The Washington Informer - January 19, 2023

King Holiday Events Mark Legacy and a Call to End Gun Violence

James Wright WI Staff Writer

Hundreds of people lined up Martin Luther King Jr., Avenue in Southeast to commemorate the federal and local holiday of the thoroughfare’s namesake and support the call for the end to gun violence in the District during the annual peace walk and parade on Jan. 16.

“My family and I watch the parade every year,” said Anaysia Owens, who stood with her family near the intersection of Martin Luther King Jr., and Pomeroy Avenues to watch the procession. “This is a tradition for us. It is really beautiful this year, seeing all of the cars and people marching.”

The peace walk and rally occurred at Shepherd Park near the intersection of Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X Avenues. After, participants marched north on Martin Luther King Jr., Avenue to the entrance of the R.I.S.E. Demonstration Center located on the campus of St. Elizabeths East. The marshals let D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s large contingent of marchers wearing green t-shirts on the avenue march before letting the peace rally and walkers merge with the pa-

Elderly Tenants Allege Mistreatment by Property Management Company

Nearly three years ago, Assegid Merin, a resident of the Paul Laurence Dunbar Apartments in Northwest, slipped and fell on his bathroom floor. In the months before that incident, he repeatedly requested repairs to a shower grab bar that would help him safely enter and exit his bathtub.

Merin, an Ethiopian immigrant who had been living in the Paul Laurence Dunbar Apartment for years, went

on to recount how his bathtub often got backed up with water, to the point where water spilled onto the bathroom floor. He said the broken shower grab bar and wet floor played a significant part in the fall that cracked his ribs and kept him at George Washington University Hospital for several weeks.

Since the fall, Merin has sought compensation that will help him mitigate the lingering effects of his injuries, including his strained breathing and discomfort while sleeping. He said he also contacted what was then known as the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA), along with the District of Columbia Office

5 On Jan. 3, Keenan Anderson, a 10th grade English and Language Arts instructor at Digital Pioneers Academy PCS, died in a Los Angeles hospital hours after officers with the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) repeatedly tased and arrested him at the scene of a car accident. ( Courtesy Photo/ Patricia Cullors, Instagram)

Keenan Anderson, D.C. Father and Teacher, Killed during Police Encounter in L.A.

Sam P.K. Collins

WI Staff Writer

Students, faculty and community members at Digital Pioneers Academy Public Charter School (PCS) in Southeast continue to mourn the loss of a teacher who died from cardiac arrest after an encounter with police officers in Los Angeles.

On Jan. 3, Keenan Anderson, a 10th grade English and Language Arts instructor at Digital Pioneers Academy PCS, died in a Los Angeles hospital hours after officers with the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) repeatedly tased and arrested him at the

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

Sam P.K. Collins WI Staff Writer

5 Mayor Muriel Bowser led residents of the District of Columbia in the Martin Luther King Jr. Day Parade in Southeast on January 16. (Ja'Mon Jackson/The Washington Informer)

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Ward 4 Councilmember Calls for a Ceasefire

In the aftermath of two daytime shootings that left three District public school children critically injured, D.C. Councilmember Janeese Lewis George (D-Ward 4) has issued a call for an immediate ceasefire between warring neighborhood crews and gangs in Uptown D.C.

On Friday, Jan. 13, the Ward 4 councilmember, flanked by clergypeople, returning citizens, violence interrupters and recreation specialists, made her passionate appeal on the corner of Georgia Avenue and Kennedy Street, one of Uptown D.C. 's hotbeds of violent crime.

“While gangs and crews are inflicting violence on each other, our children are bystanders in their conflict,” George told The Informer a day prior.

“Some of these crews go back historically,” she added. “We are angry about displacement and gentrification but you’re fighting over blocks you don’t own. It’s time to put down the guns. You’re hurting yourselves and you’re hurting the community.”

For years, the D.C. Office of the Attorney General’s Cure the Streets Uptown program and the Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement (ONSE),

5 Councilmember Janeese Lewis George (third from left) is calling for a ceasefire after two daytime shootings that left three DCPS students critically injured. (Photo by Rob Roberts)

along with other entities, have engaged those involved in the neighborhood quarrels in discussions about the root of their conflict. They’ve also connected them with resources to deter them from inflicting harm on others.

With a bloody start to the new year however, George has called on members of the community, particularly those involved in the beefs, to do their part in curbing the violence.

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Local Labor Pioneer, Geraldine Boykin Dies

One of the most astute political strategists to ever work in the labor movement –Geraldine P. Boykin -- died Jan. 13. Boykin, 87, had been hospitalized for multiple illnesses before her passing.

Boykin spent more than two decades working for the powerful American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), one the largest public employee unions in the country and the District of Columbia. She was a trailblazer as one the first Black women to lead a labor union in D.C. when she led AFSCME District Council 20 as executive director in the 1980s.

She negotiated contracts across the table from D.C. Mayor Marion Barry and won respect in the District’s labor community for being an unapologetic advocate for gender equality in pay and promotions.

Boykin spearheaded the petition drive for Home Rule and subsequently became the first District Director of Congressman Walter E. Fauntroy’s congressional office.

During her long career, Boykin mentored a generation of young political operatives. She left her mark on AFSCME by training over 40,000 members in political workshops across the country. She retired in 1995 and went on to launch GPB Political Strategist, LLC, as well as become a published writer, authoring several books. WI

Biden-Harris Tout Record Small Business Growth; President Says ‘Best Days Ahead

Recent Census records show that the Biden-Harris administration set a new high for the number of new small businesses created.

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) administrator, Isabella Guzman, stated that the rate of new business applications in 2022 was slightly lower than in 2021, but still showed excellent growth under President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.

According to Guzman, “Small business applications hit a high of 10.5 million since the start of this administration, the largest in any two years in our nation's history.”

The report’s authors state, “Steady and consistent growth, as well as unprecedented investments in infrastructure, manufacturing, and R&D (research and development), present enormous prospects for America's entrepreneurs.”

Small businesses, Biden said in a statement, are “the engines of our economy and the heartbeat of our communities.”

According to data released on Jan. 17, “we learned that my first two years in office have been the two greatest years for new small company applications, with more than 10 million total new businesses created,” Biden noted. WI

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

Don’t Mute DC Strikes the Right Note with Music-Filled Anti-Violence Conference

Kayla Benjamin and Austin R. Cooper Jr. Climate & Environment Writer, Our House Managing Editor

Throughout the “MLK Jr. Conversations and Crank Conference” on Saturday, Jan. 14, the microphones kept switching off; but even as the tech faltered, the speakers—including at-large council member Kenyan McDuffie and Emmy Award-winning journalist Anna-Lysa Gayle—did not. Attendees filled every seat in the Center’s black box theater and then some, leaving people standing against the walls and sitting on steps to listen to the wide-ranging conversations about addressing youth violence in the District.

After a series of shootings in recent weeks, the conference felt particularly urgent. Ronald Moten, a peace activist and co-chair of Don’t Mute DC—the event’s main sponsor—illustrated that urgency, both in his passionate remarks and in his determination to keep the conference running smoothly.

And the conference was, in part, a show: D.C. artists performed musical sets between panels. In keeping with the day’s theme, the music centered messages of peace.

FIRST PANEL “SETS THE TONE”

BY CENTERING

YOUTH VOICES

The day began with an eight-person youth panel, where young people from around the District discussed their own challenges, from gun violence to college applications, and offered their ideas for solutions. D.C. statehood activist Jamal Holtz moderated the panel; at age 24, Holtz was the oldest person on the stage.

“The great thing about this panel and having this conversation up first is that we get to set the tone that guides the rest of the day,” he said at the beginning of the event. “Historically, [youth] always see policy circles and conversations

with policymakers making decisions on behalf of us, but none of us are at the table.”

The idea that young people feel excluded from dialogues about their own lives and futures weaved its way through the rest of the 40-minute discussion. When asked to name some of the biggest challenges facing them and their peers, several panelists mentioned “not being heard” by adults.

“I think there’s a lot of criticizing and not a lot of help out there,” said 18-year-old Joshuah Davis, a senior at Bard High School Early College DC.

They discussed a lack of guidance from adults in their lives, especially when it came to navigating complicated systems for accessing opportunities like college scholarships. Another Bard upperclassman, Justus Williams, said he had taken pride in completing the application process and getting into a summer course at American University. But he described the experience of applying as “extremely challenging” because he needed to figure it out on his own.

“I had no idea things like that even existed,” Williams said.

The panel’s youngest speaker, eighth grader Eris Busey—a celebrated youth model and published author at 13 years old—said that adults needed to step up, not just by providing guidance but also by showing young people that people care about them. She said that kind of support could become especially important for young people growing up in single-family households like her own.

“Kids may feel like they don't have anybody to go to,” she said.

At this event, adults certainly were listening. Around 40 people sat in the audience, intent on the conversation and often erupting into applause following the young speakers’ comments. When Ardinay Blocker, 20, responded to a question about what she would do if she were mayor—create a

5 A youth panel moderated by Jamal Holtz at the “MLK Jr. Conversations and Crank Conference” on Jan. 14. (Photo by Anthony Tilghman/The Washington Informer)

JAN. 19

1918 – American businessman and publisher John H. Johnson, founder of the Johnson Publishing Company and the first African American to appear on the Forbes 400, is born in Arkansas City, Arkansas.

1961 – The PGA of America removes its "Caucasian-only clause," opening the door for all players to participate in professional golf tournaments.

JAN. 20

1986 – Martin Luther King Jr. Day is observed as a federal holiday for the first time.

2001 – Colin Powell is sworn in by President George W. Bush as U.S. secretary of state, becoming the first African American to hold the position.

2009 – Barack Obama is inaugurated as the first Black president of the United States.

JAN. 21

1913 – Fanny Jackson Coppin, a famed African American educator and missionary who was one of the first Black women to graduate from college, dies in Philadelphia at 75.

JAN. 22

1906 – Aviator Willa Brown, the first African American woman to earn her pilot's license in the United States, is born in Glasgow, Kentucky.

1931 – Famed soul singer-songwriter Sam Cooke is born in Clarksdale, Mississippi.

1973 – George Foreman wins by second-round technical knockout over heavyweight champion Joe Frazier in a battle of unbeatens, most famous for announcer Howard Cosell's call, "Down goes Frazier!"

JAN. 23

1891 – African American surgeon Daniel Hale Williams founds Provident Hospital — the nation's first non-segregated hospital — in Chicago.

1977 – Patricia Roberts Harris begins serving as the U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under President Jimmy Carter, becoming the first African American woman to serve in a presidential Cabinet.

1977 – "Roots," a TV miniseries based on Alex Haley's 1976 novel, "Roots: The Saga of an American Family," begins airing on ABC, the first of eight consecutive nights.

JAN. 24

1885 – Martin R. Delaney, an early proponent of Black nationalism and one of the first three Black people admitted to Harvard Medical School, dies of tuberculosis in Wilberforce, Ohio, at 73.

1993 – Thurgood Marshall, the first African American Supreme Court justice, dies of heart failure in Bethesda, Maryland, at 84.

JAN. 25

1938 – Famed soul singer Etta James is born in Los Angeles.

1950 – Novelist Gloria Naylor, best known for her book "The Women of Brewster Place," is born in New York City.

1972 – Shirley Chisholm formally announces her bid for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination, becoming the first Black presidential candidate for a major political party.

1980 – Black Entertainment Television (BET), a cable television network launched by Robert L. Johnson, begins broadcasting.

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SAM COOKE

ETTA JAMES

AROUND THE REGION

BY SARAFINA WRIGHT

MICHAEL BURT / WASHINGTON, D.C.

Solid move to cash in on value today and go make new content instead of trickling in residuals you may never live to see. I’m a little shocked it wasn’t a higher number, though, given recent catalog sales.

EARL JAMES / INDIANAPOLIS INDIANA

I think it’s smart. They kill everyone else for their catalog.

H. FIYAH / MIAMI, FLORIDA

It’s worth billions. Bad decision.

JAY LOCKHART / JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA

million? That alimony’s killing him!

DENISE WHITAKER / OMAHA, NEBRASKA

He’s practically giving it away for $200 million.

of Human Rights.

Like other Ethiopian and Eritrean residents at the Paul Laurence Dunbar Apartments, Merin alleges that the property management charges them rent significantly higher than what they’re obligated to pay. Another complaint concerns management’s failure to provide him with a copy of the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) Residents Rights and Responsibilities brochure or an on-site bilingual building manager.

“They’re not accommodating us properly and they discriminate against us. When I fell [in my bathroom] and was taken by ambulance, they were laughing instead of looking at me as a human,” Merin said. “When I was in the hospital, they were charging me rent [even though] I wasn’t getting a paycheck. And they didn’t give me any compensation [for my fall]. They don’t care about us.”

5 Residents at the Paul Laurence Dunbar Apartments in Northwest continue to complain about rodent infestation, cracks and holes in the walls, water damage that has decayed wood, and failure to fix appliances. (Courtesy photo)

wide-scale renovation project.

Residents Organize for

Transparency

and Proper Facility Upgrades

The Paul Laurence Dunbar Apartments, located on 15th Street near the U Street corridor, houses residents 62 years and older, many of whom have a fixed income. Amenities at the high-rise apartment include a balcony, breakfast bar, fitness center, business center and community room.

More than a decade ago, residents of the Paul Laurence Dunbar Apartments utilized their rights, as outlined in the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA), to secure ownership of their apartment complex when Jair Lynch Real Estate Partners had been contracted for a

Through this arrangement, Jair Lynch Real Estate Partners and the residents shared 1% ownership. HUD also extended the Section 9 housing contract for 20 additional years, while the District government provided a 40-year property tax abatement.

A contingent of residents would later form the 2001 15th Street Tenants Association in response what they described as an attempt by Jair Lynch Real Estate Partners to wrestle ownership from the Paul Laurence Dunbar Residents Association.

Since the inception of the 2001 15th Street Tenant Association, the group, led by resident Glenda Richmond, has endeavored to hold Jair Lynch Real Estate Partners and residential property management company WinnCompanies, accountable to residents.

Richmond and others allege Jair Lynch Real Estate Partners misused federal funds allocated toward the renovation of Paul Laurence Dunbar Apartments. While they acknowledge upgrades made on the outside of the property and in the common areas, residents continue to complain about rodent infestation, cracks and holes in the walls, water damage that has decayed wood, and failure to fix appliances.

Last November, the 2001 15th Street Tenants Association demanded that D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) and the D.C. Council investigate the Department of Housing and Com-

munity Development (DHCD) for what they described as its failure to hold building managers accountable.

A DHCD representative said the housing compliance officer responded to tenants’ complaints by sharing information about agencies that could be of assistance to them.

The tenant association’s other demands focused on WinnCompanies. Residents said they want WinnCompanies to hire a certified professional of occupancy, community outreach personnel and an assistant office manager who are fluent in English, Amharic and Tigrinya. They also demanded proper training of on-site management, including in their use of the HUD Handbook; copies of relevant paperwork, including HUD brochure, notice of rent increases, and information related to the certification of maintenance workers.

Richmond, a resident at Paul Laurence Dunbar Apartment for more than a decade, started this particular crusade in the aftermath of a fire during the summer of 2020 that claimed two elderly lives and injured and displaced dozens of residents.

Displaced residents who spoke to The Informer on the condition of anonymity said they hadn’t been provided with another apartment for months.

The head of the tenant association also alleges that Jair Lynch Real Estate Partners didn’t compensate affected residents with the insurance payouts

AROUND THE REGION

Ex-Ballou Principal Set to Enter Ward 8 Council Race in 2024

James Wright WI Staff Writer

Rahman Branch, the former principal at Ballou High School and ex-executive director of the Mayor’s Office on African American Affairs, is almost certain to run for the Democratic nomination for the Ward 8 D.C. Council seat in 2024.

“People in the community have approached me about making the race,” Branch told the Informer on Jan. 15. “I am seriously considering doing that. Right now, I am not seeing the outcomes I want to see in the ward. As the councilmember, I want to be a part of the solution.”

