism and journalists. The JCPA would require tech platforms to carry and pay any

Had House Speaker Nancy Pe

Julianne Malveaux

Marian Wright Edelman

Guest Columnist

Benjamin F. Chavis Jr.

Unchecked

Noteworthy indicators demon strate our "shrinking" world. The rapid spread of COVID-19 is a clear example. Plant and animal invaders without natural enemies also proliferate exponentially and cause significant damage to our ecosystem.

Wikipedia describes the spotted lanternfly as: a planthopper in digenous to parts of China. It has spread invasively to Japan, South

Korea, and the United States. Its host plants include grapes, stone fruits, and … Chinese sumac tree. In its native habitat, their popula tions are kept in check by parasitic wasps. … The piercing wounds caused by their mouthparts and the honeydew waste they excrete have been found to be significant ly detrimental to the health of host plants. In 2014, it was recorded in the U.S. and is now invasive throughout the Northeast.

Contrary to what may be sug gested, this is not an entomology

Economic

Guidance

It is not an exaggeration to say that day by day, week by week, month by month and year by year, most Black newspaper col umnists, Black television and radio commentators, Black civ il rights leaders and especially Black politicians read, write and talk about Black politics from ev ery possible angle. Unfortunately

OPINIONS/EDITORIALS

E. Faye Williams

essay. It provides background to a story about a psychological assault on a 9-year-old Black child.

That 9-year-old, Bobbi Wilson, learned about the harm posed by the spotted lanternfly. In Octo ber, with homemade insecticide in hand, Bobbi explored her Cald well, N.J., neighborhood for the winged invaders. She enthusias tically pursued her mission until it was interrupted by the police who had been called with a report of "a little Black woman walking, spraying stuff on the sidewalks and

trees on Elizabeth and Florence. I don't know what the hell she's do ing. Scares me, though." The com plaint also noted that she wore a "hood."

Gordon Lawshe, a former Re publican councilman in Caldwell and a neighbor of Bobbi's family, made the complaint. The police responded but upon arrival de termined that Bobbi was a child. The responding officer waited with Bobbi until her mother came to see what was happening. After she arrived, Bobbi's mother, Monique

Joseph, recalls Bobbi asking, "Am I in trouble?" Joseph pulled her close while she and the officer reas sured her that nothing was wrong. The excuse offered by Lawshe was that he thought she was a "lost little girl" or "little old lady with dementia." The apology Lawshe offered was not accepted because Joseph could not understand why he called the police before his own investigation, especially since their families had been neighbors for

A. Peter Bailey

From Professor James Clingman

for Black folks, they don't do the same with the critical subject of economics.

What they and the rest of us need to do is to take time to read a March 20, 2013, column by the gifted professor James Cling man. The column is titled "Put ting Economics Before Politics," if we want to know the real deal about that important subject.

Professor Clingman's first paragraph states the following: "It is always been intriguing to me that we have elected thou

sands of Black politicians since Reconstruction, especially since 1970, while the number of Black economic advocates pales in com parison. While understanding that Black economic advocates are not elected per se, it is obvi ous to me that if economics is at the bottom of everything in this country, Black people should have at least as many Black econ omists, economic advocates and economic literary instructors as we do politicians."

Professor Clingman's clos

ing paragraph in the same column states: "Economics is about empowerment and our dollars should be used more wisely to that end. Politics is about self-interest and our votes should reflect that truth. … The best help is self-help. We must organize and rally around basic economic principles. And until we our really serious in play ing the political game, we must wean ourselves of the milk and pabulum of political depen dence and get on a steady diet

of competitive economics and mutual respect."

What Professor Clingman is really telling us is that there is no political power without econom ic power. There may be a limited degree of political influence but to have political power a group must first possess economic pow er.

Fortunately, there is a growing number of young Black folks fol lowing the guidance suggested by Professor Clingman.

WI

Karen Bass' Historic Election Ushers in a New Era of Inclusive, More Equitable Civic Leadership

gress as tenacious and effective as Rep. Karen Bass of California.

"Karen Bass has a long histo ry of always being on the side of the people, fighting for the people, fighting for the people whose voices aren't in the room but must be present. That's who Karen Bass has always been. It's who she will always be."

The National Urban League and the civil rights community have had few champions in Con

Earlier this year, the Nation al Urban League worked closely with Chairwoman Bass and the Congressional Black Caucus on negotiations that led to Presi dent Biden's Executive Order on Advancing Effective, Account able Policing and Criminal Jus tice Practices to Enhance Public Trust and Public Safety. She and I partnered last year to highlight racial equity in COVID vac cines, and she advocated fiercely

for the National Urban League's priorities in the federal COVID relief responses. She has been a mainstay of our annual Legisla tive Policy Conference.

Now, the House of Represen tatives' loss is the City of Los Angeles' gain. We are proud to congratulate Rep. Bass as she pre pares to be sworn in as the first woman to hold the office of may or of Los Angeles.

Her inauguration on Dec. 12 also will mark the first time in history that the nation's four

largest cities will be led by Black mayors. She joins Eric Adams of New York, Lori Lightfoot of Chicago and Sylvester Turner of Houston.

As a former big-city mayor myself, and a past president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, I am perhaps a little biased but I am convinced that mayors are the most important elected of ficials in the country. Cities are the economic engines of the nation. They are laboratories of innovation. When a failure of

leadership at the federal level crippled the nation's response to the COVID pandemic, our may ors stepped into the breach.

The election of Rep. Bass, a longtime social justice advo cate and coalition-builder, can be seen as a rejection of racial ly-divisive policies such as the "tough-on-crime" agenda advo cated by her opponent, and the underhanded scheming revealed by a leaked recording of city

Guest Columnist

Marc H. Morial

Columnist

LIFESTYLE

Historic Anacostia Residents Treated to Christmas Carolers

James Wright WI Staff Writer

Many residents of the Histor ic Anacostia neighborhood in Southeast Washington, D.C. re ceived a holiday treat when 17 of their neighbors and other District residents sang Christmas carols throughout the area on Dec. 4.

“This is the largest group of car olers we have ever had,” said Jo Knight, the coordinator of the His

toric Anacostia Block Association’s 17th Annual Caroling, at the start of the event, which kicked off at the D.C. Fire and EMS Station 15 in the neighborhood.

Charles Wilson, who serves as the chairman of the D.C. Dem ocratic State Committee said he co-founded the event in December 2006 as a means of getting together with his neighbors and spreading the holiday spirit. Other parts of the District, such as Georgetown,

sponsor caroling events similar to Historic Anacostia where carolers go out into the neighborhood to entertain their neighbors.

After snacking on cookies and brownies and drinking hot choc olate, the carolers introduced themselves. Knight explained the

plan for the evening and passed out sheets containing words to the Christmas hymns.

The carolers then gathered close to the fire professionals in the build ing and sang “Deck the Halls.” Af ter entertaining at the station, the carolers stepped out into the cold night and began walking east on V Street, S.E. The carolers received an escort from police officers in vehi cles as they traveled throughout the neighborhood.

During the carolers journey, Phil ip Pannell and Anthony McDuffie, the executive director and a board member of the Anacostia Coordi nating Council, handed out flyers about the Dec. 10 Messiah Cham ber Orchestra’s “Handel’s Messiah Concert and Community Dinner” that will take place at St. Philip’s Chapel in the neighborhood.

Stuart Anderson, an Anacostia civic and political activist, played the role of Santa Claus and handed out pieces of candy to youngsters.

As they walked on V Street, they stopped to sing “Here Comes San ta Claus,” to David Banks and his children in front of their house, as his little ones danced to the tune. Banks expressed his appreciation for the caroling.

“This is great, amazing,” Banks said. “We really need more of this, especially in this neighborhood.”

They continued to walk an ad ditional block, while singing “Si lent Night.” At 16th and V Streets, S.E., they belted out “Frosty the Snowman” as people came to their windows and doors to peek at the

carolers.

After V Street, they proceeded to walk the short block north to get to 16th and U Streets, S.E., and en countered Alex Guzman and Aaron Rodriguez as they left their house.

The carolers sang “Jingle Bells” as Guzman and Rodriguez slowly rocked to the beat of the song. Both said they were impressed by the show of neighborly camaraderie.

“This is the first time I have ever seen carolers,” Guzman said.

“It’s good to see people out in the community celebrating Christmas this way,” said Rodriguez.

On 16th and U Streets, S.E., the carolers proceeded west and stopped at houses to serenade resi dents. They sang “Joy to the Word” to a Latino family while a little girl danced to the song. The child re quested another song and when the carolers sang, “Feliz Navidad”, she pranced horizontally on the porch joyously.

The carolers stopped by the res idence of Dr. Carlene Reid, Ward 8’s D.C. State Board of Education member.

“Thank you for coming by and thank you for doing this,” Reid said as she handed out bottles of water to the carolers.

The procession ended at 15th and W Streets, S.E.

Knight expressed her extreme pleasure in the mery caroling.

“It is wonderful to hang out with your neighbors,” she said. “The people we encountered were great and the kids were super.” WI

5 Ward 7 residents walked through their Anacostia neighborhood singing Christmas carols on Dec. 4. (Marckell Williams/The Washington Informer (Marckell Williams/ The Washington Informer)

Black UK Filmmaker’s Huge Climate Change Installation Opens at the Hirshhorn Museum

New exhibit offers an immersive experience of global warming’s impact.

Kayla Benjamin WI Contributing Writer

The inside of the Hirshhorn Museum’s newest exhibit feels a little bit like a cave—massive and dark. The walls, floor, and bean bag seating share a matching shade of deep purple, a color chosen by artist John Akomfrah because it represents mourning in Ghana, his birthplace.

Within that atmosphere, it’s easy to get lost in the six huge screens that stretch across the museum’s curved wall. On the screens plays Akomfrah’s “Purple,” a 62-minute film made up of constantly shift ing collages that explore climate change’s impact on communities, landscapes and biodiversity.

“Sometimes when you see a vid eo in a museum, you think ‘oh, I don't have time for this’ and you just sort of walk past it,” said Mari na Isgro, the exhibit’s curator. “But I've heard that people are sitting down and really watching it for long periods of time—people find it absorbing.”

The exhibit opened on Nov. 23, the day before Thanksgiving. Over the four-day holiday weekend that followed, the Hirshhorn had more than 19,000 visitors, according to the museum’s communication’s di rector, Kate Gibbs.

The work weaves together ar chival footage from the BBC with new video Akomfrah shot in lo cations around the world where global warming is rapidly chang ing landscapes and ways of life. The accompanying soundtrack shifts from melancholy to omi nous and back again with a mix of original music, old recordings, and spoken word.

Akomfrah has said his inspira tion for “Purple” came, in part, from a childhood spent in the shadow of a coal-fired power sta tion in London. Pollution hung in the air constantly.

The Hirshhorn’s exhibit captures some of that sense of a polluted at mosphere: a “toxic cloud” made of hundreds of plastic bottles hangs overhead at the exhibit’s entrance.

“I want people to be aware of the ways in which their lives are touched by things unseen and bear witness to these creeping environ mental disasters and emergencies,” Akomfrah said in a press release about the new installation, which opened at the Hirshhorn Nov. 23.

The non-narrative film—which includes snippets from the Indus trial Age all the way to the mod ern day—presents a new way to confront the realities of climate change. It offers neither scientific analysis nor policy suggestions.

“One thing I really like about this work is that it's not preachy, it's not didactic,” Isgro said. “Sometimes when you talk about climate change, there's a lot of

admonishing people—like for us ing plastic forks, or straws. And Akomfrah says basically ‘that's not what I want to do as an artist.’”