Salim Adofo, the chair of the 8C advisory neighborhood commission, declared his candidacy for the Ward 8 council position in December. D.C. Councilmember Trayon White (D-Ward 8) has not revealed his plans publicly on whether he will seek re-election in 2024.

Branch served on the faculty of Ballou from 2005-2014. His tenure as the principal started in 2008 and ended in 2014. Branch said as the principal, test scores increased by 20% in three years, decreased school violence by 60% and reduced suspensions by 30%. He said enhanced parental and community engagement led to a school modernization plan for Ballou that added tens of millions of dollars from the initial allotment of $8 million.

As the leader of the city’s African American Affairs Office from 20152019, Branch said he wanted to make sure that Black residents felt comfortable in the place once deemed “Chocolate City.” He pushed for city gov-

ernment policies that addressed such concerns as affordable housing, jobs and education. Plus, Branch chaired the Committee for Equity and Access in all neighborhoods as part of the Rockefeller Foundation’s 100 Resilient Cities initiative and worked with the Urban Institute to publish the State of Black DC, a report on the status of African Americans in the city.

He presently works as an educational consultant.

Branch said he sees public safety, health and education as challenges for many Ward 8 residents. He said the outcomes in those areas can change if ideas from the community are considered, relationships with city leaders are fostered and residents get behind the need for change.

The former leader of the mayoral office said he doesn’t offer Ward 8 vot ers the traditional political leader re sume of having served as an advisory neighborhood commissioner or some other elected office or volunteered as an officer in the Ward 8 Democrats.

“I have served in the mayor’s of fice,” he said. “As the former principal of Ballou as well as other educational positions, I know what is going on in the community and what its needs are.”

Branch said he won’t hesitate to reach out to Ward 8 residents west of the Anacostia River in the Navy Yard neighborhood. He also spoke of being humble as the ward’s council member.

“I am not running to be the king of Ward 8,” Branch said. “I don’t have all of the answers. I want to make things better for the people we want to serve.”

WI @JamesWrightJr10

FITS YOUR life

5 Rahman Branch worked as the principal of Ballou High School from 2008-2014. (Courtesy Photo)

AT&T Vice President of Multicultural Engagement and Strategic Alliances Tanya Lombard, Martin Luther King Jr. III, and Rev. Al Sharpton present an award to Minyon Moore during National Action Network's Martin Luther King Jr. Breakfast at the Mayflower Hotel in Northwest on January 16. (Robert R. Roberts/The Washington Informer)

(L-R) Richard Wright Public Charter School students Tarron Lawson 17, Aman Williams, Dante Davis 17, Kimani Rispus 16, and Sonya Lowery read the Washington Informer. (Roy Lewis/The Washington Informer)

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

“Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice, and justice at its best is love correcting everything that stands against love.”

youth office staffed by youth employees—one listener called out, “That’s brilliant!”

Blocker also suggested youth representatives that could liaison with D.C. Council members or city agencies. She felt previous generations had ignored youth needs and created barriers to their success.

“I feel like they misled us, and I feel like they disappointed us,” she said.

POSITIVE MENTORSHIP BY HIGH SCHOOL

SPORTS COACHES

It was the great abolitionist, Frederick Douglass, who once said, “It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.” That quote certainly applies to today’s youth not only here in the nation’s capital, but all across the United States, with one revision: “broken men and women.”

On Saturday evening, approximately 50 students, parents, coaches, and community leaders gathered at the Anacostia Arts Center for a panel titled, “Coaching Away Violence.”

The panel, moderated by WPGC 95.5’s Poet Taylor, explored the challenges confronting today’s inner-city sports coaches and the important roles that they play in the lives of young men and women as much-needed mentors.

The role of today’s sports coaches often extends beyond sporting activities to include filling gaps in

the homes of our young people.

“Coaching got me to become a better athlete and we all became one as a family and a brotherhood,” said one student panelist who attends Rock Creek Christian Academy, when asked to offer his thoughts on how his football coach has positively impacted his life and that of his fellow teammates.”

Those in attendance, some shedding tears, remembered 14-yearold Antoine Manning, who was killed in Southeast, D.C. last November. Antoine loved sports, especially football, and is missed dearly by his family, friends, teammates and coach.

Another consistent theme raised

by some in attendance is a lack of awareness of community resources available for families in crisis by the district government and other entities. Moreover, many parents dismiss emotional concerns expressed by their children because they themselves lack the ability to address them.

One resource organization is the Next Steps Program. For those in need of assistance, including anger management and depression, program officials can be reached at (202) 642-4443 or nextstepsdc22@gmail.com.

When asked what he had taken away from the students, Moten replied, “I learned to listen.”

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PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY

Prince George’s Board of Education Selects New Chair

Richard Elliott WI Contributing Writer

The Prince George’s Board of Education has a new Chair: Judy Mickens-Murray.

“I’m glad they have a new Chair and are moving forward”, said former Board member Belinda Queen. “With this change, I hope they will all work together for the betterment of the students of Prince George’s County.”

On Jan. 12, the Prince George’s Board of Education held one of their first meetings since new members were sworn in with the goal of electing a new Chair to lead the Board. This

was Dr. Juanita Miller’s final meeting as Chair of the Board, and newly elected Member Lolita Walker’s first meeting as the Vice Chair.

Before listening to testimony from audience members, Chair Miller introduced newly elected Board Members Walker, Jonathan Briggs, Brandon Jackson, and Walter Fields.

Shayla Adams-Stafford and Mickens-Murray both sought the position of Chair. In a previous meeting, neither Mickens-Murray nor Adams-Stafford were able to secure a majority of votes and become Chair.

The election was conducted by a secret ballot with 13 votes casted— five for Adams-Stafford and eight for

KING from Page 1

rade. The official route for the parade started outside the R.I.S.E. Demonstration Center, traveling north to Anacostia Park even though many stopped marching at the intersection of Martin Luther King Jr., and Good Hope Road., Avenues in Southeast.

THE EMOTIONAL PEACE WALK AND RALLY

Fifty people stood in the middle of Shepherd Park— intersected by Martin Luther King Jr., and Malcolm X Avenues— to hear speeches and testimonials on why the gun violence in the District needs to stop.

The Rev. DeLonte Gholston, pastor of the Peace Fellowship Church in Ward 7’s Deanwood neighborhood, said the Shepherd Park location of the peace walk and rally invokes memories of gun violence.

“I can’t shake the fact that King was murdered,” Gholston, 42, said.

“I can’t shake the fact that Malcolm X was murdered. I can’t shake the fact that a six-year-old was murdered close to here,” the pastor added, referring to six-year-old Nyiah Courtney losing her life to gun violence in July 2021.

The Rev. William Lamar IV, senior pastor of the Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church in Northwest, debunked the myth that King and Malcolm X disliked each

Mickens-Murray. One Board member chose to abstain from the Chair vote.

Mickens-Murray is currently an AtLarge appointed member. Her first motion was to adjourn the session.

Former member Queen was concerned that the meeting was a violation of the Open Meetings Act, as all votes during her tenure were conducted via roll call, ac-

cording to existing procedure.

The Policy and Governance Committee presented findings on 32 various policy recommendations, including procedures regarding renaming of school facilities.

Takia Toomer, a community schools coordinator at Hillcrest Heights’ Panorama Elementary, was awarded a certificate for her dedication and wealth of knowledge that she

down her face. “My son died at a community event on July 4, 2020. We never really thought we would go through this. Kids are supposed to bury their parents, not the parents bury the kids. Devon would be 14 today. It is painful not seeing my child. It’s time to stop the violence and put the guns down.”

McNeil served as one of the last speakers. The rally turned into the peace walk as marchers headed north to the R.I.S.E. Demonstration Center.

DIVERSE GROUPS PARTICIPATE IN PARADE

has used to assist her students and the surrounding community. Toomer is also the Executive Director of Judge Me Now, a nonprofit focused on eliminating illiteracy and early exposure to STEM opportunities.

The first virtual work session will be on Jan. 26 at 5 p.m., and the virtual budget hearing will follow at 7 p.m. Board meetings are available virtually via YouTube and the Board website. WI

George’s County Council member Calvin Hawkins (D-At Large) had a number of supporters with him, with some carrying round color posters of his likeness on them. Hawkins, a former Ward 8 resident, praised the late Washington Informer Founder Calvin Rolark for working to secure the federal holiday and encouraged Denise Rolark Barnes, the Informer’s publisher, “to continue the legacy.”

other. He said the leaders “were moving in the same direction.”

“Both of them fought to end economic and political oppression,” Lamar, 47, said.

In the segment of the rally that talked about mothers losing children to gun violence, Ward 8 Crystal McNeil spoke emotionally.

“I am Devon McNeil’s mom,” McNeil, 38, said with tears streaming

Many parade participants, including those working as part of anti-gun violence or youth-oriented organizations, wore red t-shirts with white writing “Thou Shalt Not Kill” as they walked with their groups.

D.C. Council members Kenyan McDuffie (D-At Large), Trayon White (D-Ward 8), Robert White (D-At Large) Matt Frumin (D-Ward 3) and Zachary Parker (D-Ward 5) had supporters marching with them. Prince

Former D.C. first lady Cora Masters Barry rode in a truck signifying changing the name of Good Hope Road to Marion Barry Avenue. She also urged the crowd to learn more about Stevie Wonder’s “Happy Birthday” song designed to mobilize support for the holiday in the early 1980s.

The parade continued its tradition of having the Ballou High School marching band as its last participant. A health and wellness fair took place in the parking lot next to the Busboys & Poets eatery.

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5 Newly elected Prince George’s Board Chair Judy Mickens-Murray ( right) alongside Vice Chair Lolita Walker (left). Walker was elected Vice Chair in the previous Board meeting. (Anthony Tilghman/ The Washington Informer)

5 Over 120 organizations and individuals joined the Martin Luther King Jr. Day Peace Walk and Parade in Southeast. (Ja'Mon Jackson/The Washington Informer)

Maryland Prepares for Historic Inauguration

Richard Elliott WI Contributing Reporter

Wes Moore and Aruna Miller will make history on Jan. 18 at noon at the State Capitol in Annapolis, when they are sworn in as Maryland’s new Democratic governor and lieutenant governor. Moore, who will become Maryland’s first Black governor, won in a highly contested primary election and won in the general election with the largest margin since Don Schaefer in 1986.

With Moore’s election, Maryland Democrats have again secured majority control in both the State Senate and House of Delegates along with holding all of the executive positions in state government. This trifecta of power– with Moore, Miller, the first Southasian woman lieutenant governor in the nation, and Maryland’s first woman comptroller in Brooke Lierman— offers a mandate for change in the state.

“I think that Black Marylanders face a lot of issues day to day. A particular one that I would like to see Governor Moore’s administration tackle would be eliminating the inequities in home buying and ownership for Black Marylanders.” said Ariyana Ward, the first Black woman to serve as SGA President at Frostburg University.

Moore is only the third African-American Governor to serve in American history, following the footsteps of Virginia’s Doug Wilder and Massachusetts’ Deval Patrick. Barrier-breaking Miller will also be the second woman to serve as Lieutenant Governor in Maryland’s history.

Moore plans to be sworn in on Frederick Douglass’ Bible and wear a suit custom made by local designer Miguel Wilson, a Black designer who Moore met on the campaign trail. Their administration has consistently touted their record in having the most diverse and representative transition team in state history, and plan to continue this streak in their appointments.

Moore will not just be Maryland’s Black governor, but the

first governor in memory who was elected without having served in local, state or federal office first. Some of the issues he has pledged to support in his campaign include raising the minimum wage, fully funding the Kirwan Commission’s Blueprint for Education, and improving state support for minority-owned businesses.

Maryland’s governor ranks among the most powerful in the nation. The governor is able to appoint members to such boards as the Maryland State Retirement and Pension’s Board of Trustees and the Natalie M. LaPrade Medical Marijuana Commission.

This year had the first public opening of the legislative session since COVID struck. Legislators, lobbyists, issue advocates, and politicos of all stripes wandered across Annapolis from reception to reception, with Wes Moore’s meet and greet being one of the most well attended.

The Moore-Miller administration has also begun to roll out additional nominees for Cabinet positions, with several being announced on the opening day of session.

The swearing in will be held outside, rain or shine, and is expected to end around 1:30 PM following musical performances, remarks, and the formal swearing in. The swearing in is free and open to the public.

The Washington Informer prints before Wednesday’s swearing in. Read more on www.washingtoninformer. com for more on the ceremony.

WI

Democrat Wes Moore will make history as Maryland’s first Black governor. (Rob Roberts/ The Washington Informer)

Democrats Wes Moore (walking) and Aruna Miller (on stage) will make history as Maryland’s first Black governor and the first SouthAsian woman lieutenant governor in the nation. (Rob Roberts/ The Washington Informer)

“I think that Black Marylanders face a lot of issues day to day. A particular one that I would like to see Governor Moore’s administration tackle would be eliminating the inequities in home buying and ownership for Black Marylanders.”

BUSINESS briefs

James Wright WI Staff Writer

MORGAN STATE SCHOLAR TO LEAD SOCIAL WORKERS ASSOCIATION

Anthony Estreet, a professor and former chair of the Master of Social Work program at Morgan State University in Baltimore and chief executive officer of a behavioral health company in that city will be the new CEO of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) starting Feb. 6.

The NASW, based in Northwest,

serves as the professional organization of social workers in the U.S. with an estimated membership of 120,000. The organization provides guidance, research, the latest developments, advocacy and other resources for its members. Estreet succeeds former CEO Angela McClain who retired last December. NASW President Mildred Joyner said the organization looks forward to Estreet as its administrative leader.

“We are delighted to have Anthony Estreet as our next CEO at NASW after doing an extensive search,” Joyner said. “He has a wealth of experience in managing successful mental health ser-

vices companies and is a respected thought leader in the social work profession. We are confident he will build on the successes of Angela McClain and lead NASW’s accomplished staff to take our association to greater heights.”

Estreet, a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc., holds a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology from Bowie State University, a Master of Social Work from Virginia

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA HOUSING ENTERPRISES (DCHE)

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

(RFP)

SOLICITATION NO.: DCHE 2023-2

NMTC PROGRAM UNDERWRITING AND TRANSACTION SUPPORT SERVICES

DC Housing Enterprises (“DCHE”) is a wholly owned subsidiary and an instrumentality of the District of Columbia Housing Authority (“DCHA”) is requesting underwriting, transaction and technical support services to assist in evaluating NMTC funding applications.

SOLICITATION DOCUMENTS will be available beginning on Tuesday, January 17, 2023, on DCHA’s website at; www.dchousing.org under “Business” and “Solicitations”.

SEALED PROPOSAL RESPONSES ARE DUE ON, OR BEFORE Friday, February 17, 2023, at 11:00 A.M.

Send email correspondences to Lolita Washington, Contract Specialist lwashing@dchousing.org with copy to business@dchousing.org for additional information.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA HOUSING ENTERPRISES (DCHE)

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP)

SOLICITATION NO.: 2023-3

CAPPER CARROLLSBURG PARKING LOTS

DC Housing Enterprises (“DCHE”) is a wholly owned subsidiary and an instrumentality of the District of Columbia Housing Authority (“DCHA”) seeks qualified firms to serve as an operator of three (3) surface parking lots located in the Southeast area of Washington, D.C.

SOLICITATION DOCUMENTS will be available beginning on Tuesday, January 17, 2023, on DCHA’s website at www.dchousing.org under “Business” and “Solicitations”.

SEALED PROPOSAL RESPONSES ARE DUE ON OR BEFORE Friday, February 17, 2023, at 12:00 PM.

Email LaShawn Mizzell-McLeod, Contract Specialist at LMMCLEOD@dchousing.org with copy to business@ dchousing.org for additional information.

Commonwealth University, a doctorate in social work from Morgan State University, and an MBA at the University of Maryland, College Park. He has taught at Morgan State since 2013. Estreet founded and runs the Next Step Treatment Center in Baltimore. He served as the vice president of the NASW Board of Directors but stepped down to pursue being the CEO. He also holds a membership in the National Association of Black Social Workers. Estreet expressed satisfaction for being selected as the association’s next CEO.

“I am honored and humbled to be the next CEO of NASW,” Estreet said. “I have been a member of the organization since 2007. This organization has done phenomenal work especially in the past three years, including supporting social workers in the delivery of mental health services during the pandemic and addressing systemic racism. However, we have much more work to do, and I stand ready to work collaboratively to support our great profession.”

NOVA BLACK CHAMBER OF COMMERCE GETS $300K GRANT

The Northern Virginia Black Chamber of Commerce has received $300,000 in federal dollars to support Black businesses with technical assistance and other resources.

The award comes as a part of the recently signed $1.7 trillion federal spending bill to fund the federal government and its programs signed into law late last year.

Sheila Dixon, the organization’s director, said the $300,000 is the largest one-time funding allotment it has received. Dixon said the grant will be used to support a program

that will aid Black businesses in their growth and planning. Black businesses located in Alexandria, Fairfax County, Loudoun and Prince William counties will be eligible to participate in the program.

Dixon said the focus of the program will be on growth-stage companies and increasing access to capital for Black businesses.

“We want to make sure that we are educating them and getting them to a place where they can compete,” she said. “Once they learn and grow with us, we can have some sort of contingency where we could possibly start giving them grants— put it back into the community so we can continue to help them all grow.”

BOWSER ADMIN. FETES THE SPICE SUITE NEW LOCATION

Officials of the Bowser administration on Jan. 13 celebrated the ribbon cutting of The Spice Suite’s new home in the Langdon neighborhood in Ward 5 as a part of owner Angel Gregorio’s larger vision: Black and Forth.

Black and Forth will be a block of commercial space that will encompass five Black female-owned small businesses including The Spice Suite, a nail salon, hair salon, brow bar, and braid bar.

“Black and Forth is a fantastic example of why we have programs like the Commercial Property Acquisition Fund,” said Mayor Muriel Bowser. “Because when we invest in our community, we care for new opportunities for entrepreneurs like Angel to invest in and empower the community.”

Gregorio said, “my goal is to show business owners what it looks like to lift as you climb.”

“Cooperative economics has to be something we actualize, not just a Kwanzaa Principle,” she said.

Bowser administration officials said the Commercial Property Acquisition Fund (CPAF) is designed to help entrepreneurs who have problems accessing capital to buy commercial property in the city. The CPAF got its start last year as a part of a package of legacy initiatives developed to keep longtime residents and businesses in the city. The fund’s managers are City First Bank through local concern City First Enterprises. WI

@JamesWrightJr10

5 Anthony Estreet is the new CEO of the National Association of Social Workers.

The

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visit www.xfinity.com/networkmanagement. All devices must be returned when service ends. Xfinity Mobile: Requires residential post-pay Xfinity Internet service. Line limitations may apply. For Xfinity Mobile Broadband Disclosures visit: www.xfinity.com/mobile/policies/broadband-disclosures. Actual savings vary and are not guaranteed. Call for restrictions and complete details. © 2023 Comcast. All rights reserved. NPA243877-0002 NED-It's a Fact-V1

Democrat Sheila Jackson Lee Introduces Anti-White Supremacy Bill

Texas Representative Schools Colorado Congresswoman on Hate

Stacy M. Brown WI Senior Writer

That’s enough of racism and bigotry, says Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas).

The Democratic representative from Texas has introduced House Resolution 61, which would amend

Title 18 of the United States Code to broaden the definition of hate crimes, with the goal of preventing and prosecuting hate crimes motivated by white supremacy and conspiracy to commit such crimes.

The text of the bill reads as follows: “A person commits a white supremacy inspired hate crime when white su-

premacist ideology has motivated the planning, development, preparation, or perpetration of actions that constituted a crime or were undertaken in furtherance of activity that, if effectuated, would have constituted a crime.”

With respect to any information or evidence obtained by the Department of Justice of any unlawful action spec-

ified in Jackson-Lee’s bill, the DOJ shall have the authority to conduct operations and activities pursuant to such crimes.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) would also be authorized to conduct investigations, intervene, and take any other measures it deems necessary and appropriate to prevent, mitigate, or stop any potentially violent action.

The Department of Justice’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program would keep track of white supremacist-inspired hate crimes and other related actions, and Justice Department officials would have the authority to prosecute

those responsible for them.

Jackson Lee has requested that the DOJ report its findings annually to the relevant Congressional committees.

Rep. Lauren Boebert (R- Colorado) claimed the legislation “makes a mockery of the First Amendment.”

While Boebert, a right-wing leader, misrepresented the legislation after reading a misleading news article, Jackson Lee schooled her on Twitter.

“First of all, it took me about 32 seconds of reading the article you cited to understand that none of you know what you are talking about,” Jackson Lee scolded.

To be convicted of a hate crime in some jurisdictions, “H.R. 61 simply deals with adding white supremacy to a list of reasons,” the Texas Democrat explained.

“So, when the article states that ‘only white people can be charged with’ this crime, that’s flagrantly false,” she elaborated.“Your argument assumes that only white people can hold white supremacist views and that only certain groups of people can perpetrate violence motivated by white supremacy.”

Jackson Lee emphasized white supremacy should be added to the law because it’s a “major domestic terrorist threat.”

“I would hope now that your argument would not shift to ‘why is white supremacy being added to this law?’ That would be egregious.” WI

@StacyBrownmedia

MAGA Republicans Begin Their Rule with Divisive Legislation

Stacy M. Brown WI Senior Writer

The newly minted House Republican majority wasted no time in demonstrating that they intend to use their time in power to further polarize the United States.

Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-California) promptly announced his intent to form a new investigative panel to dive deeply into ongoing criminal investigations and sensitive intelligence.

The GOP has vowed to shrink several government agencies, including the FBI and the Internal Revenue Service.

Specifically, McCarthy and the Republican Party are working to thwart efforts to investigate and possibly prosecute former President Donald Trump.

They are determined to halt any legislation that would help move America forward and to undermine any gains made by the Biden-Harris administration.

Rep. Chip Roy, a Republican from Texas, said, “So, we’ve got more resources, specificity, and power to go after this recalcitrant Biden administration.”

“You could say, that’s crucial,”

5 From left: Washington Informer Publisher Denise Rolark Barnes and NNPA President and CEO Dr. Benjamin Chavis join Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D- Texas) at a press conference in 2019. Jackson Lee introduced an anti-white supremacy bill. (WI File Photo)

he added.

Congressman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) of the Republican Party is one of Trump’s staunchest supporters and has volunteered to lead these initiatives.

McCarthy stated, “Let me be very clear: We will use the power of the purse and the power of the subpoena to get the job done,” in his opening statement as speaker.

New York Democrat and House Judiciary Committee Member Rep. Jerrold Nadler fired back, calling the Republicans’ actions “fueled by conspiracy theories.”

He predicted that, “the most extreme members of the MAGA caucus” would oversee House committees.

President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Newspaper Publishers Association Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr. issued a public challenge to all members of Congress in an opinion piece for The Hill.

On the eve of his mentor, the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. 's birthday, Chavis insisted that beneath the ever-present battle between Republicans and Democrats

is an even deeper split between those who think the only answer is to bulldoze the other side and those who believe in collaboration.

“That’s a shame because what has become so clear to me during my six decades on the front lines of the civil rights struggle is that real, durable progress only happens when Americans of goodwill speak to one another civilly and work collaboratively despite their differences,” Chavis declared.

“Unlike so many societies across human history, each of us in America should have the inalienable right to speak freely and openly and to be able to disagree without the loss of civility. And that is among America’s greatest blessings,” he wrote.

Critics said further evidence of the GOP’s divisive agenda came from the first bill House Republicans plan to bring to the floor, legislation, critics said, would help the wealthy and big corporations cheat on their taxes at the expense of middle-class taxpayers.

According to Chuck Marr, vice president for Federal Tax Policy at the Center on Budget and Pol-

icy Priorities, “the president and congressional Democrats passed legislation to make the wealthy and big corporations pay their fair share, including by preventing them from cheating on the taxes they already owe.”

Repealing it, as the Republicans in the House have proposed, “would increase the deficit and worsen inflation by allowing some super-wealthy people to pay less in taxes than many hard-working Americans, including through outright tax fraud.”

Marr added that Republican lawmakers would try to cut back significantly on the Inflation Reduction Act’s $80 billion in funding for the Internal Revenue Service over the next decade.

While doing so, he said, they would spread false information and incitement about the funds’ intended use.

According to Marr, the IRS now has 2,284 fewer skilled auditors to handle the sophisticated returns of wealthy taxpayers than it did in 1954, while the Republicans have launched a campaign about a false “army” of 87,000 agents.

He claimed that the IRS had become dysfunctional because of a decade’s worth of budget cuts pushed by House Republicans, and that this was a major factor in why so few millionaires are being audited at present.

“If House Republicans succeed in rolling back this critically needed funding and maintaining this dysfunction, the IRS would be woefully understaffed, hindering

its ability to administer the tax code and collect legally owed taxes — particularly from high-income and high-wealth taxpayers,” continued Marr.

“Legislators should say ‘no’ to protecting wealthy tax cheats, as proposed by House Republicans, on behalf of honest taxpayers,” Marr concluded.

WI

@StacyBrownMedia

5 Donald Trump supporting MAGA Republicans have begun their divisive rule in Congress. ( Gage Skidmore/ Surprise, AZ via Wikimedia commons.)

africa now

Rwanda Elected for Presidency of Global Renewable Energy Body

Rwanda has been elected for the 14th Assembly Presidency of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) slated for January 2024, The New Times, Rwanda’s leading daily newspaper, reported on Jan. 16.

The Assembly is the supreme organ of IRENA consisting of all 168 members of the agency and this means that Rwanda will oversee its proceedings and be the champion of energy dialogue throughout 2024.

5 Emmanuel Hategeka, Rwandan Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, during the 13th Assembly meetings held in Abu Dhabi from January 14 to 15. (Courtesy Photo)

Speaking during the 13th Assembly meetings held in Abu Dhabi from Jan. 14 to 15, Emmanuel Hategeka, Rwandan Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, accepted the responsibility and said Rwanda remains committed to different initiatives within the framework of global climate action and targets.

“Rwanda believes that renewable energy is part and parcel of sustainable transformation. This is anchored in the national vision of becoming a green, climate-resilient, and low-carbon economy by 2050,” he said. The country targets to achieve universal access to electricity by 2024 with renewable energy constituting 60% of the energy mix, according to him, “the current cumulative access to electricity is 75.3% of which renewables have a share of 50.7%.”

Hategeka added that Rwanda's priorities in renewable energy – which offer opportunities for collaboration and private investment – include increasing energy generation from hydro, solar and new technologies for energy transition.

He commended IRENA's initiatives aimed at supporting member states in terms of sharing expertise, capacity building and resource mobilization.

The 13th assembly held dialogues on Energy Transition Accelerator Financing (ETAF) Platform, harnessing opportunities for renewable energy-centered transition, and de-risking supply, including materials innovation and recycling, and making the supply chain more environmentally and socially sustainable, among others.

There are continuous efforts to engage countries around the world to ratify and implement the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol which aims to protect the ozone layer and accelerate actions to mitigate climate change.

While Africa is the least emitter of greenhouse gasses, it is most affected by climate change and challenged to access climate adaptation financing.

However, during 27th climate change conference (COP27) held in 2022, Africa was able to raise $150 million climate finance to accelerate its adaptation to climate change.

WI

CAD $12m Boost

For Jamaica’s Justice System

Jamaica has received a CAD$12-million(canadian currency) boost from long standing international partner, Canada, through the newly launched Social Justice (So-JUST) Project.

The seven-year initiative, which runs from 2021 to 2028, aims to facilitate a more rights-based and gender-sensitive justice system that yields equitable outcomes for all Jamaicans.

It comes in the wake of the recently concluded Justice Undertakings for Social Transformation (JUST) program, which ran from 2011 to 2021.

So-JUST is intended to integrate the four pillars of social justice – equity, access, participation and rights. It will focus specifically on enhancing the rights of and access to justice for women, girls, people with disabilities, and residents of rural and vulnerable communities.

The project is designed to directly benefit the poorest and most disadvantaged users of justice services, in particular survivors of gender-based violence.

Justice Minister Hon. Delroy Chuck and High Commissioner of Canada to Jamaica, Her Excellency Emina Tudakovic, were among the speakers at the project’s launch on Jan. 12.

The event was hosted at the Ministry of Justice on Constant Spring Road in Kingston.

In his remarks, Chuck thanked the Canadian Government for supporting the project, emphasizing that, “Jamaica must respond by becoming a peaceful, safe and secure society”.

“So, this program has now been launched. It’s really one where we expect strong communication, so that every single citizen is made aware that you will have help [and] you can get help,” Chuck said.

Chuck urged persons to “use the services being provided by the Ministry of Justice and other State agencies… and in doing so, we, hopefully, can create a kinder and gentler society; we certainly can reduce, deter, and prevent many violent confrontations”.

WI

COMPILED BY OSWALD T. BROWN, WI CONTRIBUTING WRITER

National Tensions Heat Up Over Gas Stove Regulations

Kayla Benjamin Climate & Environment Writer

The usually uncontroversial Consumer Product Safety Commission sparked the newest culture war fire with an announcement earlier this week about its continued plans to explore new regulations on gas stoves. One commissioner told Bloomberg Monday that a ban on the appliances might be on the table—but the agency walked back that statement two days later amidst scorching backlash from right-wing media and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.

“This is a recipe for disaster,” Senator Joe Manchin (R-WV) tweeted on Tuesday. “The federal government has no business telling American families how to cook their dinner.”

The conversation about gas stoves erupted suddenly on the national level, but locally, community organizers and city officials had already begun focusing attention on the appliances. Decades of evidence link gas stove use, which emits nitrogen dioxide and other gasses, to childhood asthma. That has particular significance in the District, where almost 16,000

children and adolescents had asthma in 2020, more than 70% of whom were Black.

“When you turn on your gas oven, and you see this faint blue flame, you have no idea that it's emitting nitrogen dioxide,” said Teresa Hobgood, an advocate with the Washington Interfaith Network (WIN). “We are not at all trying to convey to people that they need to get rid of their gas stoves. But we want people

to be educated.”

The Consumer Product Safety Commission first announced that it would consider adding health regulations on gas stoves in mid-December. That announce-

ment followed the publication of a new peer-reviewed study, which found that one in eight childhood asthma cases in the U.S. can be attributed to gas stove use. One 2013 analysis found that children in households with gas stoves were 42% more likely to experience asthma.

Hobgood and other WIN advocates, along with a coalition of other local groups, began doing indoor air quality tests in August. The coalition checks the concentration of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) that accumulates in DMV residents’ kitchens while a gas oven and stove tops run.

“We have measured NO2 levels in more than 50 apartments in my complex when gas stoves are on,” said Adama Moussa Harouna, who leads the tenants' association at Cider Mill Apartments in Montgomery Village, in a text message. “Many, many of them have higher levels of NO2 than the EPA recommended level for outdoors. Most of these apartments have children living in them, some with asthma. Gas stoves are a silent killer. It is something that we didn’t know about, but it is a real concern.”

Advocates from WIN and other groups in the Beyond Gas coalition have begun to reach District lawmakers’ ears. Councilmember

6 A nitrogen dioxide monitor sits next to a gas stove in a River Terrace home during an air quality test. (Rob Roberts / Washington Informer)

3 Michelle Hall, a River Terrace resident and organizer with Washington Interfaith Network, reads extremely high concentrations of nitrogen dioxide in her kitchen on a monitoring device.

EDUCATION

Young People Get Candid about Safety Concerns

Sam P.K. Collins WI Staff Writer

Brookland Middle School student Leana Jenkins counted among those who last saw Karon Blake alive and well in the classroom, just hours before a vigilante shot and killed him less than a mile from the Northeast school.

Since Karon’s death, every activity done in his name, including schoolwide discussions and the decoration of his locker, bring to mind for Leana and other young people how much adults don’t understand about their plight.

Leana said young people today are growing up at a much faster rate than youth of previous generations. Even with the out-of-school time programming available at Brookland Middle School, students often run the risk of being locked out of the building during after-school hours if they leave campus for a moment.