“John Akomfrah: Purple” will

be on display through January 2024 at the Smithsonian’s Hirsh horn Museum and Sculpture Gar den (Independence Ave SW & 7th St SW). WI

5 Installation view of John Akomfrah: Purple at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden (Courtesy photo/Ron Blunt © Smoking Dogs Films; Courtesy Smoking Dogs Films and Lisson Gallery)

Local Faith Leaders React to Rising Youth Homicides

Hamil Harris WI Contributing Reporter

The somber gatherings of tearful parents and grief stricken teenagers seem unending.

From 15-year-old Makai Green, who was gunned down in North west in early November, to 13-yearold Jayz Agnew, who was fatally shot while raking leaves in Hillcrest Heights, Maryland, to the homi cide of 16-year-old Jakhi Snider in Southeast, D.C.’s Anacostia neigh borhood, the storm of young males dying across the area rages on and the faith community is stepping in.

While several pastors declined to be interviewed, the Rev. Tony Lee, pastor of Community of Hope AME Church in Temple Hills said he continues to speak out and find solutions because the need in the community is too great to be silent.

“Things should not be happening like this in a nation that is advanced like ours,” Lee said. “We have to

have the will to fight this fight… Too often people don’t take things seriously until they lose someone.”

Lee recently held a forum for the mothers of crime victims– to which the media was not invited. He said he did so because “people talk differ ently when the cameras are present.”

The Community of Hope pastor is not the only church leader trying different methods to curb the tide of violence.

On Nov. 12, the First Bap tist Church of Glenarden held its “Mighty Men of Valor Conference,” and after 20 years of hosting the event, founder Dr Cliff Ashe has decided to move away from larger forums to smaller gatherings.

“We get all upset when things happen but we are not doing any thing about it,” Ashe told the In former the day after three University of Virginia (UVA) football players were fatally shot returning from a field trip in the District of Colum bia.

Student athletes Devin Chandler, D'Sean Perry and Lavel Davis Jr. were murdered by fellow student and former football player Christo pher Darnell Jones on Nov. 13. Two other students were wounded in the shooting– with one placed in critical condition and one in good condi tion.

The violence erupted near a park ing garage just after 10:15 p.m. Sun day, Nov. 13, as a charter bus full of students returned to Charlottesville from seeing a play in D.C.

When UVA Police Chief Timo thy Longo Sr., arrested Jones, 22, he invoked a bit of religion

“Just give me a moment to thank God and breathe a sigh of relief,” Longo said.

University President Jim Ryan said authorities did not have a “full understanding” of the motive or circumstances of the shooting, but several news outlets reported Jones had been picked on.

5 As seen in this 2019 WI file photo in front of the Prince George’s County Police Depart ment headquarters, Pastor Tony Lee has been outspoken about crime in the community, and is working to fight against the violence affecting several young people in the DMV area. (The Washington Informer)

“This young man was so angry. Why ? We have to reprogram neg ative input that causes individuals to be so angry that they have to use violence to address issues,” said mo tivational speaker Willie Jolley in an interview,

Though the Mighty Men of Val or National Men’s Conference was created to grow men to serve Christ, Ashe said many young men today

need more, which is why he hopes to do smaller gatherings to improve the community and stop the vio lence in the DMV.

“People have replaced real rela tionships with cell phone posts, texts and emails,” Ashe said. “Teachers are afraid to teach and to challenge, but one thing that men can do is hold people accountable.” WI

‘Troll’ is a Familiar Creature from Norway

Netflix’s new film Troll is an action fanta sy drama that is based on Norwegian folklore. It takes place in a very scenic mountain area located in Dovre, Nor way.

Nora Tidemann and her father Tobias Tide mann are mountain climbing as he tells her that the mountains are the home of Trolls, but she will only be able to see them if she believes

Youth, Talent Feted at Anacostia Coordinating Council’s Holiday Party

For the First Time, THEARC Hosts the Event

James Wright WI Staff Writer

About 200 people, mainly from Ward 8 in Southeast, came togeth er to eat a buffet dinner and view entertaining acts to celebrate mul ticulturalism and gather toys for young people at the 10th Annual Multicultural Holiday Celebration and Youth Gift Drive that took place on Nov. 28 at THEARC’s Black Box Theater.

“This evening is all about the children,” said Philip Pannell, the executive director of the Anacos tia Coordinating Council that served as the primary sponsor of the event. “For the past nine years, we have held this celebration at the Anacostia Playhouse. We decided that we needed a bigger space this year and we got THEARC.”

The Anacostia Coordinating Council (ACC) started in 1983 as a volunteer, membership consor tium of organizations and individ uals seeking to improve the life of residents in the Historic Anacos

tia neighborhood. The building and the opening of the Anacostia Metro Station on the Green Line stands as the ACC’s most nota ble achievement. Throughout the years, the ACC has held voter reg istration drives, candidate forums, blood donor and HIV/AIDS treat ment and prevention campaigns, in addition to continuing its work advocating for Ward 8 residents. The holiday celebration was aimed at gathering and giving toys for the attendees of the 7th Metropolitan Police District Christmas party that occurs this month.

Rashaan Bernard, the president of Building Bridges Across the River, the non-profit organization that manages THEARC, said al lowing the ACC to use its space for the program wasn’t a difficult decision.

“It’s hard to say no to Philip Pannell,” Bernard said. “He made it happen in this room.”

Read more on www.washing toninformer.com

WI

in them. Years later, something gigantic ap pears from the mountains leaving large footprints and causing fear within the nearby city.

The Norwegian government steps in to try and contain the creature, but their tactics only make things worse. Nora and her father are the only people that understand the Troll, and she is forced to develop a plan that hope fully will help.

The film is directed by Roar Uthaung. He was born in 1973 in Norway. After attending film

school he started to direct his own films. He is best known for direct ing Tomb Raider in 2018. During a Youtube interview with the chan nel WaterOnAir, Uthaung stated that he “came up with the idea for the movie Troll 20 years ago.” He was inspired when he saw movies like Godzilla and King Kong. He also stated in that interview that he believes Troll would be the winner of a fight with King Kong.

The film did a good job of cre ating an understanding of the characters to the audience in a short time. Within the first few minutes, you can already feel the bond between Nora, played by One Mare Wilmann, and her father Tobias, played by Gard B. Eidsvold. Both actors are also

from Norway, so they do a good job of making you believe in their knowledge of Norwegian folklore. You even begin to feel a connection with the Troll even though his backstory is only ex plained in a short scene.

If you have ever been a fan of films like King Kong, Godzilla, or any movies where a giant creature finds his way into an unfamiliar place to cause mass destruction then you will also be a fan of this film. The CGI was great. It made everything seem like it was hap pening naturally.

I was always a fan of the movie 2010 Norwegian film Troll Hunter and this was very similar. I would definitely watch it again. WI

The Gatsby Showcase, Highlights

Fashion, Honors Icons and Seeks to Empower

Micha Green WI Managing Editor

On a cold December night, hun dreds of fashion-forward folks brought the heat at the second-annual Gatsby Showcase, an awards and runway show with a goal of empowerment. Held at the Black-owned Salamander Hotel in Southwest, Washington, D.C. and hosted by actress and entrepreneur Vivica A. Fox, the showcase honored groundbreaking supermodel Beverly Johnson, celebrity makeup artist Der rick Rutledge and other do-gooders whose philanthropy and efforts align with the The Gatsby Showcase Foun dation’s mission.

“The Gatsby Foundation was cre ated to empower historically disad vantaged groups to achieve economic independence and for them to achieve economic independence,” said Laura Fote, the event’s co-executive producer and CEO of L&B Concepts.

Fote said the event, held Dec. 4, was created “to provide grants for educa tion and business development.”

As an entrepreneur in the beauty in

dustry, with a long-running hair collec tion, Fox was inspired by the mission of The Gatsby Showcase Foundation and said she agreed to emcee the event, because she “loves giving back to the community.” Fox added that she leapt at the chance to honor her “very good friend, makeup guru,” Rutledge and one of her role models, Johnson, who received the Trailblazer Icon Award.

“One of the main reasons I’m here… is to honor fashion icon and living legend Ms. Beverly Johnson,” said Fox in a red-carpet exclusive with the Informer.

Johnson quickly interjected saying, “I Love her,” before giving Fox a kiss on the cheek.

After the brief Black Girl Magic meetup (red carpet style) with John son, Fox said she wouldn’t be who she was today without her groundbreaking influence and personal friendship.

The first Black supermodel to grace the cover of Vogue in August 1974, Johnson shared how meaningful it was to be recognized with the Trailblazer Icon Award by The Gatsby Showcase Foundation.

“It’s always wonderful to be ac knowledged and it just makes me feel complete, and I am terribly grateful and humbled by this award. And it’s so wonderful to be here amongst these beautiful Black people,” she told the Informer before the showcase kicked off.

At the end of the show, which fea tured award presentations and fash ions from designers Anya by Vivien (by Vivien Agbakoba), Miller’s Furs, Miguel Wilson and L&B Concepts, Johnson, at 70, delivered a moving speech and treated the audience to a supermodel stroll down the catwalk.

The foundation, showcase and L&B Concepts are all the brain children of CEO Fote and her husband Bertrand Fote, who said all of their ventures root from places of empowerment.

Makeup expert and skincare entre preneur Rutledge said he was honored to receive an award from the founda tion because it aligns with his support of education.

“It feels really good, because Laura and Bertrand are two phenomenal people. They believe in giving back

and helping the next person try to move ahead with education. So to be a part of this and to be honored and appreciated really feels good,” Rutledge said.

The Fotes are driven by the desire to strengthen others.

“A lot of people need to be empow ered. They have the talents… but they just need the guidance. And there are a lot of people in the community that

are able to do that, but they don’t know how to reach those people, so we’re also creating that network,” Fote said.

As owner of L&B Concepts, Fote knows what it takes to find resources in order for a business to be good and thrive. Fote said she is proud to be one of the few Black women to retail Mos er Glassworks, a handcrafted glass and crystal company based in the Czech Republic founded in 1867.

“To empower people, I took that major leap forward and went to the Czech Republic to face Moser and say ‘I would love to retail as well as create my own crystals,’” Fote said. “You can find them in Buckingham Palace… and you find them in a lot of Neiman Marcus [stores] and Saks, but here I am, a woman-owned business– certi fied— doing the crystals as well.”

Rutledge gave Fote a shoutout for her bravery in retailing Moser and tak ing her products to the runway.

“And what I love, Laura, is that you took the initiative to say, ‘I’m going to showcase my crystal on the runway… and show people exactly what L&B is all about,” Rutledge said.

Fote said there’s a message behind her runway marketing.

“Whatever you do, carry it with courage, carry it with faith,” she said. “It doesn’t matter where you market your product. It doesn’t have to be on TV, it can be on the runway. If necklac es and earrings can be on the runway, why can’t crystals?”

To see a WI Exclusive featuring Laura Fote and Derrick Rutledge visit: wash ingtoninformer.com. WI

5 Actress Vivica A. Fox, makeup artist Derrick Rutledge, Laura Fote, co-executive producer of The Gatsby Showcase, and supermodel Beverly Johnson pose on the red carpet at The Gatsby Showcase Foundation on Dec. 4. (Jacques Benovil/ The Washington Informer)

They give each other gifts, sing songs and decorate their home with a Christmas tree and colorful lights.

Follow the maze to put the ornament back.

The Wald family celebrates Hannukah, a Jewish festival of light. They light a candle on a menorah each night for eight nights. They exchange small gifts each evening, sing songs and eat delicious foods. They display their menorah in their window.

Menorahs come in many different designs. Find the two identical menorahs.

People from different cultures have a wide variety of winter celebrations, many more than can fit on this page. How does your family celebrate in December? Draw it here.

Link: Social Studies: Students know how traditions and celebrations of other cultures compare.

Find the letters that spell each of the following words on one page of the newspaper. Use different color crayons to connect the letters in order to spell each word.