In October, Leana encountered such a dilemma when she forgot about her weekly Higher Achievement meeting and attempted to return to campus. She said that security waved her off and told her to leave, right around when it started getting dark.

Leana’s mother, Ana Rodriguez, a member of Parents Amplifying Voices in Education DC, later visited Brookland Middle School to speak to administrators about that situation.

An aspiring homicide detective, Leana said the conversation around Karon’s whereabouts during the early morning hours of Jan. 7 have taken the attention away from the person who shot and killed the teenager.

She stressed that the credibility of the investigation has been threatened as a result.

“This shouldn’t have happened to anyone at this young age,” said Leana, a seventh grader at Brookland Middle School. “They’re not even trying to

say the guy’s name. It makes the case harder. [The authorities] don’t really care about the case that much. People are confused and they just keep talking about young people [allegedly] breaking into cars.”

A RENEWED SPOTLIGHT ON SCHOOL SAFETY

Last Saturday, young people appeared on panels at the Anacostia Arts Center in Southeast and other venues throughout the District where they spoke candidly about the violence in the city, and the toll it has taken on their mental wellbeing.

Around the same time, hundreds of people gathered near the Brookland Manor apartments on Saratoga Avenue in Northeast for a vigil in honor of Karon. Black and blue balloons went into the sky. Images of Karon and calls for justice emanated from a projector onto buildings in the apartment complex.

Days before, on Jan. 11, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser sat down with DC Public Schools Chancellor Lewis Ferebee, DC Public Charter School Board executive director Michelle J Walker-Davis, Deputy Mayor Paul Kihn and a bevy of school leaders to discuss school safety concerns.

Bowser said school leaders discussed how to strengthen communication between them and public safety officers. They also addressed the impact of social media and music on conflicts, and the difficulties in navigating less punitive disciplinary procedures.

Another topic of concern centered on the incremental removal of school resource officers (SROs), as mandated in D.C. Council legislation that passed during the last budget season. Bowser said that the decline of SROs from more than 100 to nearly 60 has drastically affected school climate.

5 Family and friends of Karon Blake held a vigil in his Brentwood neighborhood. The 13-year-old was shot to death by a homeowner in Northeast last week. (Anthony Tilghman / The Washington Informer)

She then revealed efforts to revisit this issue during upcoming budget discussions.

While speaking with The Informer days later, D.C. Councilmember Christina Henderson (I-At large) implored Bowser and others who want more police in schools to keep in mind that incidents of gun violence rarely happen on school grounds. Henderson reflected on council hearings where young people compared their school hallways to police substations, adding that execution of school disciplinary procedures, not detainment, should suffice in situations where young people break rules.

At Jefferson Middle School Academy in Southwest, some students, like Shaunah Boone, have grown to accept the police presence as a necessity during lockdowns and when administrators have reason to believe that a fight will happen after school.

Even in those situations, Shaunah said administrators’ transparency and willingness to listen to students have created an atmosphere of trust.

For months, administrators at Jefferson Middle School Academy have quelled small on-campus scuffles and monitored students’ social media activity in anticipation of conflict.

They’ve also established relationships with businesses in the surrounding community that’ve been wary about letting swathes of students in their establishment. Meanwhile, par-

An aspiring homicide detective, Leana said the conversation around Karon’s whereabouts during the early morning hours of Jan. 7 have taken the attention away from the person who shot and killed the teenager.

ents are often encouraged to contact Jefferson Middle School Academy principal Greg Dohmann about any issues.

As she prepares for high school, Shaunah continues to express hope that the District becomes safer for young people. For the time being, she has grown to embrace the police who show up in front of her school, even calling them cordial in their interactions with students.

“When we see police, they don’t cause any violence in school,” Shaunah said. “Their presence keeps us safe [but] a relationship with the police would make it better. When we see them, we think negatively but with communication, we would think problems are getting solved [when we see them].”

A FAMILY SEARCHES FOR ANSWERS IN ENROLLMENT QUANDARY

For weeks, a Southeast teenager has accompanied his aunt and uncle around the District to collect documentation from his former schools so that he can enroll in a new school.

Earlier in the school year, the young man walked through the main entrance of Ballou Senior High School, entered the cafeteria with other ninth graders, received an academic schedule and started taking his core classes.

During that time, he also participated in junior varsity football tryouts, even going as far as taking a physical and submitting identifiers and date of birth.

As the school year went on, the young man, admittedly, stopped attending class because of a strained relationship with his teachers. As he frequented the halls, he and other students garnered a reputation as the “hallway kids,” especially during times when engaged in physical conflict.

While in the hallways, the young man said he and his cousin stayed in one part of the school to avoid students from other neighborhoods who had problems with them.

Over the course of three months, the young man developed a rapport with administrators, school security, and even a couple of teachers. The young man alleges that all of this came to an end in December when administrators told his aunt and uncle, who had just gained legal custody of him, that the young man hadn’t been enrolled in the school.

The young man said his aunt and uncle, who visited Ballou High School to see his nephew’s most recent report card, said administrators didn’t want to answer questions about how the young man was able to enter and walk through the school every day without being officially enrolled.

Neither Willie Jackson, principal of Ballou High School, nor DC Public Schools central office responded to an Informer inquiry about this situation.

“Everyone was confused because I was coming to school and going through metal detectors to go to class,” the young man said. “The teachers and some of the deans knew who I was. The coaches knew me from the summer. But the administration said I never went there.” WI

@SamPKCollins

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater

Feb. 7–12 Opera House

Season Premieres

Tue., Feb. 7 at 7:30 p.m. | Fri., Feb. 10 at 7:30 p.m.

Are You in Your Feelings? (Kyle Abraham) In a Sentimental Mood (Jamar Roberts)

DUET (Paul Taylor) Revelations (Alvin Ailey)

Gala Program

Wed., Feb. 8 at 7:30 p.m.

Are You in Your Feelings? (Kyle Abraham) Unfold (Robert Battle) Revelations (Alvin Ailey)

Modern Masters

Thu., Feb. 9 at 7:30 p.m. | Sat., Feb. 11 at 7:30 p.m. Roy’s Joys (Twyla Tharp)

Survivors (Alvin Ailey & Mary Barnett) Revelations (Alvin Ailey)

All Ailey

Sat., Feb. 11 at 1:30 p.m. | Sun., Feb. 12 at 1:30 p.m. Night Creature, Cry, The River, Revelations (Alvin Ailey)

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s Jacquelin Harris.

Photo by Dario Calmese.

Several Organizations Sue Maryland, Allege Foster Children Over-prescribed

Richard D. Elliott WI Contributing Reporter

Three organizations are suing the Maryland Department of Human Services (DHS) and Maryland Social Services Administration (SSA) after allegations concerning possible harm for some of the state’s most vulnerable residents.

On Jan. 17, the ACLU of Maryland, Disability Rights Maryland and Children’s Rights announced a lawsuit against both Maryland’s DHS and SSA on behalf of foster children within their system who have been over-prescribed psychotropic medicine and lacked access to their medical records, among other alleged issues.

This lawsuit covers foster children in every county in the state, and excludes Baltimore City, which is undergoing a separate lawsuit. The lawsuit alleges violations of several federal laws.

The goals of the lawsuit include ensuring more oversight in prescription, proper diagnosis, access to medical records, and informed consent of the patient. The trio of organizations looks forward to the incoming administration of Governor Wes Moore to help with correcting these issues.

“We are looking forward to reform, but put this at the top of the list and get something done,” said Samantha Bartosz, the deputy director of Litigation at Disability Rights.

This lawsuit started after foster children had to go to medical and psychological checkups without having their medical records, later reaching out to Children’s Rights, a child advocacy organization based in D.C.

“The goal of the lawsuit is to remedy systemic oversight that harms children and families,” said Megan Berger, the assistant managing attorney at Disability Rights Maryland.

A similar lawsuit was made by the

5 Megan Berger is the assistant managing attorney at Disability Rights Maryland, one of the organizations suing the Maryland Department of Human Services and the Maryland Social Services Administration after allegations of

Children’s rights against the state of Missouri for poor recordkeeping, and Bartosz believes that this legal precedent will make this case easier to litigate and provide evidence for.

The speakers did not disparage the prescription or use of psychotropic medicines in all cases. Bartosz stated that there are proper usages of psychotropic drugs.

Harvard Medical School Assistant Professor Dr. Christopher Bellonci stated that much of the concerns root from the stacking of three or more psychotropic drugs, which he explained is very dangerous. Berger said that the lack of psychotropic drug research on children has added a further layer of danger in these prescriptions.

As many as 34% of foster children in Maryland are prescribed psychotropic drugs, compared to 8% of children nationally. Of those foster children who are prescribed, 52% are prescribed more than one psychotro-

NEWSPAPER

MIMI’S MUSINGS

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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

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Living the True Dream: the Power of Love in Action

By Micha Green WI Managing Editor

Welcome to Mimi’s Musings, a commentary column from WI Managing Editor Micha Green, that goes beyond her work as a journalist and editor, and dives into the storyteller’s thoughts and worldview.

In contrast to holidays encouraging Americans to relax, spend money or gather with family, the federal holiday in honor of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., also known as MLK Day, emphasizes service and action. While many people don’t have to go to work and school, justice advocates note that the King holiday is a day on, not off.

I was honored to have the opportunity to speak at Millbrook School, a private, co-ed boarding school in Stanford (or Millbrook) New York. My longtime friend and Millbrook’s Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion Prince Botchway asked me to moderate a panel with the theme the “Power of Love.”

Inspired by an excerpt from King’s “Where Do We Go From Here,” speech in August 1967, the panel focused on King’s notion that power and love work together.

In the beginning of his address, King says philosophers and theologians have given the concepts of power and love a bad rap. He references Nietzche’s will to power, which, in thought, requires the absence of the Christian ideals of love. He adds Christian theologians reject the notion of power in upholding religious values. King encourages the audience of primarily preachers to correct that narrative.

“Now, we got to get this thing right. What is needed is a realization that power without love is reckless and abusive, and that love without power is sentimental and anemic,” he said. “Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice, and justice at its best is love correcting everything that stands against love.”

If love is King’s solution to achieving justice, then I contend that love in action was the civil rights activist’s true dream.

The famous, “I have a Dream Speech,” (1963) lists King’s visions for an equal society: much of which has been achieved without the full equity for which he hoped.

King dreams, “one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.” While Georgia boasts booming Black communities and a Black U.S. Senator Raphael Warnock (D), in 2021 Republican Governor Brian Kemp signed legislation that disproportionately hurt voters of color– an act many called a form of voter suppression.

Achieving equity requires more than being able to dine at the same table as white Americans, it’s about having a level playing field before being invited, maintaining a seat, and feeling comfortable to break bread at the proverbial table– even despite differences.

Love in action is being able to sit at the table and grapple with the differences in a way that promotes growth and inspires a renewed way of navigating challenges.

King’s ideals on love and power offer a guide to equity and overall justice.

In the panel at Millbrook, panelists Alpana Chhibber, Kojo Clarke, Dwight Vidale and Bria Horsely built on one another’s ideas of love in action, noting: listening, asking questions, humility, and being courageous to create space for change are all ways of furthering equity conversations.

It’s not always easy to listen, ask questions not loaded with judgment, or work with those with whom we disagree, but that’s when the power of love comes into play. Leading with love is the light guiding us through the dark tunnel of scary differences and ignorance.

Leading with love was King’s true hope for us, to not only achieve civil rights, but to continue to guide us through modern challenges, such as systemic racism, attacks on reproductive rights, environmental injustice and the fight for reparations.

WI

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5 WI Managing Editor Micha Green considers King’s notion on the power of love to guide us today. (Courtesy Photo)

Local and National Leaders Remember King, Continue Fighting

Hamil R. Harris WI Contributing Writer

VIRGINIA ALI

The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had just met with President John F. Kennedy to discuss his plans to convene the 1963 March on Washington, and JFK was concerned.

“Dr. King and organizers of the March often came into Ben’s because their office was on 14th and U,” said Virginia Ali, who co-founded Ben’s Chili Bowl with her husband Ben Ali in August 1958. “That was a real privilege meeting with Kennedy, but he was concerned that a large protest would provoke injustice.”

Despite the President’s concerns, more than 250,000 people converged on the grounds between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial on August 28, 1963, and Ali, 89, said, “Ben and I were there.”

Had King lived, he would have been 94 on Jan. 15, and in observance of the occasion, Ben’s Chili Bowl served free meals to school teachers who visited the restaurant.

FRED GRAY

In the days leading up to the activist’s holiday, Fred Gray, the lawyer for King and Rosa Parks, said he spends his time these days continuing to keep King’s legacy alive.

“I am speaking in Lansing, Michigan, Sunday, and Monday, I will be at Emory University on Wednesday, and next week, I have to go down to Miami to speak to a group of lawyers,” said Gray, who, at 92, said.

“I’m delighted to talk about Dr. King for several reasons.”

“I was one of two persons who recommended Dr. King at the Montgomery bus boycott, and the other person was Joanne Robinson,” he said. “We made that recommendation after Mrs. Park’s arrest,” added Gray, who while in the Alabama state legislature between 1971-1972, recommended King’s become a holiday.

REV. JESSE JACKSON

Rev. Jesse Jackson, 82, had plenty to say about what his focus has been leading up to the 2023 King holiday and beyond.

“When we register to vote, we change the composition of America,” Jackson said.

REV. GRAINGER BROWNING

Rev. Grainger Browning, the pastor of Ebenezer A.M.E. in Fort Washington, said, “Dr. King would have been 94, and everything that we fought for 60 years ago we are fighting for today: jobs, police brutality, issues of race discrimination, but Dr. King would also be concerned with the role of technology and how it is dehumanizing personal relationships.

”It is no longer what’s important but what gets the most views,” Browning added. “What gets the most views can be the most outlandish, the craziest. It’s no longer world poverty, world hunger because these issues are no longer popular.”

THE KING CENTER HONORS MELANIE CAMPBELL

King was assassinated on April 4, 1968, and a few years later, the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change opened in

Atlanta adjacent to his tomb.

On Jan. 14, the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change presented “The Beloved Community Awards.” Onee of the awardees was Melanie Campbell, president and CEO of the National Coalition on Black Civic Participa-

tion (NCBCP).

“The King Center is where I cut my teeth, and to get this award is humbling,” said Campbell in an interview before she accepted her award during a program hosted by Malcolm Jamal Warner and Keisha Knight Pulliam. WI

WI Exclusive: Jesse Jackson, Virginia Ali, Fred Gray

5

The Rev. Jesse L. Jackson speaking to Dr. King. Jackson said he continues to work to keep King’s legacy alive. (Courtesy Photo/ Facebook)

Dr. King’s Quest for Economic Justice Continues

By Charlene Crowell Senior Fellow Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) Charlene.Crowell@responsiblelending.org

On January 16, the nation marked its 37th national holiday honoring the life of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968). Across the country observances chronicled how one man’s efforts pricked the moral conscience of the nation in a lifespan of only 39 years.

When he was just 26 and a new pastor at Montgomery’s Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, Dr, King was chosen by community leaders to lead

the effort to desegregate the city’s buses following the arrest of Rosa Parks, who refused to give up her seat to a white man.

From December 1955 and continuing for 13 months, an estimated 50,000 Black residents of Montgomery chose to walk, carpool, or patronize Black cab drivers. In the end, the boycott brought economic devastation and a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that the city’s segregation policies violated the Constitution’s 14th Amendment that guaranteed equal protection under the law.

The 2023 observance was also a time to recall how it took 32years to create the first national holiday to

honor a Black person. Although the federal holiday was enacted in 1983, its first observance came three years later in 1986, and at the time only 17 states observed its commemoration. It wasn’t until 2000 that all 50 states observed the King holiday.

Dr. King’s lifelong quest for economic justice is consistent throughout his sermons, speeches, and other writings.

On March 14, 1968, weeks before his assassination, Dr. King gave a speech entitled The Other America. In it, he describes how our nation actually reflected two vastly different experiences. In one, “millions of people have the milk of prosperity and the honey

of equality flowing before them… In this America children grow up in the sunlight of opportunity,” noted Dr. King.

“But there is another America,” continued Dr. King. “This other America has a daily ugliness about it that transforms the buoyancy of hope into the fatigue of despair…Probably the most critical problem in the other America is the economic problem. There are so many other people in the other America who can never make ends meet because their incomes are far too low if they have incomes, and their jobs are so devoid of quality.”

Today the unfortunate reality for much of Black America is that we continue to toil and suffer from that same economic “fatigue of despair”.

As a people, we fervently believe in the value of higher education; but meager financial resources force our students to incur six and sometimes seven figures of debt. Despite laws that call for equal credit, our access to affordable credit is often limited and instead Black Americans are plagued by predatory lending that leaves us with high-cost debts.

In the aftermath of the foreclosure crisis that disproportionately harmed Blacks and other people of color, Congress created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to be a financial cop-on-the-beat.

Since opening its doors in 2011, the CFPB has received more than 3.3 million consumer complaints, and delivered over $14.9 billion in monetary compensation, principal reductions, cancelled debts, and other consumer relief through its enforcement and supervisory work. Nearly three in four complaints filed – 73 percent – were about credit or consumer reporting. The remainder of the complaints reported issues with debt collection, credit cards and checking/savings accounts and mortgages.

Even so, the quest for financial justice continues. Laws and regulations must be vigorously enforced. But just as with civil rights legislation, the naysayers remain aggressive.

Over the past year, CFPB’s research and surveys have documented how consumers remain at risk via emerging consumer issues such as the Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) industry, elder financial exploitation, nursing home debt collection, college banking, student loans, and medical debt on credit reports and payments.

Testifying before the House Finan-

cial Services Committee (HFSC) on December 14, CFPB Director Rohit Chopra warned lawmakers of the growing dangers of BNPL.

“The CFPB’s recent study on Buy Now, Pay Later noted a significant increase in use of these products to fund essential goods and services,” said Chopra. “The CFPB is working to ensure that Buy Now, Pay Later lenders adhere to the same protocols and protections as other similar financial products to avoid regulatory arbitrage and to ensure a consistent level of consumer protection.”

Weeks earlier on November 2, the potential harms of BNPL were the topic on the HFSC’s Task Force Financial Technology. Marisabel Torres, speaking on behalf of the Center for Responsible Lending said, “When the borrower’s BNPL loan is linked to a bank account that lacks sufficient funds for payment, the BNPL lender’s payment attempts will typically trigger highly punitive non-sufficient funds (NSF) and/or overdraft fees…These fees in turn are highly associated with closed bank accounts and exclusion from the financial system. Or, the borrower may have sufficient funds for the BNPL payment but then be left without sufficient funds for other essential living expenses or debts. And many BNPL providers charge their own late or returned payment fees on top of the fees charged by banks.”

For these economic and equality issues, Dr. King’s own words continue to challenge America to live up to its creed:

“Expediency asks the question is it politics? Vanity asks the question is it popular? The conscience asks the question is it right? And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe nor politics nor popular, but he must do it because conscience tells him it is right.”

Amen, Dr. King.   WI

5 MLK Jr Preaching (courtesy of Penn State University)

Remembering King Through Prayer

UPO and MLK,Jr.Holiday DC hold King-Centered Prayer Breakfasts

Denise Rolark Barnes and Micha Green Publisher and WI Managing Editor

As the nation geared up to celebrate the federal holiday honoring the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., local organizations prayed, hosting events centered around King’s unapologetic emphasis of faith to fight the struggle.

UPO HOSTS 39TH ANNUAL BREAKFAST, FIRST SINCE PANDMEIC

The United Planning Organization (UPO) celebrated its 60th anniversary at its 39th annual MLK, Jr. Memorial Breakfast, Friday, Jan. 13, marking the first in-person event held in three years since the COVID-19 pandemic and with more than 600 supporters in attendance.

Jeffrey Page, the youngest board chair to serve in UPO’s history, reflected on the breakfast theme, ‘Economic

Justice,’ an often-overlooked part of Dr. King’s legacy. It is because of Johnson’s War on Poverty and Dr. King’s economic justice advocacy that community action agencies, like UPO, exist.

Founded in 1962 as part of the U.S. government’s War on Poverty, thousands of area residents have benefitted from the broad range of services UPO offers, including $1.4 million awarded in scholarships, education services, job placement, as well as expanded resources through the pandemic.

Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-District of Columbia) introduced keynote speaker Rep. Emmanuel Cleaver (D- Missouri), whom she praised for helping to champion D.C. statehood.

Cleaver said he often thinks about, “What if Africans had not come to America,” and how different the U.S. would be. He stressed the contributions Blacks have made, including the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. “who helped change America.”

“Use the memory of Dr. King, who

gave everything, including his life, to give something. Your job is to serve.”

Keiri Sanchez, a student at Bell Multicultural High School, who served as the event’s MC, was one of five students to receive a $10,000 Joseph Beaver Scholarship to help realize their dreams of becoming a pilot, engineer, biologist, therapist, and zoologist, respectively.

MLK HOLIDAY DC 5TH ANNUAL PRAYER BREAKFAST FOCUSES ON UNITY

Before preaching at the fifth annual MLK Holiday DC Prayer Breakfast on Jan. 14, the Rev. Dr. E. Gail Anderson Holness, pastor of Adams Inspirational A.M.E., told the Informer why it’s important to hold such gatherings.

“[We pray], because we know where we’ve been, but we don’t know where we’re going. We’ve come this far by faith, and people need to know that there is camaraderie, there is collectiveness, there is power in numbers, and

we are not by ourselves,” Holness said. “This breakfast shows: unity, togetherness, that we can fight whatever issues we have in our community together, because together we stand, divided we fall.”

With the District facing high homicide rates and fervent fights for: equity and statehood, the event’s speakers ensured audiences left with plans of action. Acknowledging the breakfast’s theme “Recapture the Dream: Lift Every Voice til Victory is Won,” speakers emphasized the importance of collective action to conquer justice goals.

Councilmember Trayon White (D-Ward 8) said collaboration is key in demanding change.

“I want to empower you today, in the spirit of Dr. King, to unite. Dr.

5 A leader in housing reform, Rep. Emmanueal Cleaver (D-Missouri), UPO Annual MLK King Breakfast keynote speaker, points to the two-room shack in Texas where he was raised without running water, indoor plumbing or electricity. (D.R. Barnes/ The Washington Informer)

King always said unity or non-existence,” White said.

The Rev. Thomas Bowen, director of the Mayor’s Office of Religious Affairs, preached that D.C. statehood is a “river to cross.”

Also the interim director of the Mayor’s Office on African American Affairs, Bowen referenced the famous rallying tune, “We Shall Overcome.”

“Deep in my heart, I do believe Washington, D.C. will be a state someday.” WI

- DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.

SAFEWAY IS PROUD TO HONOR THE MEMORY OF DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.

WGL Supplier Diversity Program

As we reflect on the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., it is essential to speak to his commitment to economic empowerment. This initiative continues today and aligns with our aspirations in being a responsible corporate member in the business community.

Washington Gas is committed to supporting diverse and protected class businesses through its Supplier Diversity Program.

For our company, procuring goods and services from diverse suppliers is a sound business strategy and produces competition in the marketplace, and benefits our customers, the community, and employees.

The Strength of Service

2023 marks the 40th anniversary of MLK Day, unique in its standing as the only federal holiday designated as a day of service. * Far from fading with time, this call to serve others only resonates more strongly with each new year.

Dr. King famously observed that “whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.” As organizations and individuals, our ongoing commitment to supporting our communities builds stronger understanding and provides opportunities, especially for the most vulnerable groups. Acts of service simultaneously enrich those who serve and empower those who receive assistance—a unique exchange that builds upon itself to inspire others.

Washington Gas is honored to celebrate MLK Day each year by encouraging our co-workers and colleagues to take this as an opportunity for community service. We actively support these goals by offering holiday time and opportunities to match employee volunteer hours and donations. Our team members have the flexibility to assist those initiatives that speak most personally to them.

We take great pride in our employees’ activities for MLK Day, but their dedication extends well past a single holiday. Our volunteers are active throughout the Washington metropolitan area on almost any day of the year. Since 2005, they have contributed approximately 140,000 hours** toward numerous organizations, including The Salvation Army, Capital Area Food Bank, Special Olympics DC, Healthy Babies Project, The Latino Student Fund, The Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Washington, INROADS, Junior Achievement, The March of Dimes and The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

For nearly 175 years, Washington Gas has been part of the very foundation of our District. In fact, our founding charter in 1848 was approved within the same week that the Washington Monument cornerstone was placed. Life has changed dramatically since then, but the core needs within our communities remain the same.

Every home should be warm in the winter. Every person should enjoy food security. Every child should have educational opportunities. Every generation should inherit a vibrant planet and environment.

The recent COVID pandemic was a stark reminder that unforeseen events can strike any of us at any time. Such uncertainties can have an even more devastating impact on underserved individuals and families, such as the more than 16.5% of Washington D.C. households living at or below the poverty line.***

In 1983, we founded the Washington Area Fuel Fund to help local families stay warm in the winter, even when other sources of assistance may not be available. The program has distributed over $32 million to more than 300,000 households across the DMV. We also support a robust series of energy assistance programs through our Washington Gas Cares initiative. (Click the QR code below to learn more.)

Since 2018 alone, our philanthropic programs and initiatives have contributed more than $5 million in local support. This funding has advanced everything from grocery drives—including the purchase of refrigerated trucks to ensure fresh food—to student programs, healthy baby care and performing arts.

A famous and influential phrase from Dr. King’s iconic “I Have a Dream” speech in 1963 emphasizes that “now is the time.” His words remind us that elevating every person and every community is an urgent, ongoing call to action. We are honored to have been part of this region since 1848, and we thank you for the opportunity to continue serving you in the future.

*https://www.aascu.org/programs/ADP/MLKDay/ **Hours provided by Washington Gas Community Engagement. ***https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/DC

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Three Ways Dr. King’s Legacy Influences the Environmental Movement

Kayla Benjamin Climate & Environment Writer

Two years after Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King’s assassination in 1968, America’s environmental movement began in earnest with the first ever Earth Day. That initial movement would go on to fail at fighting for King’s values. White environmentalists focused their energy on beloved natural spaces, while ignoring the needs of minority communities and the voices of poor people. For decades, environmentalism seemed synonymous with mostly white activists pushing to clean up their mostly white neighborhoods, hometowns and parks.

Today, that has begun to change. Environmental justice has moved to the forefront of the conversation in many of the most important environmental policymaking spaces, in the U.S. and internationally. Major funding has flowed to the movement, and the green workforce has become far more diverse in recent years. The change is slow, inadequate and long overdue—but it is happening.

And that change is part of King’s legacy. Even in its tactics—disrupting traffic, staging sit-ins—today’s climate and environmental movements owe a

debt to the fight for civil rights. Today’s increasingly powerful environmental justice movement has its roots in much of King’s philosophy.

More than fifty years after his death, the reverend’s teachings continue to wind their way through the modern-day fights for equal access to clean air, water and soil.

UNDERSTANDING POLLUTION’S HARMS

In a November 1967 lecture, three years before the mainstream environmental movement fully emerged in the U.S., King warned that “the cities are gasping in polluted air and enduring contaminated water.”

As early as the 1950s, King expressed worries about “the survival of the world,” particularly in regard to the environmental impacts of nuclear testing and nuclear weapons. “It is very nice to drink milk at an unsegregated lunch counter — but not when there’s strontium 90 in it,” he said in the spring of 1960.

Many of today’s prominent environmental justice advocates see faith as central to their activism work, just as King understood that the fight for civil

rights was a divine cause.

“I was raised in the Black church in the South,” said Heather McTeer Toney, vice president of community engagement for the Environmental Defense Fund. “There is a responsibility that I have to not only care for creation in the environment and humanity in the same way that Christ cares for me.”

King only rarely spoke about the environment directly. But Dr. Drew Dellinger, an award-winning author and former scholar-in-residence at Stanford University’s King Institute, argues that the reverend’s words offer “hints and glimpses” that show “King’s vision was ahead of its time in linking cosmology, social justice, and ecological consciousness.”

EMPHASIZING INTERCONNECTIONS

Decades in advance, King articulated one of the central principles of the environmental justice movement: that many seemingly disparate issues—like poverty, racism and pollution—are inextricably linked to one another, and that recognizing that interconnectedness is vital in the fight for justice everywhere. He saw the anti-war, labor and

civil rights movements as interlocking pieces of a global struggle.

In his 1967 Christmas sermon at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, King focused on global interdependence, arguing that world peace required “a world perspective.” He went on to broaden that idea even further: “It really boils down to this: that all life is interrelated.” Both the early environmental movement of the 1970s and today’s environmental justice movement have stood on that same principle.

SEEING NATURE AS DIVINE

In a handwritten sermon draft from

the early 1950s (digitally archived in the King Center), King discussed the connections he saw between the natural and the spiritual.

Reminiscing about his time in seminary, he wrote, “everyday I would sit [on] the edge of the campus by the side of the river and watch the beauties of nature. My friends in this experience I saw G-d.”

*The author writes the word G-d with a dash as part of a custom practiced by some Jewish people that aims to prevent the erasure or destruction of G-d’s name. Because erasing G-d’s name is prohibited, she tries not to write it in places where it could be erased or thrown out. WI

5 Demonstrators hold a casket symbolic of all the lives lost in their Louisiana community due to environmental racism during an Oct. 25 march to the White House. (Marckell Williams/ The Washington Informer)

DCPS, National Park Service Host Speech Readings at Lincoln Memorial

Sam P.K. Collins WI Staff Writer

Hundreds of elementary and middle school children celebrated the Lincoln Memorial’s 100th anniversary when they stood in the very place the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech to recite the famous words, along with other well-known speeches of the 19th, 20th and 21st century.

Just like King did in 1963, young people from five District public schools stood confidently at the top steps of the Lincoln Memorial, looked over at the Washington Monument and reflecting pool, and made presentations before peers, teachers, parents and onlookers.

On that chilly Jan. 13 morning, Paola Winston-Vazquez counted among dozens of young people from Stuart-Hobson Middle School who recited the “Let Freedom Ring” speech that former President Barack Obama gave in 2013 to commemorate the March on Washington where King gave his famous “I Have a Dream”

Speech.

In the weeks leading up the event, Paola collaborated with her peers as they sharpened their stage presence and examined the significance of themes that Obama touched on in his address. “It’s about not forgetting where we come from and our progress so we can keep fighting,” Paola said.

“Our past has bettered our future,” she continued. “It was an honor to

learn from him and say his words.”

For nearly three hours, visitors looked in awe as students from Langley Elementary, C.W. Harris Elementary, School Within A School at Goding Elementary School, Hyde-Addison Elementary School and Stuart-Hobson Middle School channeled the spirit of King, Obama, President Abraham Lincoln and Eleanor Roosevelt in their presentations.

The event, a collaborative effort between DC Public Schools and the National Park Service, started with opening remarks from Ranger Jen Epstein and Dr. Calvin R. Hooks, principal of Hyde-Addison Elementary School. Musical numbers from students included “My Country Tis of Thee,” which opera singer Marian Anderson famously sang at the Lincoln Memorial, James Weldon Johnson’s “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” “Sister Rosa,” by the Neville Brothers, and “We Shall Overcome.”

After the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) refused to let Anderson perform at DAR Constitution Hall because of her race, former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt resigned her membership from the organization and arranged for the contralto to sing on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on Easter Sunday 1939.

Students from Langley Elementary School recited Roosevelt’s DAR resignation letter and Lincoln’s “A House Divided” speech.

Later, C.W. Harris Elementary School students recited Dr. King’s

“Give Us the Ballot” speech while 5th and 6th graders from School Within A School at Goding Elementary School recited “I Have a Dream.” Fifth graders from Hyde-Addison Elementary School read the speech Obama made on the night of his election.

Paola and her peers from Stuart-Hobson Middle School wrapped up the presentations with their recitation of Obama’s “Let Freedom Ring.”