Welcome to Holiday Towers, an apartment building in the big city. Take a look at how the celebrations of these neighbors are alike and different.

The Miller family celebrates Kwanzaa, a week-long celebration honoring African culture.

They light red, green and black candles in a kinara and have a feast at the end of Kwanzaa. They also give each other small gifts.

Standards Link: Spelling: Spell grade-level appropriate words correctly.

Mrs. Miller wears a kaftan during Kwanzaa. Hold this page up to a mirror to nd out what this is.

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Are you an Read the articles correct the grammar errors first one is

Every yeer century, Christmas Bird Counts run acrost America holiday season. birds every and in the same scientists important about burds In 2007, Sonoma, CA include kidz “citizen science”

He launched CBC for Kids. successful following Rusert’s

This is a wonderfully healthy, hollyday almost any or community Standards Link: the importance commonly-held attentive to public

Standards

© 2022 by Vicki Whiting, Editor Je Schinkel, Graphics Vol. 39 No. 2

LIFESTYLE

review wi book

"The Wind at My Back"

By Misty Copeland with Susan Fales-Hi

Terri Schlichenmeyer WI Contributing Writer

You don't belong here.

It's a declaration that seems confusing, at first. Who says? Who's in charge here? You don't belong because … why? The answer is almost always as rude and hurtful as the statement itself, almost as unthinkable now as it was 70 years ago. But in "The Wind at My Back" by Misty Copeland with Susan Fales-Hill, those are four words that strengthen resolve.

For six years, the whole time she was a soloist at the American Ballet The ater, Misty Copeland was often the only Black dancer on the stage. She got used to it, but never got comfortable with it. Racism is common in dance and most Black dancers in American history were encouraged to stick with "modern" performances.

That wasn't the kind of dance Copeland had always dreamed of. Still, she persevered. Just being with the ABT kept her in place for what the future might bring and besides, she felt like she was representing. Her presence there was encouraging to Black girls who were told they'd never be ballerinas.

And then Copeland met Raven Wilkinson.

Wilkinson was born in 1935 to educated, upper crust Black parents and had set her sights on ballet when she was 5 years old, having experienced the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. She cried then at the emotion in the bal let, and she knew that she wanted to dance. Her parents enrolled her in the School of American Ballet and later, she was trained by Madame Swoboda, one of the Bolshoi Theatre's premiere ballerinas.

On the cusp of realizing her dream, however, Wilkinson was told that it was "never going to happen" because she was "Colored."

And yet, she, too, persevered and she began touring with a professional troupe which took her to the American South where she fought for her dignity and she endured threats on her life. Still she danced, a pioneer, a professional, and a "first." And when she met Copeland, she became a supportive, loving, wise, thoughtful, powerful mentor …

While it sure looks like a book and it feels like a book, "The Wind at My Back" isn't really a book. No, it's a love letter to an elder trailblazer with grace, both inside and out.

Author Misty Copeland, somewhat of a pathfinder herself, weaves the story of her career in with that of Raven Wilkinson, whose work was basi cally hidden in plain sight for decades. In telling Wilkinson's story, loudly and publicly, Copeland also writes of the friendship the two women had, and how Wilkinson pushed Copeland to soar to greater heights, career-wise and in Copeland's personal life. This gives the book an intimate feel, some times uncomfortably so, but the sense of gratitude and absolute love for a woman who ignored the word "no" when society repeated it overpowers any squirm you might feel.

A working knowledge of ballet will enhance your enjoyment of this book, but it's not an absolute necessity. If you (or your teen!) merely love a good double-biography, "The Wind at My Back" belongs on your bookshelf. WI

horoscopes

ARIES You could find yourself feeling more short-tempered, especially with family members early in the week. Instead of jumping to conclusions that cause your adrenaline to start pumping, you'll do well to take a step back and breathe before speaking. This could preempt unnecessarily stressful conflict. Lucky Numbers: 11, 24, 37

TAURUS Your inner drive and mental and emotional needs might clash with your everyday to-dos as the week gets underway. In other words, you might feel like chilling out and focusing on self-care, but you find you need to check about a million things off your to-do list before you can take a moment for yourself. Relying on deep breathing and doing your best to stay focused can keep you on track. Lucky Numbers: 3, 8, 36

GEMINI Pair up with your lover, friend, or coworker to make progress on a shared goal in the beginning of the week. Collaboration and conversation are even easier than usual now, which can help you reach the finish line organically. Then, if you've been itching for a change in how you've been pursuing new sources of cash or making your professional dreams come true, look to later in the week. Lucky Numbers: 1, 7, 31

CANCER You have the green light to step away from the practical side of life and think about what you want to achieve in the long term as the week begins. Researching online classes or long-distance trips you want to take, and even opening up to your nearest and dearest about these goals, can feel empowering and offer a sense of optimism and excitement. Lucky Numbers: 9, 25, 41

LEO You'll be feeling the harmonious, joyful energy as the week starts. This is a sweet time to express what's in your heart or let your creativity shine by pouring your emotions into your favorite art form. This could fuel your work and your self-image, which can feel productive and satisfying. Lucky Numbers: 19, 35, 58

VIRGO You could find yourself on the brink of clashing with a friend or lover, perhaps over a financial issue, when the week begins. Doing your best to be thoughtful and diplomatic versus impulsive can preempt saying something you might come to regret later. Then, you might feel driven to collaborate with a dear friend, colleague, or significant other on a creative project later in the week. Lucky Numbers: 26, 28, 47

LIBRA You might feel like your everyday schedule is weighing on you and preventing you from getting out and experiencing life to the fullest when the week starts. Though you might feel stifled and discouraged at this moment, know that this doesn't necessarily reflect the whole picture. You'll still benefit from allowing yourself to muse and dream about opportunities down the road. Lucky Numbers: 7, 22, 43

SCORPIO Stepping into the spotlight to promote your skills or even your own personal brand comes naturally as the week gets underway. People around you will take notice of your magnetism and knowl edge, and higher-ups could applaud your confident approach to a creative project. Allow this moment to amplify your faith in yourself and you'll be unstoppable. Lucky Numbers: 11, 19, 40

SAGITTARIUS As the week starts, you'll be ready to break free of the monotony of everyday life and plan an experience that takes you out of your comfort zone. Whether you're enjoying a weekend getaway or trusting your artistic impulses to lead you to start an exciting new project, you'll be able to trust your head and your heart to guide you now. Lucky Numbers: 10, 26, 50

CAPRICORN A brewing conflict with loved ones might be weighing on your heart and mind as the week begins. You'll want to speak the truth in a direct way, which might feel like the speediest path to a reso lution, but you'll do well to take a moment to think about where everyone else in the equation is coming from. Trying to infuse your words with extra diplomacy and sensitivity can keep the situation from esca lating. Later, there's an imaginative, magical vibe to your interactions with a lover or close friend. If you want to dive into a creative collaboration together, now is a beautiful time! Lucky Numbers: 22, 29, 33

AQUARIUS You might be aggravated if far too many of your to-dos feel painfully monotonous and fail to fire you up inside, and, in turn, you could take your frustration out on others as the week begins. Of course, exploding at a sibling, friend, or colleague might not be the most productive way to cope with this particular challenge. The best way forward might be to do your best to stay measured and pragmatic. Lucky Numbers: 4, 14, 17

PISCES If you've been wanting to escape the everyday doldrums, you can look forward to the start of this week. It's a sweet moment to spend one-on-one time with a lover or friend, getting lost in the moment and letting your imagination run away with you. Think about a day at the beach or watching a favorite film, followed by sharing your emotions and dreams. This can serve to bolster your connection in a big way. Lucky Numbers: 2, 23, 25

DMV Locals Talk Wizards: Kyle Kuzma and Bradley Beal

Richard D. Elliott WI Contributing Reporter

On Dec. 4 the Washington Wizards faced off against the Los Angeles Lakers at home.

In the opening minutes of the game, guard Bradley Beal suffered a hamstring injury and did not re turn. He is out for at least a week to recover and will miss the next three games.

The Wizards shot with only 25.4% accuracy from the 3-point line during this game and were

outrebounded. Weak interior and perimeter defense allowed Lak ers big man Anthony Davis to score 55 points and guard Lonnie Walker IV to shoot 7 for 10 from 3-point range.

This loss puts the Wizards at 11-13 with the projected ninth overall draft pick during the 2023 NBA draft according to CBS Sports. The team is 3-7 in their last 10 games.

Kyle Kuzma was playing against his former team, who traded him last year in a package

deal for Russell Westbrook. “Kuz” played 32 minutes, shooting 10for-21 from the floor but only 1 for 7 from three-point range. The 6’9 forward took the ball up the court and served as the primary ball handler, as he has in some games this season.

Corey Kispert, in his second season, is shooting over 46% from 3-point range and shot 4 for 6 in this game. Rui Hachimura, Delon Wright and rookie Johnny Davis did not play.

The Wizards will be playing the Tyrese Halliburton-led Pacers in Indianapolis on Friday and the Los Angeles Clippers at home on Saturday. Saturday’s game will be former Wizards star John Wall’s first game back in D.C. since be ing traded.

WI: What do you think of Kyle Kuzma operating as the primary ball handler in the Wizards of fense?

A: “Kyle Kuzma has flourished in the point forward role. He’s still young but he shows more care with the ball than Beal most days.”

- Kofi, Fort Washington

WI: What player currently on the Wizards would you like to see traded to your favorite team and why?

A: “Bradley Beal because he’s a three-level scorer and has been one of the best at his position over the past several years, but doesn’t get a lot of recognition due to him playing with the Wizards who aren’t title contenders.”

- Mike, Glenn Dale

WI: What can the Wizards do to maximize their existing tal ent?

A: “Defense, better decisions when on offense, and finding ways to capitalize on a run to keep the momentum going can help keep that consistency. They have a good team and their record isn’t too bad so seeing each player bring their strengths to the court will help the team excel.”

- Greg, Bowie WI

5 (Abdullah J. Konte/The Washington Informer)

CAPTURE

5

For more photos, visit www.washingtoninformer.com

the moment

4 Pastor Siziwe Chili of Durban, South Africa, receives the Trailblazers UnSung She-roes award.

Howard University’s Beacon Liturgical Dance Ministry perform during the Celebration of Black Women in Ministries.

5 Ambassador Suzan Johnson Cook introduces honorees with a comedy routine during the Celebration of Black Women in Ministries.

4 Rev. Jeri Wright presents Pastor Frances "Toni" Draper Baltimore, MD with the Trailblazers and UnSung She-Roes award.

3 Ambassador Suzan Johnson Cook presents the Trailblazer and UnSung She-Roes award to Rev. Beverly Claiborne standing with her husband Cary J. Claiborne.

BLACK POWER from

ter of Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana’s first post-independence president, expressed her father's vision for global African unity.

Maria Jones, Ayanna Gregory and Bokar Ture, children of the late Amiri Baraka, Dick Gregory and Kwame Ture respectively, also provided pre-recorded comments about the late Ebguna’s impact on African liberation movements of the Black Power era.

Historians often associate the term “Black Power” with Dada and most especially Ture, who, as a leader of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, popu larized the slogan that ramped up an international movement against institutionalized racism.

Both Ture and Egbuna, Sr. es tablished a relationship with Nk rumah, who they regarded as the father of Black Power due to his insistence on manifesting the United States of Africa.

In 2014, Egbuna, Sr. passed away in the District at the age of 75. Friends, family and commu nity members gathered at How ard University’s Rankin Memorial Chapel to honor his life. Schom burg Center for Research in Black Culture has copies of Egbuna Sr’s papers.

Years prior, Egbuna, Jr., fol lowed in his father's footsteps, using his platform as an educator and playwright to provide histori cal analyses that connect seeming ly isolated figures and events.

Those efforts extended to the re-release of “Destroy This Tem ple," which not only includes a foreword from Ebguna, Jr. but

commemorates the 50th anniver sary of Nkrumah's death and the 100th anniversary of Guinean President Ahmed Sekou Toure's birth.

Coates, who recalled selling copies of the original version of “Destroy This Temple,” said the book inspired him to further ex amine Black liberation movements in other parts of the world.

“Coming out of struggle in this country, there is and was a tendency for many of us to Af rican-American-centric in our thinking,” Coates said.

“Obi Egbuna, Sr.’s book was one of the first pieces that intro duced me to Black people out of this country struggling in the same vein like the Black Panthers did in this country,” he continued.

“This narrative is standalone in the sense that he’s talking about Black Power in the United Kingdom and his experience in a Pan-African sense.”

A CALL TO ACTION

In his comments on Dec. 2, Dada extolled Egbuna, Jr.’s work in connecting with oppressed peo ple in Cuba, Venezuela and Nic aragua, as well as Zimbabwe and other parts of Africa.

He expressed his hope that readers of “Destroy This Tem ple” would be inspired to do the same.

“I’m honored that we got a doc ument to let people know that Black power historically started and has continued to be a global movement that’s linked to other liberation movements,” Dada said.

“Black Power makes that link and it’s definitely part of the social

ist revolution. Let us continue to march forward for the liberation of Africa.”

Samia Nkrumah channeled the energy of her late father when she gave a charge to audience mem bers..

“Our unity will not only be eco nomic,” Nkrumah said. “We want a unity based on a solid political basis that’s comprehensive. I hope to see the day that Africans from everywhere in the world can con test elections on African soil [and] will have citizenship and be able to vote and be part of our decision making,” she added.

“When that happens, we’ll know that truly Africans everywhere are part of the African continent.”

WI

@SamPKCollins

HEALING from Page 8

bath healing and other healing mo dalities while grooving to the live sounds of go-go.

For some young people, like Lai la Hammond, the “Week of Heal ing” came at an ideal time.

Laila, a Ward 8 resident, ex pressed fear about losing friends to violence. She said the healing modalities featured throughout the week have helped her manage her anxiety in recent years.

“With yoga, I get to clear my thoughts,” said Laila, 16, a local influencer with more than 1,000 followers on her social media plat form.

“I use relaxing music and a sound bowl, and close my eyes [because] I’m worried about dying. Adults don’t know how it feels to go outside to the ice cream truck and run back inside because someone is shooting or someone is about to die. I just stay in the house [where]

She explained her goal as one centered on eradicating the vestiges of stress and grief that continue to live on in people’s backs, shoulders and other parts of their body after traumatic experiences.

I know I’m safe.”

Candy Glover, a professional yoga instructor and founder of The Rainbow Wellness, said she can attest to the healing power of yoga. She said that she grew to understand the necessity of move ment throughout high school and college, and especially as a flight at tendant who attended yoga classes around the world.

Glover said gaining certification as a yoga instructor in recent years not only allowed her to pursue en trepreneurship, but better appreci ate yoga’s benefits for people who experience the long lasting physical effects of trauma and grief.

Throughout the “Week of Heal ing,” Glover worked to convey that message and help people see the feasibility of taking care of oneself first, even if it’s breathing deeply for five minutes at the beginning of the day.

She explained her goal as one centered on eradicating the vestiges of stress and grief that continue to live on in people’s backs, shoulders and other parts of their body after traumatic experiences.

“We did this all across the city and we have things we’re doing on line,”Glover said.

“We didn’t want there to be any excuse as to why people didn’t par ticipate and why it didn’t appeal to them,” she added. “We took some things we saw work and made it work for us. We saw how beautiful it was when things pop up in the different wards.” WI

@SamPKCollins

3 Paul Coates (Courtesy photo)

Coates, who recalled selling copies of the original version of “Destroy This Temple,” said the book inspired him to further examine Black liberation movements in other parts of the world.

A historic church located in the heart of the District of Columbia has a cure for the past few years of us having to stay away from one another due to COVID.

During the past 20 months, I've read about choirs having problems throughout the DMV, across the country and the world. From our home in D.C. to all the way across the pond, all have had to cut back, and some even had to stop because no one could be near another. And statistics report that singing pre sented a risk even higher than any other.

However, it seems life is finally getting somewhat back to normal, as evidenced by the Shiloh Bap tist Church's Senior Choir's 83rd annual rendition of G.F. Handel's world-renowned, sacred oratorio, 'The Messiah" at 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 11 at the church, located at 1500 Ninth Street NW. Open to the general public, it's sure to be a treat!

Shiloh welcomes the Advent season with the inspiring mes

the religion corner

WITH LYNDIA GRANT

Go Tell It on the Mountain

sage of 'The Messiah" at a time when many in our community are seeking to renew their spiritu al compass after being faced with COVID-19, senseless violence and political turbulence.

As part of the African American church tradition, Shiloh will high light young soloists underscored by an African American orchestra of extraordinary local talent who together will spread the inspiring message of the Advent season.

Go tell it on the mountain and everywhere is one of only a few presentations of Handel's Messiah by a Black church in Washington, D.C. and will feature the brilliant call and response, as well as a rich vocal embellishment of soloists who reflect the rich tradition of the black community.

Everyone is invited to partici pate in this community outreach program that is free of charge as we continue our tradition of provid ing a platform to showcase stellar musical artists from throughout the metropolitan area.

The program will feature Dr. Thomas Dixon Tyler, Conductor; Ronald D. Johnson, co-conduc tor; Evelyn Simpson Currenton; harpsichordist Marsha Thompson, soprano; Marquita Raley-Cooper, mezzo-soprano; Roderick Dixon, tenor; Kevin Short, bass/baritone; an orchestra ensemble and Ameri can Sign Language inter pretations.

The next performance in the Shiloh Cultural Arts Series will be "The Black Family Reunion," a musical journey through the evolution of Black sacred and sec ular music in America. That show will be held on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2023.

Anyone interested in assisting the Cultural Arts Series can make a donation by sending a check with "The Messiah" on the memo line to Shiloh Baptist Church, 1510 Ninth Street NW, Wash ington, DC 20006, or via several online platforms, including Shi lohbaptist.org.

For those wishing to better un derstand this phenomenon, re tired English clergyman and musi cal enthusiast Robert Bashford has written a delightful book, "Focus on Jesus: A Guide to the Message of Handel's Messiah," contribut ing a valuable addition to the liter ature on this masterpiece of sacred music.

Come out and bring your fami ly to hear this inspirational music, which is just the way to get you all in the holiday spirit. Special thanks to my friend, club sister and Ward 5 Democratic Com mittee member Hazel Thomas for contacting me on behalf of this choir, regarding this exciting annual holiday musical announce ment. WI

Church of Living Waters

Allen Chapel A.M.E. Church

Church

Bishop Michael C. Turner, Sr. Senior Pastor

9161 Hampton Overlook Capitol Heights, MD 20743

Phone: 301-350-2200 / Fax: 301-499-8724

Service and Times

Sunday Worship Times : 7:30 AM 7 10:00 AM

Communion: 1st Sunday

Sunday School: 9:00 AM

Bible Study: Wednesday, 12 Noon Bible Study in homes: Tuesday 7:00 PM

Website: www.themiraclecenterFMBC.com

Email: Miraclecenterfmbs@gmail.com

Motto: “We Walk by Faith, Not by Sight”

Blessed Word of Life Church

Dr. Dekontee L. & Dr. Ayele A. Johnson Pastors

4001 14th Street, NW Washington, DC 20011 (202) 265-6147 Office 1-800 576-1047 Voicemail/Fax Service and Times

Sunday School: 9:30 AM

Sunday Morning Worship Service: 11:00 AM Communion Service: First Sunday Prayer Service/Bible Study: Tuesday, 6:30 PM www.blessedwordoflifechurch.org E-mail: church@blessedwordoflifechurch.org

Rev. Louis B. Jones II Pastor

700 Street, N.E. Washington, D.C. 20002 (202) 547-8849

Service and Times

Worship Sundays: 7:30 & 11:00 AM

5th Sundays: 9:30 AM

3rd Sundays: Baptism & Holy Communion Prayer & Praise: Wednesdays @ Noon & 6:30 PM www.pilgrimbaptistdc.org

3845 South Capitol Street Washington, DC 20032

(202) 562-5576 (Office) / (202) 562-4219 (Fax)

Services and Times

Sundays: 10:00am Worship Services

Bible Study: Wonderful Wednesdays in Worship and the Word Bible Study Wednesdays 12:00 Noon; 6:30 PM (dinner @ 5:30 PM) Sunday School: 9:00 AM – Hour of Power

“An inclusive ministry where all are welcomed and affirmed.” www.covenantdc.org

Rev. Paul Carrette Senior Pastor Harold Andrew Assistant Pastor

4915 Wheeler Road Oxon Hill, MD 20745 301-894-6464

Service and Times

Sunday Service: 8:30am& 11:00 AM Bible Study: Wednesday 7:30 PM Communion Service: First Sunday www.livingwatersmd.org

St. Stephen Baptist Church

Bishop Lanier C. Twyman, Sr. Senior Pastor

5757 Temple Hill Road, Temple Hills, MD 20748 Office 301-899-8885 – fax 301-899-2555

Services and Times

Sunday Early Morning Worship: 7:45 AM

Church School: 9:30 AM

Sunday Morning Worship: 10:45 AM

Tuesday: 7:00pm/Kingdom Building Bible Institute

Wednesday , 12:30 PM Mid-Day Bible Study

Wednesday: Prayer/Praise/Bible Study-7:30 PM Baptism & Communion Service: 4th Sunday – 10:30 AM

“We are one in the Spirit” www.ssbc5757.org / E-mail: ssbc5757@verizon.net

Rev. Dr. Michael E. Bell, Sr., Pastor

2498 Alabama Ave., SE Washington D.C. 20020

Office: (202) 889-7296 / Fax: (202) 889-2198 www.acamec.org

Service and Times

Sunday Worship Services: 8:00am and 11:00 AM

Sunday Church School 9:15am & Sunday Adult Forum Bible Study - 10:30 AM

2nd & 4th Monday Women’s Bible Study: 6:30 PM

Tuesday Jr./Sr. Bible Study: 10:00 AM

Tuesday Topical Bible Study: 6:30 PM

Tuesday New Beginnings Bible Study: 6:30 PM

Wednesday Pastoral Bible Study: 6:30 PM

Wednesday Children’s Bible Study: 6:30 PM

Thursday Men’s Bible Study: 6:30 PM

Friday before 1st Sunday Praise & Worship Service: 6:30 PM

Saturday Adult Bible Study: 10:00 AM

“The Amazing, Awesome, Audacious Allen Chapel A.M.E. Church”

Third Street Church of God

Rev. Cheryl J. Sanders, Th.D. Senior Pastor

1204 Third Street, NW Washington, DC 20001 202-347-5889 office / 202-638-1803 fax

Services and Times

Sunday School: 9:30 AM Sunday Worship: 11:00 AM

Sunday Community Worship Service: 8:30 AM

“Ambassadors for Christ to the Nation’s Capital” www.thirdstreet.org

Live Stream Sunday Worship Service begins @ 12:00 noon www.thirdstreet.org

Rev. Dr. Alton W. Jordan Pastor

800 Street, NE - Washington, DC 20002 202-548-0707 - Fax No. 202-548-0703

Service and Times

Sunday Morning Worship: 11:00 AM

Holy Communion: 1st Sunday Sunday School: 9:45 AM

Men’s Monday Bible Study: 7:00 PM

Wednesday Night Bible Study: 7:00 PM

Women’s Ministry Bible Study: 3rd Friday -7:00 PM

Computer Classes: Announced Family and Marital Counseling by appointment

E-mail: Crusadersbaptistchurch@verizon.net www.CrusadersBaptistChurch.org / “God is Love”

Greater Mt. Calvary Holy Church

Bishop Alfred A. Owens, Jr.; Senior Bishop & Evangelist Susie C. Owens – Co-Pastor

610 Rhode Island Avenue, NE Washington, DC 20002

(202) 529-4547 office • (202) 529-4495 fax

Sunday Worship Service: 8:00 AM and 10:45 AM

Sunday Youth Worship Services: 1st & 4th 10:45 AM; 804 R.I. Ave., NE

5th 8 AM & 10:45 AM; Main Church Prayer Services

Tuesday – Noon, Wednesday 6:00 AM & 6:30 PM

Calvary Bible Institute: Year-Round Contact Church Communion Every 3rd Sunday The Church in The Hood that will do you Good! www.gmchc.org emailus@gmchc.org

Reverend Dr. Calvin L. Matthews Senior Pastor

1200 Isle of Patmos Plaza, Northeast Washington, DC 20018

Office: (202) 529-6767 - Fax: (202) 526-1661

Service and Times

Sunday Worship Services: 7:30 AM and 10:30 AM

Holy Communion: 2nd Sunday at 7:30 AM and 10:30 AM Sunday Church School: 9:20 AM

Seniors Bible Study: Tuesdays at 10:30 AM

Noon Day Prayer Service: Tuesdays at Noon Bible Study: Tuesdays at 7 PM

Motto: “A Ministry of Reconciliation Where Everybody is Somebody!” Website: http://isleofpatmosbc.org Church Email: ipbcsecretary@verizon.net

St Marks Baptist Come Worship with us...