For Toni Pergerson, theater teacher at Stuart-Hobson Middle School, working with students on their presentation allowed for further examination of Obama’s words, and how far Black people have come along in the United States. She also noted that students took into account the part they play in continuing that legacy.

“We studied the speech and students were assigned to a portion,” Pergerson said. “Students learned about stage presence and drew comparisons [to] see how history repeats itself. They talked about their responsibility to do their part as citizens and push forth with the vision.” WI

@SamPKCollins

5 Students from Langley Elementary, C.W. Harris Elementary, School Within A School at Goding Elementary School, Hyde-Addison Elementary School and Stuart-Hobson Middle School channeled the spirit of King, Presidents Barack Obama and Abraham Lincoln and Eleanor Roosevelt in their presentations. (The Washington Informer)

Essay Contest winners

The MLK Holiday DC Committee, in partnership with the Mayor’s Youth Leadership Institute Alumni Association and community partners present the winners of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Essay Contest 2023. Over 100 D.C. elementary, middle and high school students wrote essays addressing: What does Dr. King’s ‘Dream’ mean to you? And the winners are…

What the “I Have A Dream” Speech Means To Me

By Thane Frederick Breakthrough Montessori PCS, 5th Grade, Ward 4 Resident

When I think of the “I Have A Dream” speech, I think of a wish, or a hope that things will get better. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “Five score years ago, a great American, in whose shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation.” Later, King goes on to talk about how Black men and women are still not free.

I think when MLK said, “I have a dream,” it meant that he wanted everyone to take the final step. They took the first step to end slavery. He wants people to take the final step to end segregation and to end unfair laws for Black men and women.

The “I Have a Dream” Speech means to me that Black men and women have a wish that they can be free; a wish that they won’t just be free but will be free of unfair laws. When MLK made his speech about unfair laws, things were different. Black men and women were separated from white men and women and had different schools, neighborhoods, stores, and restrooms. One of the really bad things was that the stuff for the Black men and women was not nearly as good or fancy as the stuff that was for the white men and women.

From my personal experience, I never had this problem. First because those laws have been mostly resolved, and second because even if those laws had not been dealt with by now, I would not have had to deal with it because of my skin color. I would not have a complete perspective of the other side of the page.

Something that would make King happy right now is that, he said, “I have dream that Black boys and black girls will play with white boys and white girls,” and in my life that part of his dream has been fulfilled. In my school, I have a very diverse class with a lot of Black and white kids that play together.

Even though all of this has been said, we still have more to work on, like the fact that Black and white people are sometimes paid differently, even if they’re doing the exact same job, or the fact that Black people get shot more than white people.

We can use MLK as inspiration to keep going. We shouldn’t just stop here. You and I can make a difference by going to peaceful protests, or just being nice in general.

Nathan Goulbourne Williams Brookland Middle School 6th Grade Ward 7 Resident

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s iconic “I Have a Dream” speech of August 28, 1963, is one of the most well-known and impactful pieces of American history. In it, he outlines his vision of an America in which all individuals are judged not by the color of their skin but instead by the content of their character. He outlines a new America in which the civil rights of all races and genders are respected and upheld, and his iconic closing words encapsulate his dream: “Free at last, free at last, thank God Almighty, we are free at last!”

The dream has not changed from its original 1963 conception — that is, a nation in which all people are truly equal in the eyes of not just the law, but also in the eyes of society. This goes beyond simply legal equality, as unfortunately there are still many instances in which racial prejudice persists and will continue until tangible action is taken to stop it.

“The Dream” then was a call to action to fight systemic racism and economic injustice, while the Dream now is focused on dismantling oppressive systems and achieving equity and inclusion. We have seen progress since 1963 with more people of color, particularly Black people, gaining access to higher education and socioeconomic opportunities. At the same time, we have yet to fully realize “The Dream.” Racism and racial discrimination continue to threaten the ideals of equality, equity, inclusion, and justice for all. The recent civil unrest across the country due to police brutality has exposed the reality that “The Dream “still has many miles to go before it is realized.

Achieving this dream, however, is not an easy feat and will take the collective social

and political efforts of individuals from all levels of society. It requires us to confront our biased notions of those different from us and have meaningful conversations rooted in trust and understanding. It requires us to challenge injustice when we see it being committed by someone within or outside of our community, and to create an environment of true respect and appreciation for all individuals regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, or creed. It is through these efforts that we move even closer to realizing the dream envisioned by Martin Luther King Jr.

In addition to acting individually, we must also act collectively and strive to support those in government, companies, or other organizations that are actively making an effort to bring about a more equal and just America. This may include but is not limited to supporting legislation to end police brutality, working together to close the widening wealth gap, and ensuring that access to quality education and healthcare is made available to all people. Each of these steps can go a long way in helping to ensure that the dream Martin Luther King spoke of is achieved and less discrimination against races Martin Luther King Jr. was an African American leader in the U.S.

He [Dr. King] lost his life while performing a peaceful protest for the betterment of Blacks in America. His real name was Michael King Jr. He was among one of the great men who dedicated their life for the community.

Ultimately, there is still much more work to be done to fulfill the dream that Martin Luther King Jr. shared in 1963. And for us to reach a place of safety and acceptance for all our citizens, it is essential that we continue to push for change that is rooted in justice and equality for all.

Those of us who have the power to make an impact must use it to help bring about a future in which every person is respected and appreciated for the content of their character and treated equally. Only then can we live in a world where the King’s dream is fully realized. Therefore, we have many more things to understand, and we all have different opinions on things, but this should not be a problem although black people are not the only race that has been discriminated against and not paid well.

www.washingtoninformer.com

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr

Justice Turner Landon School 11th Grade, Ward 4 Resident

Have you ever desired something so profound ly, that you attempted to do the impossible to achieve your aspiration? If so, you can relate to the legendary, noble, and renowned Martin Luther King, Jr. who is embedded in our history.

Martin Luther King had one primary “Dream” in life, which was to eradicate all forms of discrimination, and oppression against African Americans and other minorities. To fight racism, King led a successful non-violent movement against an entire system ruled by a long history of oppression and intimidation. What Martin Luther King did was unimaginable, because most people who opposed racism were too afraid to fight. They witnessed lynchings, beatings, and other horrors of the times committed against African Americans and chose to stay quiet, but not King. King’s achievements made him one of the most well-respected African Americans in history.

As a young leader, the dream that Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke about in 1963 continues to be a source of inspiration for me. To me, the dream represents the idea that all people, regardless of their race or background, should be treated with respect, dignity, and equality. It means that everyone should have the opportunity to live a full and prosperous life, free from discrimination and prejudice.

Thanks to King and a few other brave freedom fighters, over time there has been the increasingly better treatment of minorities, especially African Americans. Although we have seen improvements, the problems of the day revolve around racial profiling, police brutality, marginalization, and continuing unjust treatment of African Americans. Both African Americans and White Americans are equally responsible for ending this problem. We, as African Americans are going to have to do a better job to get rid of negative stigmas about our race by working better as a community. This is going to include stopping all the blackon-black violence, gun violence, and all irresponsible behaviors. We must do just as MLK did, to fight injustice with non-violent wisdom.

Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK) was an American Baptist minister and civil rights activist who played a key role in the American civil rights movement. He is best known for his role in the advancement of civil rights using nonviolent civil disobedience based on his Christian beliefs.

MLK was born on January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia, and was assassinated on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee. He is remembered each year on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a U.S. federal holiday. Martin Luther King Jr. was important because he was a leader in the civil rights movement, which sought to end racial segregation and discrimination against African Americans in the United States. Through his leadership, activism, and inspiring message of nonviolence, he helped to bring about major changes in the laws and attitudes of American society.

MLK’s advocacy for civil rights and social justice inspired people around the world and he is widely considered one of the greatest figures in American history. Muhammed Gandhi was Martin Luther Kings inspiration for doing unimaginable things he did. They both shared the same concept of non-violence, which was revolutionary, because of how it changed the way white people looked at African Americans. Martin Luther King looked up to Mr. Gandhi as a source of inspiration to better his methods of nonviolence and share similar ideologies (Stanford University).

Even though Gandhi had an entirely different situation than MLK, they both used the same tactics to achieve a similar end goal. With this new concept of nonviolence emerged a brand-new type of protesting. The peaceful protest was the epicenter of how African Americans were able to express their inner beliefs

and thoughts on the discrimination drawback (“Repression of Peaceful Protest”).

Regarding my viewpoint on the subject, essentially, I agree with all of MLK’s philosophies and beliefs. When I hear the word dream, I think of someone’s desire to achieve something in the distant future. However, these dreams could all be attainable if one puts their mind to them, and work hard for whatever it is that they desire.

Me, I have many dreams that I desire to accomplish by the end of my life, and reflecting on King’s fight, makes me know that my dreams are attainable as well. Me being a youth leader automatically gives me the responsibility to go above and beyond in my community. When looking at the MLK, Jr. “I have a Dream” speech on YouTube, shows the immense support MLK had when delivering his speech (SullenToys.com).

MLK had a huge following of people, because of how powerful of a person he was. When I look back, I simply wonder if MLK could have accomplished his “dream” without the immense support of everyone that put their lives on the line to help him. People were constantly at risk of going to peaceful protests with groups like the KKK lurking at every corner (History.com Editors). It really shows the unity that was involved in this “dream” making it not MLK’s “dream” but rather our “dream.” Looking at King’s support, makes me realize that I am not in this fight alone. I must use those around me. “Two heads are better than One!”

MLK’s dream was a motivating factor for every African American citizen to help end this racial injustice that was present in all of America. King broke barriers so we would not have to break them again.

To me, the dream is a representation of all Black people and our aspiration for a better tomorrow. The overall philosophy of our dream has not changed much since the 1900s. We still desire equality!

The present-day dream of equality needs to be focused on racial profiling that is present in the United States, which leads to hate crimes against minority groups. A prime example in recent times was the killing of George Floyd, which was seen as police brutality against African Americans. The New York Times talks about how George passed away because an officer kneeled on his neck. This is merely one of the many examples of present-day racism.

There are also several issues that are hindering the victory of the dream. One of these is the ongoing problem of systemic racism, which affects many aspects of society and can be difficult to address. Additionally, there are those who oppose the idea of the dream and seek to maintain the status quo of inequality and discrimination. It is important for those of us who support the dream to stand up against these forces and work towards creating a more just and equal society.

To conclude, the dream that Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke about in 1963 remains a powerful and inspiring vision for a better world. While there has been progress toward achieving it, there is still much work to be done. By taking action to address issues of inequality and injustice and working towards creating a more inclusive and equitable society, we can continue to move closer to realizing the dream for all people. This means taking action to address issues such as racial and social injustice, economic inequality, and prejudice against marginalized groups. It also means educating ourselves and others about these issues and advocating for change in our communities to attain the dream, we must continue to work towards creating a more inclusive and equitable society.

Specifically related to me, I still believe there is much work that needs to be done present day, to create a better tomorrow. Specifically, we as African Americans need to create a better image of ourselves rather than sit and complain when we are being discriminated against.Unfortunately, over the years some of us have painted ourselves in a way that doesn’t represent Martin Luther King’s dream.

Personally, my “dream” is to walk down the street without being seen as a “threat” to others because of the color of my skin. Fortunately for us, we have today and tomorrow to change this identity. We must not sit back and wait for a leader. We must realize that WE are that leader. I must be the one to create change! I must be the Dream!

Honoring Dr. King’s commitment to change

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s words remind us of the importance of service at any level. AARP believes your experiences, skills and passion have the power to inspire others to make a difference.

We encourage everyone to continue building on his legacy by lending a helping hand in their community.

Find ways to volunteer in the District at createthegood.aarp.org aarp.org/dc | /aarpdc | @AARPDC

“Everybody can be great because anybody can serve.”

Dr. King’s Dream and Warning

Peace walkers and marchers that participated in the Annual MLK Holiday Peace Walk and Parade on Monday passed several historic landmarks as they marched along the avenue named in Dr. King’s honor.

The peace walkers rallied at Shepherd Parkway, once owned by George Washington Young, a slave owner who freed his slaves under the DC Compensated Emancipation Law. He allowed the federal government to lease his land to build forts for the Union to protect the area from Confederate attack, and to build a hospital. Many of the formerly enslaved people remained in the area and established communities including the historic Barry Farm in Anacostia.

The marchers joined the MLK parade participants at the entrance of St. Elizabeths, the campus where the the hospital bearing the same name opened in 1855. As many as 8,000 indigent residents of the District of Columbia, as well as U.S. Army and Navy soldiers with brain illnesses, according to Wikipedia, were housed and treated there. Soon, the new Cedar Hill Regional Medical Center GW Health, named in honor of the residence where Frederick Douglass lived in Anacostia, will open on the site bringing a broad range of critical care and specialty services to residents east of the Anacostia River.

Over the years, generations have marched along King Avenue, formerly Nichols Avenue, notably one of the first streets in the nation to be named after Dr. King and to host a parade in his honor. But, the avenue has also seen its share of protests over lives lost to gun violence.

A monument the peace walkers passed near a liquor store at MLK and Malcolm X Avenues was erected two years ago. Teddy bears and stuffed animals mounted underneath a colorful mural was built in remembrance of Nyiah Courtney, the 6-year-old fatally shot there around midnight two years ago while riding her scooter. The 24-year-old suspect who was in court last week for a status hearing, pleaded not guilty to all charges including second-degree murder.

Marchers who carried “Thou Shalt Not Kill” posters focused on children recently harmed or killed by guns. Reports suggest that more children today die from gun violence than car accidents and cancer.

More than 55 years ago, Dr. King warned: “By...our readiness to allow arms to be purchased at will and fired at whim; by allowing our movie and television screens to teach our children that the hero is one who masters the art of shooting and the technique of killing...we have created an atmosphere in which violence and hatred have become popular pastimes.”

In his honor, we must reclaim The Dream.

WI

Founders’ Days: A Time for All to Celebrate Black Greek-Letter Sororities and Fraternities

It’s January, which for many means setting and sticking to resolutions, MLK Day service projects, and for members of Black Greek-letter organizations, celebrating a slew of Founders’ Days.

The National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC), often referred to as the “Divine Nine,” is composed of historically Black, Greek-letter fraternities and sororities, including: Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, and Iota Phi Theta Fraternity.

Among many initiatives and goals, the NPHC fosters collaboration between organizations, supports issues of mutual concern, and promotes the well-being of its fellow members. Thus, while Kappa Alpha Psi (Jan. 5), Phi Beta Sigma (Jan. 9), Delta Sigma Theta (Jan. 13), Alpha Kappa Alpha (Jan. 15) and Zeta Phi Beta (Jan. 16) all have Founders’ Days in January, the entire Divine Nine has a lot to celebrate.

Yes, more than half of the NPHC organizations were birthed in January, but Founders’ Days acknowledge more than that. The days uplift vision, courage and collective action.

Many of the issues tackled by individual organizations turn into initiatives bolstered by the entire Divine Nine, such as supporting HBCUs, addressing health inequities and thwarting voter suppression.

Founders’ Day, no matter the Greek-letter organization, is like family matriarchs and patriarchs birthdays; it’s a time for the whole family— extended folks included— to celebrate.

Beyond the NPHC honoring Founders’ Days, the nation should recognize their value.

President Joe Biden has taken to social media in acknowledgment of many of the organizations’ contributions on the anniversary of their charters.

“Happy Founders Day to the women of Alpha Kappa Alpha,” the president said on the occasion of the sorority’s 115th Founders’ Day.

“More than 100 years of employing that motto, ‘by culture and by merit.’ That’s made us a better America, trust me I know. Through my Vice President Kamala Harris and my Director of Office Management and Budget Shalanda Young, I see it. That’s why Kamala and I have made sure to create a real and lasting collaboration with the Divine Nine for the first time in any White House,” Biden said, thanking the sorority for its service.

Showing love on Founders’ Days not only celebrates longevity, but acknowledges these organizations as historic change agents continuing to work towards a stronger nation and world. WI

Justice for Karon

I have no words for the killing of 13-year-old Karon Blake, but I’m tired. May he rest in heavenly peace, and may the killer be brought to justice.

Katherine Teeter Washington,

D.C.