Dr. Raymond T. Matthews Pastor and First Lady Marcia Matthews

St. Mark's Baptist Church 624 Underwood Street, NW Washington, dc 20011

Services and Times

Sunday School: 9:00 AM Worship Service: 10:00 AM Wed. Noon Day prayer service

Thur. Prayer service: 6:45 PM

Thur. Bible Study: 7:15 PM

Turning Hearts Church

Virgil K. Thomas, Sr. Senior Pastor/ Teacher

421 Alabama Ave. SE Washington, DC 20032

Phone: 202-746-0113 Fax: 301-843-2445

Service and Times

Sunday School: 10:15 AM

Sunday Worship Service: 11;15 AM

Children’s Church: 11:15 AM

Tuesday Bible Study: 6:30 PM

Motto : “A Great Commitment to the

Great Commandment”

Website: www.turningheartschurchdc.org Email: gr8luv4u2@gmail.com

Service and Times Sunday Worship Service: 11:00 AM

Communion every Sunday: 11:00 AM Sunday School: 10:00 AM Bible Study Tuesday: 12 Noon Pastor’s Bible Study Tuesday: 6:30 PM Motto: “Discover Something Wonderful” Website: 12thscc.org / Email: Twelfthstcc@aol.com

Reverend Dr. Paris L Smith, Sr. Senior Pastor

901 Third Street N.W. Washington, DC. 20001 Phone (202) 842-3411

Fax (202) 682-9423

Service and Times

Sunday Church School : 9:00 AM

Sunday Morning Worship: 10:10 AM

Bible Study Tuesday: 6: 00 PM

Prayer Service Tuesday: 7:00 PM

Holy Communion: 3rd Sunday 10:10 AM themcbc.org

Reverend John W. Davis

Pastor

5101 14th Street, NW / Washington, DC 20011

Phone: 202-726-2220 Fax: 202-726-9089

Service and Times

Sunday Worship Service - 8:00 a.m. & 11:00 a.m.

Children’s Church - 11:00 a.m. (1st & 3rd Sundays)

Communion 10 a.m. 4th Sunday

Sunday School - 9:15 a.m. (4th Sunday 8:15 a.m.)

Prayer Meeting & Bible Study - Wednesday 7:00 p.m.

“A Church with a past to remember – and a future to mold” www.mtzbcdc.org

Mt. Zion Baptist Church headline and photo for

John F. Johnson

Reverend Dr.

1306 Vermont Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20005

Service and Times

Divine Worship, Sunday 10:00 a.m.

Communion 1st and 3rd Sunday

“Friendliest Church in the City”

Website: mountolivetdc.org Email: mtolivedc@gmail.com

Crusader Baptist Church Isle of Patmos Baptist Church

Pilgrim Baptist Church

The Miracle Center of Faith Missionary Baptist

Reverend William Young IV Pastor

Covenant Baptist United Church  of Christ

Campbell AME Church Reverend Dr. Paul H. Saddler Senior Pastor

Twelfth Street Christian Church

Mount Carmel Baptist Church

Mount Olivet Lutheran Church

Zion Baptist Church

Rev. Keith W. Byrd, Sr. Pastor

4850 Blagdon Ave, NW Washington D.C 20011 Phone (202) 722-4940 - Fax (202) 291-3773

Service and Times 9:00 a.m. – Sunday School 10:15 a.m. – Worship Service Wed. Noon: Dea. Robert Owens Bible Study

7 PM Pastor’s Bible Study Ordinance of Baptism 2nd Sunday, Holy Communion 4th Sunday Mission: Zion shall: Enlist Sinners, Educate Students, Empower the Suffering, Encourage the Saints, And Exalt our Savior. (Acts 2: 41-47) www.zionbaptistchurchdc.org

St. Luke Baptist Church

Rev. Aubrey C. Lewis

Pastor

1415 Gallatin Street, NW Washington, DC 20011-3851 P: (202) 726-5940

Service and Times Sunday Worship: 11:00 AM Sunday School: 9:15 AM

Holy Communion: 11:00 a.m., 3rd Sun.

Bible Institute: Wednesday - 1:30 PM Prayer Meeting: Wednesday - 12:00 Noon

Rev. Dr. James Coleman Pastor

2001 North Capitol St, N.E. Washington, DC 20002 Phone (202) 832-9591

Service and Times

Sunday Church School – 9:30 AM

Sunday Worship Service – 11:00 AM

Holy Communion – 1st Sunday at 11:00 AM

Prayer – Wednesdays, 6:00 PM

Bible Study – Wednesdays, 7:00 PM

Christian Education / School of Biblical Knowledge Saturdays, 9:30 AM – 11:00 AM, Call for Registration

Website: www.allnationsbaptistchurch.com

All Nations Baptist Church – A Church of Standards

Israel Baptist Church

Rev. Lance Aubert

Imterim Pastor

1251 Saratoga Ave., NE Washington, DC 20018 (202) 269-0288

Service and Times

Sunday Worship Service: 10:45 AM Sunday School: 9:15 AM

Holy Communion1st Sunday: 10:45 AM Prayer Service: Wednesday at 6:30 PM Bible Study: Wednesday at 7:00 PM Bible Study: Tuesday at 10:30 AM

Rev. Daryl F. Bell Pastor

2324 Ontario Road, NW Washington, DC 20009 (202) 232-1730

Service and Times

Sunday School: 9:30 AM

Sunday Worship Service: 11:00 AM

Baptismal Service: 1st Sunday – 9:30 AM

Holy Communion: 1st Sunday – 11:00 AM

Prayer Meeting & Bible Study: Wednesday -7:30 PM

“Where Jesus is the King”

2409 Ainger Pl.,SE – WDC 20020 (202) 678-0884 – Office / (202) 678-0885 – Fax

“Moving Faith Forward” 0% Perfect . . 100% Forgiven!

Service and Times

Sunday Worship: 8:00 AM & 10:45 AM

Baptism/Holy Communion: 3rd Sunday Family Bible Study Tuesdays – 6:30 PM Prayer Service: Tuesdays – 8:00 PM www.emmanuelbaptistchurchdc.org

Sermon On The Mount Temple Of Joy Apostolic Faith

Dr. Earl D. Trent Senior Pastor

623 Florida Ave.. NW - WDC. 20001

Church (202) 667-3409 / Study (202) 265-0836 Home Study (301) 464-8211 / Fax (202) 483-4009

Service and Times

Sunday Worship Services: 10:00 AM

Sunday Church School: 8:45 – 9:45 AM

Holy Communion: Every First Sunday Intercessory Prayer: Monday – 7:00-8:00 PM

Pastor’s Bible Study: Wednesday –7:45 PM

Midweek Prayer: Wednesday – 7:00 PM Noonday Prayer Every Thursday

Matthews Memorial Baptist Church

C.

4504 Gault Place, N.E. / Washington, D.C 20019 202-397-7775 – 7184

Service and Times

Sunday Church School: 9:30 AM Sunday Worship Service : 11:00 AM

The Lord’s Supper 1st Sunday Prayer & Praise Services: Wednesday 7:00 PM Bible Study: 7:30 PM Saturday before 4th Sunday Men, Women, Youth Discipleship Ministries: 10:30 AM A Christ Centered Church htubc@comcast.net

Noontime Bible Study: Tuesday @ 12:00pm

Prayer Meeting/Bible Study: Tuesday @7:00pm

Theme: "Building On A Firm Foundation"

Email: revprbstmbc@gmail.com Website: www.stmatthewsbaptist.org

mtmoriah@mountmoriahchurch.org

Rev. Richard B. Black Interim Pastor

1301 North Carolina Ave. N E Washington, D C 20002

202 543 1318 - lincolnpark@lpumcdc.org www.lpumcdc.org

Service and Times

Sunday Worship: 10:00 AM

Holy Communion: First Sunday 10:00 AM Sunday School: 9:00 AM Bible Study: Wednesday @ 12 noon and 6:30 PM

Motto: "Faith On The Hill"

Damion M. Briggs Pastor

8213 Manson Street Landover, MD 20785 Tel: (301) 322-9787 Fax: (301) 322-9240

Service and Times

Early Morning Message: 7:30 AM

Sunday Morning Worship Service: 10:00 AM

Sunday Church School: 9:00 AM

Holy Communion: 1st Sunday 7:30 AM & 10:00 AM

Prayer, Praise and Testimony: Wednesday 7:00 PM Bible Study: Wednesday 7:30 PM

“Real Worship for Real People” Website: www.easterncommunity.org Email: ecc@easterncommunity.org

Historic St. Mary’s Episcopal Church

The Rev. E. Bernard Anderson Priest

Foggy Bottom Founded in 1867 728 23rd Street, NW Washington, DC 20037 Church office: 202-333-3985 - Fax : 202-338-4958

Service and Times Sundays: 10 a.m. Holy Eucharist with Music and Hymns Wednesdays: 12:10 p.m. - Holy Eucharist www.stmarysfoggybottom.org Email: stmarysoffice@stmarysfoggybottom.org

All are welcome to St. Mary’s to Learn, Worship, and Grow.

Elder Herman L. Simms Pastor

5606 Marlboro Pike District Heights, MD 20747 301-735-6005

Service and Times Sunday Apostolic Worship Services 11:00 A.M and 5:00 PM Communion and Feet Wash 4th Sunday at 5:00 PM

Prayer/Seeking: Wednesday at 8:00 PM

Apostolic in Doctrine, Pentecostal in Experience, Holiness in Living, Uncompromised and Unchanged. The Apostolic Faith is still alive –Acts 2:42

New Commandment Baptist Church

Rev. Stephen E. Tucker Senior Pastor 13701 Old Jericho Park Road Bowie, MD. 20720 (301) 262-0560

Service and Times Sunday Worship: 11 AM Sunday School: 10 AM Wednesday Mid-Week Worship, Prayer & Bible Study: Wed. 7 PM

“A Church Where Love Is Essential and Praise is Intentional”

Dr. Joseph D. Turner / Senior Pastor

2616 MLK Ave., SE - Washington, DC 20020 Office 202-889-3709 Fax 202-678-3304

Service and Times

Early Worship Service: 8:00 AM Worship Service: 11:00 AM

New Member’s Class: 9:45 AM

Holy Communion: 1st Sunday, 11:00 AM Church School: 9:45 AM Wednesday 12:00pm Bible Study

Prayer, Praise and Bible Study: 7:00 PM Saturday Bible Study: 11:00 AM Baptism 4th Sunday: 11:00 AM

“Empowered to love and Challenged to Lead a Multitude of Souls to Christ”

Peace Baptist Church

Rev. Dr. Michael T. Bell 712 18th Street, NE Washington, DC 20002 Phone 202-399-3450/ Fax 202-398-8836

Service and Times Sunday Early Morning Prayer & Bible Study Class: 8:00 AM Sunday School: 9:00 AM Sunday Morning Worship Service: 10:00 AM Wednesday Service: 12:00 PM

“The Loving Church of the living lord “ Email Address: admin@pbc712.org

Promised Land Baptist Church

Rev. Oran W. Young Pastor

602 N Street NW - Washington, D.C. 20001 Office:(202) 289-4480

Fax: (202) 289-4595

Service and Times

Sunday School for All Ages: 8:00 AM

Sunday Worship Services: 9:30 AM

Midday Prayer & Bible Study: Wednesday 11:30AM

Evening Prayer & Bible Study: Wednesday 7:00 PM

Laymen's League: Thursday 7:00 PM

Email: Froffice@firstrising.org Website: www.firstrising.org

“Changing Lives On Purpose “

Kelechi Ajieren Coordinator

6839 Eastern Avenue, R1 Takoma Park, MD 20912 (202) 556-7065

Service and Times

Sunday Worship Service: 10:00 AM Wednesday Bible Study: 7:00 PM Friday Evening Service: 7:00 PM ; Last Friday

“…Giving Your Life a Meaning”

www.Christembassydc.org Christ.embassy.dc@hotmail.com

Pennsylvania Ave. Baptist Church

Rev. Dr. Kendrick E. Curry Pastor 3000 Pennsylvania Ave.. S.E Washington, DC 20020 202 581-1500

Service and Times Sunday Church School: 9:30 AM Sunday Worship Service: 11:00 AM Monday Adult Bible Study: 7:00 PM Wednesday Youth & Adult Activities: 6:30 PM

Prayer Service Bible Study

Mt. Horeb Baptist Church

Rev. Dr. H. B. Sampson, III Pastor

2914 Bladensburg Road, NE Wash., DC 20018

Office: (202) 529-3180 - Fax: (202) 529-7738

Service and Times Worship Service: 7:30 AM Sunday School: 9:00 AM Worship Service: 10:30 AM Holy Communion: 4th Sunday 7:30AM & 10:30 AM Prayer Services:Tuesday 7:30 PM. Wednesday 12 Noon Email:mthoreb@mthoreb.org Website:www.mthoreb.org For further information, please contact me at (202) 529-3180.

Lincoln Park United Methodist Church

Christ Embassy DC

Rehoboth Baptist Church

St. Matthews

Baptist Church

First Rising Mt. Zion Baptist Church

All Nations Baptist Church

Reverend Christopher L. Nichols Pastor

Emmanuel Baptist Church

Florida Avenue Baptist Church

Holy Trinity United Baptist Church

Rev. Dr. George

Gilbert Senior Pastor

Shabbath Commandment Church

King Emmanuel Baptist Church

Mount Moriah Baptist Church Eastern Community Baptist Church

LEGAL NOTICES LEGAL NOTICES LEGAL NOTICES

In God We Trust. Declaration of Nationality.

Notice of White Flag Surrender.

Notice of Special Appearance : I am that I am: "Amy Shondel Nichole Hines© ", in full life, in propria persona, sui juris, in solo proprio, Haqdar by natural issue, the beneficiary and heir of: “ AMY SHONDEL NICHOLE HINES ", corp.sole Dba.: " AMY S HINES © ", AMY SHONDEL NICHOLE HINES, AMY SHONDEL HINES, HINES AMY, AMY SHONDEL NICOLE HINES, AMY S HINES having reached the age of majority, being aboriginal to the northwestern and southwestern shores of Africa, the Atlantic Islands, the continental Americas, being duly certified, hereby affirms to declare my tribal intention to be as my pedigree subscribes, as a: Moorish American, but not a citizen of the United States. I declare permanent, and unalienable, allegiance to The Moorish Empire, Al Maghreb Al Aqsa, Estados al Marikanos, Societas Republicae Ea Al Maurikanuus Estados, The Constitution for the united States of America, Article III Section 2, The Lieber Code, Hague Conventions of 1899 & 1907, The Geneva Conventions, [ United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples ], and all natural laws gov erning moors, and hereby declare and proclaim my nationality in good faith as a: Moorish American. I am that I am: " Amy Shondel Nichole Hines © ", from this day forward, in harmony with my Nationality / Status / Jurisdiction, shall be known as: "Ceasia Djehuti © ". Notice of White Flag Surrender: as "hors de combat", pursuant to The Geneva Conventions, Article III, as a minister of The Moorish Empire, and Internationally Protected Person. Notice of: LAWS AND CUSTOMS OF WAR ON LAND HAGUE, IV), ARTICLE: 32, 45, 46, & 47. Notice of Claim pursuant to Public Law 87-846, TITLE II, SEC. 203. Notice of Bailment Merging of Legal Title with Equitable Title: This order is to pre serve legal and equitable title , and to reserve all rights, title, and interest, in the property, Re: STATE OF FLORIDA BUREAU OF VITAL STATISTIS : STATE FILE NUMBER, 109-88-004525: " AMY SHONDEL NICHOLE HINES © ", is as a special deposit order, conveyed to " DJEHUTI TRUST© ". All property of the same issue and amount, in like kind and specie, is to be returned fully intact, as a Special Deposit order of the Depositor Beneficiary / Bailor / Donor / Principal / Creditor: " Ceasia Djehuti © ", nom deguerre: " Amy Shondel Nichole Hines© ", as a special deposit order in lawful money. This special deposit is to be used exclusively for the benefit of : " DJEHUTI TRUST© ", an Inter Vivos Unincorporated Divine Grantor Trust. This deposit is not to be commingled with general assets of any bank, nor depositary / trustee / agent / bailee / donee / debtor. This deposit is not limited to, but including: discharge and set off, of any and all outstanding liabilities as accord and satisfaction. Inter alia enact fuit. All Rights Reserved. Deo volente.

In God We Trust. Declaration of Nationality.

Notice of White Flag Surrender.

Notice of Special Appearance : I am that I am: " Derieka Valen cia Mahoney", in full life, in propria persona, sui juris, in solo proprio, Haqdar by natural issue, the beneficiary and heir of: “ DERIEKA VALENCIA MAHONEY ", corp.sole Dba.: " DERIEKA V MAHONEY© ", DERIEKA MAHONEY, Derieka Mahoney, Derieka V Mahoney, derieka v mahoney, derieka valencia mahoney, derieka mahoney, having reached the age of majority, being aboriginal to the northwestern and southwestern shores of Africa, the Atlantic Islands, the continental Americas, being duly certified, hereby affi1985rms to declare my tribal intention to be as my pedigree subscribes, as a:  Moorish American, but not a citizen of the United States. I declare permanent, and unalienable, allegiance to The Moorish Empire, Al Maghreb Al Aqsa, Estados al Marikanos, Societas Republicae Ea Al Maurikanuus Estados, The Constitution for the united States of America, Article III Section 2, The Lieber Code, Hague Con ventions of 1899 & 1907, The Geneva Conventions, [ United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples ], and all natural laws governing moors, and hereby declare and proclaim my nationality in good faith as a:  Moorish American. I am that am: " Derieka Valencia Mahoney© ", from this day forward, in harmony with my Nationality Status / Jurisdiction, shall be known as: " deja songbird bleu ". Notice of White Flag Surrender: as "hors de combat", pursuant to The Geneva Conventions, Article III, as a minister of The Moorish Empire, and Internationally Protected Person. Notice of: LAWS AND CUSTOMS OF WAR ON LAND HAGUE, IV), ARTICLE: 32, 45, 46, & 47. Notice of Claim pursuant to Public Law 87-846, TITLE II, SEC. 203. Notice of Bailment Merging of Legal Title with Equitable Title : This order is to preserve legal and equitable title and to reserve all rights, title, and interest, in the property, Re: STATE OF HAWAII DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH: STATE FILE NUMBER, 151 1985 002664: " DERIEKA VALENCIA MAHONEY© ", is as a special deposit order, conveyed to " Musiqal Babiez© ". All property of the same issue and amount, in like kind and specie, is to be returned fully intact, as a Special Deposit order of the Depositor / Beneficiary / Bailor / Donor / Principal / Creditor: " deja songbird bleu© ", nom deguerre: " Derieka Valencia Ma honey ", as a special deposit order in lawful money. This special deposit is to be used exclusively for the benefit of : " Musiqal Babiez© ", an Inter Vivos Unincorporated Divine Grantor Trust. This deposit is not to be commingled with general assets of any bank, nor depositary / trustee agent / bailee donee / debtor.

This deposit is not limited to, but including: discharge and set off, of any and all outstanding liabilities as accord and satisfac tion. Inter alia enact fuit. All Rights Reserved. Deo volente.

In God We Trust. Declaration of Nationality. Notice of White Flag Surrender. Notice of Special Appearance : I am that I am: "Melvin Castrol Lett© ", in full life, in propria persona, sui juris, in solo proprio, Haqdar by natural issue, the beneficiary and heir of: “MELVIN CASTROL LETT", corp.sole Dba.: "MELVIN C. LETT © ", “Lett, Melvin Castrol ©” having reached the age of majority, being aboriginal to the northwestern and southwestern shores of Africa, the Atlantic Islands, the continental Americas, being duly certified, hereby affirms to declare my tribal intention to be as my pedigree subscribes, as a: Moorish American, but not a citi zen of the United States. I declare permanent, and unalienable, allegiance to The Moorish Empire, Al Maghreb Al Aqsa, Estados al Marikanos, Societas Republicae Ea Al Maurikanuus Estados, The Constitution for the united States of America, Article III Sec tion 2, The Lieber Code, Hague Conventions of 1899 & 1907, The Geneva Conventions, [ United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples ], and all natural laws governing moors, and hereby declare and proclaim my nationality in good faith as a: Moorish American. I am that I am: "Melvin Castrol Lett© ", from this day forward, in harmony with my Nationality / Status / Jurisdiction, shall be known as: "marcel melvin castrol lett-bey© ". Notice of White Flag Surrender: as "hors de combat", pursuant to The Geneva Conventions, Article III, as a minister of The Moorish Empire, and Internationally Protected Person. Notice of: LAWS AND CUSTOMS OF WAR ON LAND HAGUE, IV), ARTICLE: 32, 45, 46, & 47. Notice of Claim pursuant to Public Law 87-846, TITLE II, SEC. 203. Notice of Bailment Merging of Legal Title with Equitable Title : This order is to preserve legal and equitable title , and to reserve all rights, title, and interest, in the property, Re: State Department of Health and Senior Services Bureau of Vital Statistics: STATE FILE NUMBER #: 112-1986 6047430© ", is as a special deposit order, conveyed to "The Hokage Trust© ". All property of the same issue and amount, in like kind and specie, is to be re turned fully intact, as a Special Deposit order of the Depositor / Beneficiary / Bailor / Donor / Principal / Creditor: "melvin castrol lett-bey© ", nom deguerre: "Melvin Castrol Lett© ", as a special deposit order in lawful money. This special deposit is to be used exclusively for the benefit of : "The Hokage Trust © ", an Inter Vivos Unincorporated Divine Grantor Trust. This deposit is not to be commingled with general assets of any bank, nor depositary / trustee / agent / bailee / donee / debtor. This deposit is not limited to, but including: discharge and set off, of any and all outstanding liabilities as accord and satisfaction. Inter alia enact fuit. All Rights Reserved. Deo volente.