Readers' Mailbox

TO THE EDITOR

Wise Words

I absolutely loved last week’s Words to Live By by the great George Washington Carver. His words on treating people with compassion were so powerful and will be my new motto.

Ledida Willoughby Seat Pleasant, 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 include a full name, address and phone number. We look forward to hearing from you.

A New Tribute to Dr. and Mrs. King

As the nation prepared this week to celebrate the holiday honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday, the city of Boston had a very special gift: a new memorial unveiled Jan. 13 in Boston Common, the beautiful public park at the city's center, honoring Dr. King and his wife, Coretta Scott King. The 22-foot-tall bronze

sculpture anchoring the memorial, "The Embrace," is the first large monument to be installed in Boston Common in 125 years. The powerful piece depicts the Kings' shoulders, arms and hands curved around each other in its namesake hug.

The memorial is the vision of the nonprofit Embrace Boston (originally named King Boston), which has been working with the City of Boston and the Boston Foundation to create a living memorial and programs to honor the legacy

of Dr. and Mrs. King in the city where they met as he was earning his Ph.D. in theology at Boston University and she was earning her second bachelor's degree at the New England Conservatory of Music. From the beginning, it was critical that it celebrate both Kings and their shared work. Imari Paris Jeffries, the executive director of Embrace Boston, noted at the groundbreaking that the sculpture is meant to be a symbol of love along with being a symbol of equity, inclusion, belonging and justice.

The sculpture's creator, artist Hank Willis Thomas, based "The Embrace" on a photograph of Dr. and Mrs. King just after they learned Dr. King had been awarded the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize. He explained in a recent interview why that particular photo inspired his design: "I just love that image, him hugging her with such glee and such joy and such pride, and I saw the pride on her face. And I recognized that this was teamwork. And all of his weight in that picture is on her. … I was not alive when he was alive. She was the

symbol. Her grace, her presence was palpable. And I thought that was a pretty powerful metaphor for their legacy, that she put his legacy on her shoulders and carried it for almost half a century." Now this new memorial is a permanent tribute to that shared legacy.

The sculpture is set at the center of the 1965 Freedom Rally Memorial Plaza, which has a quilt-like design that honors 69 local leaders who fought for civil rights and

A Magic Made

one day speak that well.

For many of us, the Martin Luther King holiday every year brings memories of Dr. King's great speeches and the incredible power of his words. Dr. King was a master orator who gave many inspiring speeches throughout his career. Lots of Black kids — myself included — grew up mesmerized by the majesty of the "I Have a Dream" speech, wishing we could

As a youngster, especially one who struggled with a speech impediment, I thought great speeches were magic.

I still do. Except now I see that magic isn't made in a vacuum.

Maybe you've heard a great speech given in an empty room; I know I have. No matter how wonderful the words, the impact will be small. In contrast, I look at the old photos of Dr. King's speeches and there is a sea of upturned faces, many Black, some white: older peo-

ple, young folks, men and women.

I think about these moments and I am struck not just by the power of Dr. King, but by the enormous commitment of the people behind the scenes: activists, organizers, and volunteers.

Those working behind the scenes enabled the people of Montgomery, Alabama to hear Dr. King promise that the arc of the moral universe does indeed bend toward justice. They enabled hundreds of thousands in Washington, and even more around the country,

to hear his immortal "I Have a Dream" speech. And in Memphis, they enabled thousands of striking sanitation workers and their allies hear Dr. King the day before he was murdered, when he spoke of having been "to the mountaintop" and gave hope for a better future.

I feel deep gratitude for the hundreds, even thousands of people who played "supporting" roles throughout Dr. King's life, the people who passed out flyers, who offered rides, who brought friends and neighbors to listen when he

spoke. And of course, there is gratitude beyond words for all those who marched, who faced police brutality and fought segregation. Because of them, Dr. King was able to change the world.

There's a lesson in that for all of us. If you say to yourself, "I could never give the kind of speech Dr. King could give, so there isn't much I can do to change hearts and minds," then you are half-right — and half-wrong.

Since 1983, the third Monday in January represents the day in which the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is celebrated with a federal holiday. For Southerners, devotion to their Confederate heritage remains deep and long-lasting. As a result, several states added the celebration of Confederate Army Gen. Robert E. Lee to the same day as the King

holiday. While states such as Virginia, North Carolina and Arkansas eventually removed the joint celebration, Alabama and Mississippi still honors Lee with King. Both men are considered to be American icons, but for opposing reasons.

The joint celebration is truly a contradiction of ideology. Would a person who admires Robert E. Lee and what he stood for as a Confederate also be an admirer of Martin Luther King and what he stood for as a civil rights leader? In many ways, the South has nev-

er gotten over the Civil War. Robert E. Lee will always be a timeless hero throughout the South despite leading an army that conducted "slave hunts" of free Black Americans. Despite being a slave owner who ordered his slaves whipped and families separated. Despite leading a Confederate army that slaughtered Black Union soldiers while attempting to surrender. After the war, he continued to fight against efforts to give Black Americans their rights as citizens.

While Lee continues to be seen

as a Confederate leader worthy of appreciation, does it matter to Southerners that he was indicted by a grand jury in Norfolk, Virginia, for treason? The grand jury charged him with "wickedly, maliciously, and traitorously" carrying on a war against the Constitution and the "peace and dignity" of the United States of America. During the Civil War era, a Confederate was a person who saw themselves as a Southerner first. Their allegiance was to their states over the federal authority of the United States government.

This deep loyalty to the beloved South became a major part of the Southern identity and culture which is still embraced today. It would not be wrong to question the American patriotism of someone who still embraces Confederate figure and beliefs — especially as we are currently witnessing the reemergence of white nationalism in addition to challenges to constitutional and ethical norms. All parts of the Southern culture and

Guest Columnist

Svante Myrick

Guest Columnist

Marian Wright Edelman

Guest Columnist

David W. Marshall

MLK or Robert E. Lee

OPINIONS/EDITORIALS

Gone (Hog) Wild

Although I am loath to refer to it, I am sure that many of you remember the series of "Girls Gone Wild" films and the media craze it created in the 1990s. For those who don't remember, GGW was a series of near-pornographic videos direct-marketed to the public as "socially relevant." They were, however, misogynistic, exploitative, predatory and abusive to the

young women who were either duped or voluntarily participated in the videos. Gratefully, the excesses of the videos and the legal and financial excesses of its founder, Joe Francis, led to the demise of GGW — and not a moment too soon!

The lesson I take from this despicable activity and others like it is that arrogant, exploitative, self-serving or other actions designed to benefit a select few usually leave a path of personal or social destruction in their wake. It is also clear that however reprehensible

and objectionable information may be, there is always an audience that is eager to consume whatever garbage is tossed their way. Given the actions and behavioral motivations already demonstrated by the new Republican majority in the House of Representatives, this is the type of future for destructive excesses I envision for the 118th Congress.

The first insult to the American people was the 15-ballot debacle that finally led to the selection of a new speaker of the House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy. Al-

Columnist Marc H. Morial

'The Bad, Brilliant Brother From Brooklyn'

the first Black leader of the Democratic minority in Congress will be seated at the head of the table as we deliberate on the future of our ongoing democratic experiment."

"America needs political leadership that can inspire disparate constituencies and star-crossed communities to coalesce around ideas, issues and goals that transcend party loyalty. … Hakeem Jeffries cannot, of course, be expected to embody this leadership on his own. But it is a testament to the national character, and the grace at times embedded within it, that the voice of

— Peniel E. Joseph

Of the 15 ballots it took for Kevin McCarthy finally to be elected speaker of the House this month, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries won more votes than McCarthy in 11 of them.

But a speaker must be elected with a majority of votes cast, not just

a plurality. With every member of the House voting, the threshold for election was 218. By the 14th vote, McCarthy had persuaded 13 holdouts to shift their votes to him, but it was only after six members agreed to vote "present" — thereby lowering the threshold to 216 — that he finally ascended to the speakership.

By contrast, each and every member of the minority party voted for Jeffries on each and every ballot — except for the 12th. On the fourth day of voting, Rep. David Trone of Maryland missed the first ballot of

though he initially had insufficient votes to secure that position, those who would not support him held the business of the People hostage from the inevitable for five days. They squeezed every conceivable concession from McCarthy with him agreeing to the appointment to positions of authority and influence for the most reactionary MAGAts! Even after admitting on national television that every conceivable concession had been extracted from McCarthy, they squeezed him one last time to demonstrate their power for de-

nying him his coveted position of House Speaker.

One of the first resolutions passed by the Republican House was a repeal of funding for additional IRS examiners approved by the 117th Congress under the Inflation Reduction Act. If passed, this resolution would cripple the IRS' ability to enforce the current tax codes and promote the potential for wealthy tax cheats to evade their fair share in tax payments.

The lack of qualified and experi-

Disposing of Division, Not People and Places

the day because he was undergoing surgery. By early afternoon, he was back on the House floor to cast his vote for Jeffries in the 13th ballot.

When Jeffries was elected minority leader in November, he became the first Black leader of any caucus in Congress, House or Senate. Last week, he became the first Black nominee for speaker of the House.

His colleagues recognized the significance as they cast their votes.

"And still I rise, and I proudly cast my vote on behalf of the enslaved people who built this Capitol. I cast

my vote for the honorable Hakeem Jeffries," declared Rep. Al Green of Texas.

With a nod to her predecessor, the late civil rights icon John Lewis, Rep. Nikema Williams cast her vote for Jeffries "in the spirit of good trouble."

And Rep. Yvette Clark, Jeffries' fellow New Yorker, joyfully cast her vote for "the bad, brilliant brother from Brooklyn."

Jeffries is the highest-raking non-

As an organizer who's spent much of my life fighting for civil rights and access to the ballot box, I reflect on the work and words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. often, not just around the federal holiday for his birthday.

Lately I've been thinking about a speech he gave in 1967 less than nine months before he was assassi-

nated in which he expounded on racism, excessive materialism, and militarism — what he called "a triple prong sickness that has been lurking within our body politic from its very beginning."

In describing how those three evils crush opportunity for people in this country and abroad, Dr. King exposed the destructive ideas that have subsidized the American Experiment — that groups of people were disposable and that our wilderness was just as disposable. As a nation, we're still dealing

with the cost of that destruction of people and of forests, rivers, and air that was accepted for most of our history.

What we call the environmental movement today was just emerging in 1967 (the first Earth Day was still three years away). It's not hard to imagine Dr. King would mention the threat to a livable planet if he spoke today, perhaps substituting the climate crisis for the existential threat of nuclear war.

We shouldn't be surprised that

poor communities are poisoned communities. Dr. King identified the roots as structural, not simply ill will, saying that "for the good of America, it is necessary to refute the idea that the dominant ideology in our country, even today, is freedom and equality while racism is just an occasional departure from the norm."

It's time we act on that idea and that we discard that flawed either/ or idea that prosperity for some demands poverty for others meant to divide poor and working-class

people since colonial times. Poverty is what drives environmental destruction. But we can both create more jobs for people who have been starved for jobs and save the planet.

Clean technology can sustain a clean economy that leaves no one out. The federal government has made a once-in-a-generation investment in infrastructure and jobs that has environmental repair and renewal at its core. Dr.

Guest

Ben Jealous

E. Faye Williams

LIFESTYLE

A Grand Return for ‘Let Freedom Ring’

Leslie Odom Jr. Gives Stellar Performance

Brenda C. Siler WI Contributing Writer

The “19th Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Let Freedom Ring Celebration” at the Kennedy Center was an evening of great music and recognition of an outstanding leader. Music producer Nolan Williams, Jr. created an evening of original music backed by the Let Freedom Ring Celebration Choir and Orchestra. Performing with the choir and orchestra were members of the

Georgetown University Jazz Band and other Georgetown students in a spoken word performance. Tony and Grammy award winner Leslie Odom, Jr., was the special guest artist.

The evening opened with Williams’ new composition, “We’re Marching On,” commissioned for this event. The music and lyrics were influenced by a March 1965 speech from Martin Luther King, Jr., delivered in Mobile, Ala., called “Our God is Marching On.”

delivered in spoken words their thoughts about underfunded schools, acceptance for who one is, living with doubt, and weariness with life.

“The struggle is exhausting. Not being seen when I walk into a room. not being regarded when I open my mouth to speak, even when I have said the same thing as another peer – only she has less melanin, or he has less colored skin,” said the students in their spoken word delivery. Later in the program, Williams directed a social-justice-themed ballad, "We Are the Ones to Heal Our Land." The song charges everyone to lead the positive change we all want. Featured vocalists Roy Patton, Jr. and Laura Van Duser blended their voices seamlessly with the choir.

John J. DeGioia, president of Georgetown University, then presented the 21st annual John Thompson Jr. Legacy of a Dream Award. DeGioia explained the creation of the award in 2003 and Thompson’s legacy.

“Coach Thompson was far more than our head men’s basketball coach, the role he excelled at for 27 years,” said DeGioia. “His moral leadership had a national platform. He used his position to bring about change, opportunity, and a deeper

commitment to racial justice.”

Paula Fitzgerald, executive director of Ayuda was this year’s Legacy of a Dream honoree. The award is given to a local individual who exemplifies the spirit of Dr. King. Fitzgerald’s agency provides legal, social and language services for low-income immigrants in the D.C. area. In a video introduction, Fitzgerald said the busloads of migrants arriving in the District have increased the need for services that

Ayuda offers.

Odom, the main attraction, did not disappoint– performing a ninesong set.. Accompanied by guitarist Steven Walker, pianist Christopher Cadenhead, bassist Eric England and drummer Gene Coye, Odom performed classics from the American SongBook, including “Autumn Leaves” and “Smile.” He also reminded the audience about his portrayal of singer Sam Cooke in the movie “One Night in Miami.” That led to Odom singing a powerfully beautiful version of “A Change Is Gonna Come.”

The Tony award winner also performed “Wait for It,” one of his standout songs from “Hamilton.”

At the end of his set and after long thunderous applause, Odom returned for an encore and sang “Ave Maria,” accompanied only by his pianist, which this reporter must add, was truly stupendous.

All I could think is, “Who does ‘Ava Maria’ for an encore?” That would be Leslie Odom, Jr. WI

Georgetown University students Cameren Evans, Isaiah Hodges and Lucy Lawlor

5 Tony and Grammy award winner Leslie Odom, Jr. was the special guest artist at the “19th Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Let Freedom Ring Celebration” held at the Kennedy Center. (Brenda C. Siler/ The Washington Informer)

“The struggle is exhausting. Not being seen when I walk into a room. not being regarded when I open my mouth to speak, even when I have said the same thing as another peer – only she has less melanin, or he has less colored skin,” said the students in their spoken word delivery.

Young Thug Trial Begins in Atlanta

Judge Repeats Controversial Lyrics

Stacy M. Brown WI Senior Writer

The trial of Jeffery Lamar Williams, known in the hip-hop industry as Young Thug, has begun in Georgia, where a judge will allow prosecutors to use Williams’ lyrics as evidence against the star.

Williams, 31, and fellow Young Slime Life (YSL) member Gunna, whose real name is Sergio Kitchens, were accused of organizing and par-

ticipating in a violent street gang.

The case grabbed national headlines because of Williams and Kitchens’s fame.

Williams, a Grammy winner, has multiple top charting hits.

But scrutiny on the case rose more when prosecutors requested and were granted permission to use the rapper’s lyrics to demonstrate that they’re part of an organized criminal outfit.

In court, the lyrics were read

aloud by Judge Ural Glanville.

“Hey, this that slime [stuff], hey/ YSL [stuff], hey/Killin’ 12 [stuff], hey/ F**k a jail [stuff], hey,” Judge Glanville repeated.

“Cookin’ white brick, hey, hey/I’m not new to this, hey, I’m so true to this, hey I done put a whole slime on a hunnid licks, hey, hey.”

“Slime or get slimed/In the VIP, and I got that pistol on my hip/You prayin’ that you live/I’m prayin’ that I hit/Hey, this that slime [stuff]…F**k, f**k the police, in a high speed. Got

banana clips for all these ni**as actin’ monkey.”

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis said the lyrics are proof of the rappers’ crimes.