LEGAL NOTICES LEGAL NOTICES

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131

2022 ADM 000342

James Henry Sedgewick Decedent

NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

Michelle L. Sedgewick, whose address is 1532 Independence Avenue, SE, Washington, DC 20003, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of James Henry Sedgewick who died on July 22, 1960 without a Will, and will serve with Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 6/1/2023. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 6/1/2023, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship.

Date of first publication: 12/1/2022

Michelle L. Sedgewick Personal Representative

TRUE TEST COPY

Nicole Stevens Register of Wills Washington Informer

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA PROBATE DIVISION Washington, D.C. 20001-2131

2022 FEP 000130

July 8, 1962 Date of Death

James T. Hall Sr. Name of Decedent

NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

Michelle Bonner and Mickisha Bonner, whose addresses are 1400 Fairmont St, NW #315 WDC 20009 and 1400 Fairmont St. NW #315 WDC 20009, were appointed Personal Representa tives of the estate of Michael K. Bonner who died on 2/25/2011 without a Will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 6/1/2023. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Reg ister of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 6/1/2023, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship.

Date of first publication: 12/1/2022

NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT OF FOREIGN PERSONAL REPRESEN TATIVE AND NOTICE TO CREDITORS

James T. Hall III whose address is 7704 Bock Road Fort Washington, MD 20744 was appointed personal representative of the estate of James Thomas Hall, Sr., deceased, by the St. Mary’s County Circuit Court for St. Mary’s County, State of Maryland, on September 30, 2022.

Service of process may be made upon Jaimee A. Hall 3326 N Street, SE Washington, DC 20019 whose designation as District of Columbia agent has been filed with the Register of Wills, D.C.

The decedent owned the following District of Columbia real estate.

513 Irving Street, NW Washington DC 20010. Claims against the decedent may be presented to the undersigned and filed with the Register of Wills of the District of Columbia, 515 5th Street, NW, Third Floor, Washington, D.C. 20001 within 6 months from the date of first publication of this notice.

Date of first publication: 12/1/2022

James T. Hall III

Personal Representative

Nicole Stevens Register of Wills

Washington Informer

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131

2022 ADM 001242

Charlotte Johnson Sanders Decedent

Suren G. Adams, Esq. Adams Law Office, LLC 4201 Northview Drive Suite 401 Bowie, MD 20716 Attorney

NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

Mandel Sanders and Jamie Coleman, whose addresses are 4235 71st Avenue, Hyattsville, MD and 12305 Burning Oak Court, Waldorf MD, were appointed Personal Representatives of the estate of Charlotte Johnson Sanders who died on 6/4/2020 without a Will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 6/1/2023. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Reg ister of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 6/1/2023, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship.

Date of first publication: 12/01/2022

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131

2022 ADM 001249

George Ricks Decedent

Leta M. Jackson, Esq. Legal Counsel for the Elderly 601 E St., NW Washington, DC 20049 Attorney

NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

Vivian Ricks, whose address is 4425 A St., SE, #1, Washington, DC 20019, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of George Ricks who died on May 30, 2020 without a Will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or be fore 6/1/2023. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 6/1/2023, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship.

Date of first publication: 12/1/2022

Vivian Ricks

Personal Representative

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131

2022 ADM 001258

Betty Jean Longshore Decedent

NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

Raymond Longshore, whose address is 1010 42nd Street NE Washington, DC 20019, was appointed Personal Repre sentative of the estate of Betty Jean Longshore who died on January 8, 2022 without a Will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding.

Objections to such appointment shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 6/1/2023. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 6/1/2023, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship.

Date of first publication: 12/1/2022

Raymond Longshore Personal Representative TRUE TEST COPY

Nicole Stevens Register of Wills Washington Informer SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131 2022 ADM 000371

Patricia Destiny Clark Decedent

Gretchyn G. Meinken 616 N. Washington Street Alexandria, VA 22314 Attorney

NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

Richard L. Counts, III and Charlotte Lee Gordon, whose addresses are 28631 Hope Circle, MD 21601 and 129 N. Washington Street, Easton, MD 21601, were appointed

Personal Representatives of the estate of Patricia Destiny Clark who died on 12/29/2021 with a Will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment (or to the probate of decedent’s Will) shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 6/1/2023. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Reg ister of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 6/1/2023, or be forever barred.

Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship.

Date of first publication: 12/1/2022

Nicole Stevens Register of Wills

Washington Informer

Sanders Jamie Coleman Personal Representative

TRUE TEST COPY

Nicole Stevens Register of Wills Washington Informer

Richard L. Counts, III Charlotte Lee Gordon Personal Representative

Stevens Register of Wills

TRUE TEST COPY

Nicole Stevens Register of Wills Washington Informer

Mandel

Michelle Bonner Mickisha Bonner Personal Representative TRUE TEST COPY

LEGAL NOTICES LEGAL NOTICES

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131

2022 ADM 00065

Cleo Juanita Wise Decedent

Stevaughn J. Bush 600 Maryland Avenue SW Suite 800E Washington, DC 20024

Attorney

NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

Terry Ann Wise Watson, whose address is 7426 8th Street NW, Washington DC 20012, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Cleo Juanita Wise who died on May 30, 1998 without a Will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 6/1/2023. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Reg ister of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 6/1/2023, or be forever barred.

Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship.

Date of first publication: 12/1/2022

Terry Ann Wise Watson Personal Representative

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Probate Division

Washington, D.C. 20001-2131

2022 ADM 001313

Estate of Alonzo Lee Williams

NOTICE OF STANDARD PROBATE

Notice is hereby given that a petition has been filed in this Court by Elmore Manuel Williams and Deborah Cason Daniel, Esq. for standard probate, including the appointment of one or more personal representatives. Unless a responsive pleading in the form of a complaint or an objection in accordance with Superior Court Probate Division Rule 407 is filed in this Court within 30 days from the date of first publication of this notice, the Court may take the action hereinafter set forth.

In the absence of a will or proof satisfactory to the Court of due execution, enter an order determining that the decedent died intestate appoint Elmore Manuel Williams and Deborah Cason Daniel, Esq. unsupervised personal representatives

Date of first publication: 12/8/2022

Elmore M. Williams

Deborah Cason Daniel, Esq. 51 Hamilton Street, NW/503 D St. NW #200, WDC

Petitioner/Attorney:

TRUE TEST COPY

Nicole Stevens Register of Wills

Washington Informer

LEGAL NOTICES LEGAL NOTICES

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131

2022 ADM 001259

David A. Thomas, Jr. Decedent

NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

Mary L. McKinnon-Thomas, whose address is 11720 Redwood Dr., E. Brandywine, MD 20613, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of David A. Thomas, Jr. who died on February 22, 2022 with a Will, and will serve with Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding.

Objections to such appointment (or to the probate of decedent’s Will) shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 6/8/2023. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Reg ister of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 6/8/2023, or be forever barred.

Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship.

Date of first publication: 12/8/2022

Mary L. McKinnon-Thomas Personal Representative

TRUE TEST COPY

Nicole Stevens Register of Wills Washington Informer

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131

2022 ADM 001272

Michelle Lanchester, Esq. 601 Pennsylvania Ave., NW Suite 900, South Building Washington, DC 20004 Attorney

NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

Demetra Brewer Darlington, whose address is 3702 Melrose Ave., District Heights, MD 20747, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Doris Brewer Thomas who died on 2/6/2022 without a Will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 6/8/2023. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 6/8/2023, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship.

Date of first publication: 12/8/2022

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131

2022 ADM 1247

Lamont J. Meredith Decedent

Deborah D. Boddie Probate Law DC 1308 Ninth Street, NW Ste. 300 Washington, DC 20001 Attorney

NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

Geraldine Meredith, whose address is 1610 Monroe Street, NE, Washington, DC 20001, was appointed Personal Representa tive of the estate of Lamont J. Meredith who died on June 5, 2018 without a Will, and will serve without Court supervision.

All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 6/8/2023. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Reg ister of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 6/8/2023, or be forever barred.

Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship.

Date of first publication: 12/8/2022

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131

2021 ADM 000677

Vester L. Chandler aka Vester Lee Chandler Decedent

Julius P. Terrell, Esq. 1455 Pennsylvania Ave. NW Suite 400 Washington, DC 20004 Attorney

NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

Akia J. Turner, whose address is 631 71st Street, Capitol Heights, MD 20743, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Vester L. Chandler aka Vester Lee Chandler who died on 12/27/2020 without a Will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 6/8/2023. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 6/8/2023, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship.

Date of first publication: December 8, 2022

Akia J. Turner Personal Representative

TRUE TEST COPY

Nicole Stevens Register of Wills Washington Informer

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131 2022 ADM 0001307

Estate of Leonder L. Lee, Sr. aka Leonder Leopold Lee, Sr.

NOTICE OF STANDARD PROBATE

Notice is hereby given that a petition has been filed in this Court by Lorna L. Washington for standard probate, including the appointment of one or more personal representatives. Unless a responsive pleading in the form of a complaint or an objection in accordance with Superior Court Probate Division Rule 407 is filed in this Court within 30 days from the date of first publication of this notice, the Court may take the action hereinafter set forth.

Admit to probate the Will dated October 13, 2016 exhibited with the petition upon proof satisfac tory to the Court of due execution by affidavit of the witnesses or otherwise

Date of first publication: December 8, 2022

Glenda M. Wheeler Allen, Esq. Law Office of Glenda M. Wheeler 808 E. Street, NE Suite A Washington DC 20002

Petitioner/Attorney:

TRUE TEST COPY

Nicole Stevens Register of Wills Washington Informer

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131 2022 ADM 001324

Estate of Charles R. Scott Sr.

NOTICE OF STANDARD PROBATE

Notice is hereby given that a petition has been filed in this Court by Pamela L. Nichols for standard probate, including the appointment of one or more personal representatives. Unless a responsive pleading in the form of a complaint or an objection in accordance with Superior Court Probate Division Rule 407 is filed in this Court within 30 days from the date of first publication of this notice, the Court may take the action hereinafter set forth.

Admit to probate the will dated 6/6/2012 exhib ited with the petition upon proof satisfactory to the Court of due execution by affidavit of the witnesses or otherwise

Date of first publication: 12/8/2022

Howard Haley

The Haley Firm, PC 7600 Georgia Ave. NW #416 Washington, DC 20012

Petitioner/Attorney:

TRUE TEST COPY

Nicole Stevens Register of Wills Washington Informer

NOTICE AND ORDER: Petition for Appointment of Guardian of a Minor

DOCKET NO. SU22P2449GD

Commonwealth of Massachusetts The Trial Court Probate and Family Court

Sherly Z. Escobar Mendez Vs. Victor Escobar Perez

Suffolk Probate and Family Court 24 New Chardon Street Boston, MA 02114 (617) 788-8300

Upon motion of plaintiff(s)/petitioner(s) for an order directing the defendant(s)/respondent(s), to appear, plead, or answer, in accordance with Mass.R.Civ.P./Mass.R.Dom.Rel.P.Rule 4, it ap pearing to the court that this is an action for Special Immigrant Juvenile Status filed on November 09, 2022.

Defendant(s)/Respondent(s) cannot be found within the Commonwealth and defendant(s)/respondent(s) present whereabouts are unknown. Personal service on defendant is therefore not practicable, and defendant(s)/respondent(s) has/ have not voluntarily appeared in this action.

It is Ordered that defendant(s)/respondent(s) is/are directed to appear, please, answer, or otherwise move with respect to the complaint/petition herein on or before the return day of December 22nd, 2022.

If you fail to do so this Court will proceed to a hearing and adjudication of this matter.

It is further Ordered that the accompanying summons be published once in the Newspaper of General Circulation in Washington, DC., the publication to be 14 days at least before said return day. It is further ordered that ta copy of the summons be mailed to the defendant(s)/respondent(s) at his/ her/their last known address by registered or certified mail.

Date: 11/18/2022

Virginia M. Ward

Justice of Probate and Family Court

Geraldine Meredith Personal Representative

TRUE TEST COPY

Nicole Stevens Register of Wills Washington Informer

Doris Brewer Thomas Decedent

Demetra Brewer Darlington Personal Representative

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MOORE

from Page 13

“The people of this state did what you do for our students every day: you see them for who they are, the hope and the promise they pos sess. Not seeing them as deficits to be fixed, but as assets to be invested in,” he said. “Marylanders saw the son of a single mom from Jamaica, saw someone who watched his fa ther die in front of him at a young age due to lack of healthcare and saw someone who was saved by ed ucators.”

“I will take office on Jan, 18”, Moore added, drawing a massive applause. When he said that he was only the third Black governor in American history, the crowd mur mured, some with shock, agree ment and recognition.

Moore will be sworn in this Jan uary and one of his main tasks as governor will be funding and im plementing the Kirwan Commis sion’s Blueprint for Education. This commission has been formed, but has not yet provided their full list of policy recommendations nor their

BETTING

from Page 14

four days. This was measured by GeoComply, a geolocation serving service that ensures that bettors are physically in Maryland as bets are placed. Over 3.7 million transac tions were placed on Thanksgiv ing Day alone. Across that same time period, Maryland transac tions were roughly double those of Virginia, a state with 1.5 million more residents, and approximately quadruple those of Colorado, with a similar population to Maryland.

When asked about why they choose to participate in sports betting, an anonymous bettor said “It gives someone the opportunity to turn an active interest in sports into money using a keen eye and

REAL ID from Page 9

pabilities, DHS officials explained.

TSA also increased its vetting capability through Secure Flight, a risk-based passenger prescreening program that enhances security by identifying low and high-risk pas sengers before they arrive at the airport by matching their names against trusted traveler lists and watchlists.

“REAL ID requirements will strengthen these improvements further by providing an additional

funding mechanism.

Some of Moore’s policy plans for education include creating an edu cation system that offers a platform for all children to succeed, considers elements such as dental and men tal healthcare in their success and builds a pipeline of Black educa tors to the classroom. Gov. Moore will also have some oversight of the $577 million HBCU lawsuit settle ment that was rendered in 2021.

When asked what Governor Moore could do to retain Black ed ucators, Anne Arundel County ed ucator Keanuú Smith-Brown said that “equity and investment is key”. Some of the ideas that he believes would retain existing Black edu cators include monetary support, tax breaks, and housing credits to help ensure long-term affordability and help make educators a part of the community that they teach in.

In Smith-Brown’s opinion, imple menting the Blueprint for Mary land’s Future is a step forward but not enough in itself to significantly increase the ranks of Black educa tors. WI

critical thinking skills! Even if you aren’t interested in sports, there’s still a level of excitement from be ing able to guess something right and get paid back for it.”

Money earned from online bet ting is subject to state and federal taxes. If your annual winnings are less than $1,000, the state tax rate is 2%, while it is 3% for $1-2,000 in winnings . The federal tax on online betting is 24%. Unless your winnings are over $500, the IRS’ W-2G tax form and the state Form 502D are not sent automatical ly and you may have to calculate your own tax payments. More in formation on Maryland state taxes regarding gambling winnings is available online at marylandtaxes. gov. WI

layer of confidence in the identity of the traveler,” DHS officials em phasized.

All 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and four of five U.S. territories covered by the REAL ID Act and related regulations are is suing REAL ID-compliant driver’s licenses and identification cards.

These standards have significantly improved the reliability and accura cy of state-issued driver’s licenses and identification cards.

For more information on REAL ID, visit www.dhs.gov/real-id. WI

in 2022 after the monthly CTC payments ended. Some are hun grier now than when the pandem ic began.

The Food Research and Ac tion Center (FRAC) is a leading national nonprofit working to eradicate poverty-related hunger and undernutrition in the Unit ed States, and over Thanksgiving week FRAC and a coalition of more than 550 national, state, and community-based organiza tions also working to end hunger including CDF-California sent a letter to Congressional leader ship urging them to reinstate the expanded CTC and EITC in any end of the year tax package. The

letter says: "With the expiration of these two programs, organizations like ours know full well how tens of millions of families are experi encing higher levels of food insuf ficiency, and racial disparities are only deepening."

Research confirmed buying food was the most common use of the expanded CTC payments across all income levels, and the CTC increased families' ability to afford and eat more fruit, protein, and balanced meals. Research also shows if an expanded CTC was in place for another year it would support more than 500,000 pri vate-sector jobs, and more than 130 economists recently called for restarting the monthly CTC pay ments to offset the toll of inflation. Moreover, families with children

MALVEAUX from Page 26

Connecting the source of payment to the harm people experienced is Callie House's legacy.

More than 100 local reparations ad vocates converged on Evanston from Dec. 1-3 for a gathering sponsored by NAARC and First Repair, the or ganization founded by Robin Rue Simmons, the former Evanston al derwoman who was the force behind local reparations. Described by some as the "Rosa Parks of the reparations movement," Simmons has been a visionary in "informing local repara tions nationally." She gathered people from Boston, San Francisco, Asheville, Amherst, Miami, Nashville, Evanston and other cities to share their strategies to obtain local reparations. Attendees also rallied around the need for an Ex ecutive Order (#EA40) to establish a

national reparations commission to suggest ways to provide reparations. The wealth gap is in the news these days. Black folks have one dollar in wealth for every $10 whites have. The reason for this gap is simple and deliberate. It isn't that Black people don't save enough. It's that deliber ate public policy has been used to accelerate the white accumulation of wealth (think: GI Bill) while deceler ating Black accumulation. The ugly history of the white economic envy that led to lynchings, violent commu nity decimation (Tulsa; Wilmington, N.C.), government-sanctioned land appropriation (sundown towns), and government-sanctioned discrimina tory benefits distribution (how many Black veterans were denied benefits) is directly responsible for the wealth gap. This history makes a strong case for reparations.

CHAVIS from Page 26

eligible news publisher for "ac cess" to content. While this may, again, seem well intentioned at first look, upon deeper inspection the law defines "access" so broadly it will require payment for sim ply crawling a website or sharing a link. Similarly, while a number of conglomerates are scoped into the bill, true independent or small newspapers are explicitly excluded from the legislation because the bill says that an eligible publish er must earn more than $100,000 per year.

Many African American and other BIPOC news outlets are independently owned. Further

more, these news outlets have developed and grown their audi ences because mainstream media publications excluded the perspec tives of minority voices. The Black Press built our own news outlets to support our own voices. As a result, this legislation would only further reinforce harmful racial exclusion trends, rather than actu ally help smaller local publications like those in the NNPA.

Similarly, recent amendments to the bill requiring non-discrim ination would require platforms to carry and pay for hate speech and objectionable content that could be harmful to BIPOC com munities. If passed, the JCPA would boost misinformation and

are far from the only Americans struggling to make ends meet right now, making expanding the EITC also critical. As FRAC's letter notes: "Failure to reinstate the extended CTC and EITC will only fuel hunger by increasing the income, educational, health, and racial disparities that are pervasive in our country. It is essential that the CTC and EITC be extended now without further delay."

As this Congress tends to its last few weeks of unfinished business, it has important choices to make. Making sure fewer children, families, and workers go hungry should be an easy one. There is no excuse for ignoring the deep needs all around us in a nation that has more than enough to spare and share for all. WI

Some suggest that local remedy is not the same thing as reparations. They are wrong! If a local entity harmed Black people, that entity must fix it, as must the federal government. Every entity that has harmed must remedy that — federal, state, local, corporate, and university. The harm inflicted on Black people has contemporary out comes and must be remedied.

People who care about national reparations should reach out to their Congress members, especially the White House, to encourage President Biden to sign an executive order. We must also thank Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee for her efforts. Callie House was not the first person to take the reparations struggle to the courts, and the struggle continues. President Biden can move the struggle forward with a supportive executive order. WI

extremist content. News publica tions from either side of the aisle that support extremist views will not only receive money, but tech platforms will be required to carry them on their services. This will make it even harder for platforms to moderate harmful and false content. We know that communi ties like ours will suffer most.

Congress and the Senate should reject the current draft of the JCPA and go back to the drawing board on real solutions for Amer ica's local news problems — solu tions that benefit all Americans, instead of just giving handouts to the biggest media corporations in the nation.

WI

state,

years and there was only one Black family on the block.

This incident has forced the Caldwell community to deal with perceptions of race and racism, the weaponization of police, and the ability of people of color to occupy and move in space interpreted by whites as "THEIR OWN." This incident begs the question: What

circumstances define the ability of Blacks of any age to coexist in any community?

Apparently, many whites per ceive Blacks of any age, gender or size as a threat. Reasonable adults who watch videos of Bobbi can discern that she is a child and I am sure the same is true in person. We are blessed that the respond ing officer demonstrated more re straint than Timothy Loehmann, the Cleveland police officer who

murdered 12-year-old Tamir Rice within 13 seconds of exiting his police cruiser.

Lawshe's complaint is another example of whites using the fear of stereotypical Black behaviors, inherent in many white officers, to intensify officer's desire to control the coming and going of Blacks. Like any "nuisance species," age, gender, size and intent are irrele vant.

Ms. Joseph says that the encoun ter has changed her daughter. Bob bi remains confused and still tries to process the event. Testifying before the Caldwell City Council, Hayden, Bobbi's 13-year-old sis ter, said, "She was not only doing something amazing for our envi ronment, she was doing something that made her feel like a hero. What Mr. Gordon Lawshe did to my sister was extremely offensive, traumatic and scarring towards my family. I can confidently assure you guys that she will never forget this."

We won't either! WI

MORIAL from Page 27

council members making crude, racist remarks.

Mayor-elect Bass is the ideal leader to bring together a city struggling to confront rising crime and a homelessness crisis. Her experience as an emergency room physician assistant treating individuals who were homeless, in the grip of substance abuse, and victims of crime and violence inspired her in 1990 to found the Community Coalition to address the root causes of injustice.

Her breakthrough as the first woman and second Black may or of L.A. is just the latest in her long history of blazing trails for Black women. In 2004, she entered office as the only Black woman serving in the Califor nia state legislature. She was the first to lead a state legislative body when she was sworn in as Speaker of the California State Assembly in 2008. She earned the 2010 John F. Kennedy Pro file in Courage Award for her leadership during the state's budget crisis, which "put an end to years of government inaction and sidestepping of the difficult decisions."

When the election of the most ethnically and culturally diverse Congress in United States his tory swelled the ranks of the

While Karen Bass might have won the mayoral election, the real winners are the people of Los Angeles, who have an opportunity to usher

Congressional Black Caucus to a historically large membership in 2018, it was Karen Bass they turned to for leadership. With members serving as five full com mittee chairs, and 28 subcom mittee chairs, the CBC under her watch advanced major racial justice priorities including estab lishing a record of continued vot er suppression efforts around the country, laying the foundation for passage of the John Lewis Voting Advancement Act.

She was the primary sponsor of the George Floyd Justice

Policing Act, the most transfor mative legislation on policing to ever pass in a chamber of Con gress. As a member of the House Judiciary Committee, she was instrumental in includes passing the First Step Act, the most sig nificant criminal justice reform in decades.

While Karen Bass might have won the mayoral election, the real winners are the people of Los Angeles, who have an op portunity to usher in a new era of inclusive, more equitable civic leadership. WI

in a new era of inclusive, more equitable civic leadership.

We are blessed that the responding officer demonstrated more restraint than Timothy Loehmann, the Cleveland police officer who murdered 12-year-old Tamir Rice within 13 seconds of exiting his police cruiser.

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