“I think if you decide to admit your crimes over a beat, I’m gonna use it,” Willis declared.

Some members of Congress have also put forward bills that would make it illegal for prosecutors to use an artist's lyrics against them in court.

Authorities arrested Williams in May and charged him with conspiracy to violate Georgia’s RICO Act and participating in a criminal gang.

Under the RICO – Racketeer

Influenced and Corrupt Organizations – authorities can accuse multiple individuals from someone’s inner circle of gang-related activity if one person is connected to criminal acts.

Several members, including Kitchens, have accepted plea deals to avoid prison.

Artists like Lil Wayne and Rich Homie Quan are on the witness lists and may be called to testify during Williams’ trial.

“Mr. Williams has committed no crime whatsoever,” said Williams’ attorney Brian Steel. “We will fight this case ethically, legally and zealously. Mr. Williams will be cleared.”

WI

5 Jeffery Lamar Williams known in the hip-hop industry as Young Thug. (Courtesy photo)

LIFESTYLE

review wi book

"Decent People"

by De'Shawn Charles Winslow

Terri Schlichenmeyer WI Contributing Writer

It's a small world, isn't it?

Someone you're acquainted with knows your old roommate's former girlfriend who used to work in your building but is now married to your aunt's babysitter's brother in Tupelo. Yeah, it's complicated and in the new novel, "Decent People" by De'Shawn Charles Winslow, it's twice as hard to untangle.

Josephine Wright had been around the block a time or two.

In her 60s, she'd been married and divorced twice and she'd had her share of affairs but she never met a man quite like Olympus "Lymp" Seymore. She could see his heart, and Lymp was a good man. Yes, he could lose his temper, but he wasn't like that and there was no way he could have killed his half-sisters or his half-brother like folks say he did.

It was 1976, and Jo had just moved to the small town of West Mills, North Carolina. She didn't know a lot of people there, but she was about to. Somebody had to clear Lymp's name, because the local sheriff sure wasn't going to do it.

Eunice Loving should have kept her mouth shut.

But no, she had to go and have an argument with Dr. Marian Harmon, whose idea of therapy for Eunice's son La'Roy was to have him beaten up by Savannah Russet's boys. All Eunice wanted was for La'Roy not to be gay, and Marian said she could fix him. Eunice had words with Marian and now Marian was dead. People said Lymp did that, and people liked to whisper.

Lovely blond-haired Savannah Russet wanted to raise her boys in the town where she grew up but her racist father never stopped making that hard. He figured that Savannah's mistake was falling in love with a Black man; having children by him was even worse. And so Ted Temple had written Savannah out of his will — partly because his mama insisted on it.

But few knew the truth: Ted had been sleeping with Marian Harmon for years …

At one point in this novel, author De'Shawn Charles Winslow mentions that there are about a thousand people in the small town of West Mills.

Seems like you meet them all.

But here's some help on that end: pay them no mind, most of them don't matter here. "Decent People" is overpopulated but it's really mainly about a triple murder and a handful of characters, every one of which is a sleuth and any one of which could be the killer. Still, this really isn't a mystery novel: while the stories revolve around the killing of three siblings, the whodunit seems secondary, as the finger-pointing and crime-solving happen mostly through gossip.

And Winslow's characters do like their gossip.

And that's also where the fun lies: watching the small-town mechanics unfold with a bit of dark humor kind of almost makes you wish the book wasn't going to end. Running out of pages in "Decent People" and having to leave West Mills feels like a letdown after immersing yourself in this wonderful small world. WI

horoscopes

ARIES You might be frustrated if it feels like creating solid momentum on your personal goals is more like walking through thick mud than sprinting ahead at the beginning of the week. When it feels like the roadblocks just keep piling up, see this as an opportunity to reflect, revise, and slow down in order to perfect your game plan. You might also take heart in the fact that you're not alone! Lucky Numbers: 5, 26, 41

TAURUS You might feel a bit lost if your current big ideas and dreams begin to feel unrealistic or as though they aren't set up to come to fruition in the way you had hoped at the start of the week. You might do best to hit pause on definitive game plans and see where the moment takes you. Taking a more hands-off, organic approach to achieving your deepest-rooted aspirations serves you best right now. Lucky Numbers: 8, 25, 29

GEMINI When the wee starts, it might be difficult to get ahead on group projects. This challenging moment might lead you to believe that your colleagues and friends are at fault for the snail's pace, but the fact of the matter is that everyone is being urged to take more time and ensure that the actions they're taking are thoughtful and deliberate as opposed to hair-trigger. Recognizing this can help everyone get on the same page. Lucky Numbers: 31, 32, 48

CANCER In the beginning of the week, you might feel like it's a downright slog to get ahead on the job, get recognized by higher-ups, or see forward movement related to looking for new opportunities. This could prove frustrating, to be sure, but doing your best to avoid getting extra competitive can help, as can using this slower time to brush up your resume or hone a new skill set that will help you get even more noticed in the long run. Lucky Numbers: 13, 34, 56

LEO If you've been hoping to travel or sign up for an online course in order to make progress in some way professionally or personally-or both!-you might find it tough to move forward at the start of the week. Your best bet is to use this time to soak up knowledge and potentially revise, or at least perfect, your game plan so that when you do finally get a clear runway, you'll have no trouble taking off and knowing exactly where you're headed. Lucky Numbers: 14, 36, 44

VIRGO Watch out for confusion and misunderstandings, especially within your closest one-on-one relationships (think a partner, dear friend, loved one, or close colleague) when the week gets underway. Feeling like it's nearly impossible to get a handle on all the facts right now can create insecurity and affect your morale. Just know that this moment will pass, and you'll soon have the info you need to move forward. Lucky Numbers: 4, 20, 27

LIBRA It might feel as though it's challenging to get ahead on goals you've been working toward with your significant other, close friend, or business partner at the start of the week. It's almost like no matter what you do, you'll struggle to get on the same page in terms of a game plan, and at times it could feel like you're actually stepping on one another's toes or getting in one another's way. Lucky Numbers: 5, 21, 43

SCORPIO You might find it challenging to create momentum with your fitness or general health plan at the start of the week. Pushing too hard right now could only serve to set you up for more aggravation, so you might do best to take a pause and recall the pragmatic measures that have worked best for you in the past. Simple moves like drinking enough water and taking daily walks can go far to keeping you firing on all cylinders. Lucky Numbers: 4, 14, 41

SAGITTARIUS You'll be feeling psyched and self-assured when it comes to pursuing a major professional goal when the week starts. Taking your big ideas to higher-ups could not only feel empowering right now but also help you lay the groundwork for some well-deserved rewards. Lucky Numbers: 7, 29, 52

CAPRICORN Simmering conflicts with loved ones over old emotional wounds and a lack of progress on projects around the house could feel stressful in the beginning of the week. You'll do well to reprioritize and, within your intimate relationships, keep hashing it out until you see eye to eye (or as close to it as possible). Lucky Numbers: 21, 33, 37

AQUARIUS Keeping social plans or seeing a brainstorm through to an actionable plan might prove challenging at the start of the week. While it might not suit your M.O., finding a way to embrace and adapt to this less predictable vibe can help you maintain productivity. Lucky Numbers: 2, 16, 28

PISCES Making major strides on moneymaking endeavors might feel challenging at the beginning of the week. Instead of pushing forward on projects that don't resonate, try to preserve your energy and narrow your focus on plans that you truly feel passionate about. This could ultimately help you to streamline and get ahead on professional goals. Lucky Numbers: 9, 10, 45

HU Men’s Basketball Team Remembers King Through Service, Celebration

Edward Hill Jr. WI Contributing Writer

Though a Morehouse man, Howard University hosted a memorable celebration in honor of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther, King, Jr. The two-day celebration exemplified the values that the late civil rights leader espoused.

Tackling Black Maternal Health

This year the Howard’s Men’s Basketball team was tasked with picking a social justice issue to tackle and the team chose to focus on Black maternal health. Throughout the past few months, the team has been dedicated to getting educated on the issue, which included learning about how Black women, in general, are negatively impacted by the American healthcare system, and particularly while pregnant.

Black birthing mothers are dying

4 A professional panel of NBA players, including the Golden State Warriors’ Andre Igudala, who is holding the microphone speaks to Howard students as part of the Wizards/ Warriors Networking Opportunity.

(Jazmyn Hammons/ Howard University)

at three to four times higher than the rate of their white counterparts. Noticing the crisis that is taking place is what drove the team to take a stand and partner with Mamatoto Village, an organization in D.C. dedicated to providing perinatal resources for families and offers training for aspiring Black maternal health care workers.

For their day of service, the team worked alongside the amazing staff at Mamatoto Village to pack pregnancy health and hygiene diapers bags, sorted infant-toddler clothing and so much more for expectant Black mothers. It was a proud moment for so many. The team embraced its platform and used it to raise awareness and give back to their community, truly upholding the standard that Howard has set in leading in truth and service.

Working with Sports Professionals: Wizards and Warriors

On Monday, Jan. 16, there was a panel discussion geared toward Howard University communications students interested in pursuing careers in sports and athletics.

The second phase of the celebration involved the Washington Wizards and the world champion Golden State Warriors as they collaborated to invite 13 Howard University journalism students to participate in a Wizards/Warriors Networking Opportunity. The two teams played each other later in the afternoon following the session, where the Warriors beat the Wizards 127-118.

The selected students were able to ask questions and learn from their wisdom and journey. The panelists shared advice on being versatile in the industry, not letting any barriers

such as gender and race stop you, the importance of hard work, and much more.

Following the panel, students were able to talk one on one with the panelists to establish networking opportunities for them in the industry. The Warriors also facilitated the students to attend the game at Capital One Arena.

During the game, they were also able to witness the King celebration that included the activist’s family.

HOWARD DEFEATS MOREHOUSE

Following the panel session on Monday, the Howard University men's basketball team took on the Morehouse College team in Burr Gymnasium for the 5th Annual MLK, Jr. Classic. The previous participants were Harvard (twice), Yale and Notre Dame. This year was especially significant as, for the first time, it involved two HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities).

The much-anticipated event was well attended and featured a standing room only crowd and a number of entertainment personalities, journalists and professional athletes from the Wizards and Warriors who had played earlier that day. Among the attendees were Johnny Davis of the Wizards along with members of the Warriors, Klay Thompson, Andre Iguodala, Jordan Poole and Donte DiVincenzo. Rapper and social activist Mistah F.A.B performed at halftime with a message to HBCUs and the young generation from Dr. King and what he stood for.

As for the game, the Howard University team got a dazzling performance from sophomore guard Elijah Hawkins to defeat Morehouse 86-65. A local product of DeMatha and native Washingtonian, Hawkins, scored a team-high 15 points while grabbing seven rebounds and handing out six assists, many of the variety that had the overflow crowd out of their seats, "You could feel the energy from this game when you walked into the gym," said Hawkins, last year's MEAC Rookie of the Year and a pre-season all-MEAC selection. "This whole experience has been something that you never forget as an athlete."

CAPPING OFF THE CELEBRATIONS: RINGS, SCHOLARSHIPS, PANEL

During the timeout breaks during the game, the Howard University golf team, which was funded by Golden State Warrior MVP, Steph Curry, was presented with their championship rings. The Bison football team was presented with their trophy for being co-champions of the MEAC this past season.

Yet still another feature of this twoday event was the presentation of two $2,500 scholarships to HU students.

The celebration was capped off by a professional sports panel, this time composed of members of both the teams along with members of the media or sports organization who were graduates of HBCU s as they discussed the status of HBCUs in sports and athletics.

WI

5 The Howard Men’s Basketball team at Mamatoto Village in Northeast, D.C. on Sunday, Jan. 15. (Daysia Clark/ Howard University)

CAPTURE the moment

3 MLK Holiday DC parade attendees gather at the stage to listen to the parade emcees and hear from notable guests. (Ja’Mon Jackson/ The Washington Informer)

6 MLK Holiday DC parade-watchers line Martin Luther King Ave., in Southeast to enjoy the festivities in a prime location on Jan. 16. (Ja'Mon Jackson/ The Washington Informer)

5 MLK Holiday Peacewalk and Parade Grand Marshall Yango Sawyer is greeted as he arrives at the MLK Holiday Parade in Southeast on Jan. 16. (Marckell Williams/The Washington Informer)

5 Crystal McNeil speaking on behalf of the mothers on stage and the pain they deal with having lost children to gun violence and having to watch as children continue to lose their lives during the MLK Holiday DC Annual Peace Walk on Jan. 16. (Ja'Mon Jackson/The Washington Informer)

5 Rev. George C. Gilbert Jr. takes a quick selfie with marchers carrying Thou Shalt Not Kill signs during the MLK Holiday DC Annual Peace Walk on Jan. 16. (Ja'Mon Jackson/ The Washington Informer)

RELIGION

Howard’s Rankin Chapel Home for Jeremiah Wright Spiritual Leader-in-Residence

Haynes Delivers Inaugural Sermon as part of Residency

Brenda C. Siler WI Contributing Writer

The Sunday service leading the week to celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday has been known as “Rev. Jeremiah Wright Sunday” for almost 40 years at Howard University’s Andrew Rankin Chapel. Last spring, when Wright announced his retirement, the Dean of Rankin Chapel, Rev. Bernard L. Richardson, Ph.D., started working on a plan, announcing that the Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr. Spiritual Leader-in-Residence would be established. On Jan. 15, the inaugural sermon for the residency was given by the Rev. Dr. Frederick D. Haynes, III, senior

pastor at Friendship-West Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas, marking that the legacy of Wright’s work has a home at Howard University.

“Jeremiah Wright meant so much to this chapel, this university and so many of us,” Richardson said. “This residency is designed to engage spiritual leaders in lectures and workshops and offer spiritual direction for the intersections of faith, service and justice.”

The Dean shared his vision that this residency will be an endowed program that will add to the legacies of Rankin Chapel and Howard University.

Wright was introduced to Rankin Chapel in 1983 by Bea Pace Smith, a founding member of the Friends of Andrew Rankin

Chapel. The Friends of Rankin Chapel recommended Wright, now pastor emeritus at Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, as a guest preacher in 1983. He’s been coming to the Rankin Chapel pulpit ever since, except for one year after he had a stroke.

“He did not have the global recognition as one of the best preachers, but he eventually grew to that prominence, Smith said. “He was one of the first guest preachers to create an overflow when services were held in the original Rankin Chapel.”

Haynes is a guest preacher every year at Howard. Like Wright, he is respected as an advocacy and social justice minister who easily connects the Bible to historical and current issues.

“He devotes his life to economic justice and empowerment for underserved communities,” Richardson said.

Preaching on the theme, “Do You Understand Your Assignment?” Haynes’ was able to weave scripture with King’s teachings and Wright’s advocacy. He said King’s assignment was to deliver messages about why our people cannot wait.

“He gave us the strength to love in a nation that was hating on us,” Haynes said. “He’s been with us to the mountain and raised the question, ‘Where do we go from here?’ Martin King understood the assignment.”

“Jeremiah Wright meant so much to this chapel, this university and so many of us,” Richardson said. “This residency is designed to engage spiritual leaders in lectures and workshops and offer spiritual direction for the intersections of faith, service and justice.”

When Wright took on the pastorship at Trinity in Chicago, it was a congregation that was, in Haynes’ words, “unapologetically blessed, unashamedly Black and unapologetically Christian. Wright went back to Pan-Africanist ideology to be progressive in his preaching. It was a philosophy that grew Trinity and attracted former President Barack Obama to join the church.

When the news media uncovered controversial statements made by Wright during the first presidential run for Obama, that created a frenzy. Like others who have evaluated and debated Wright’s controversial words, Haynes thinks that the news media lit the match that created a fire.

“Before you knew it, they took some sermonic sound bites out of context. Any time they take ‘text’

out of ‘context,’ it becomes a pretext that cons people,” Haynes said from the Rankin Chapel pulpit.

Making it clear, Haynes said that even though Wright became infamous for the quotes from his sermon, he was already respected in the sacred, scholarly and Black communities. He is credited with having the patience to stay with his assignment.

Haynes’ sermon kicked off an inaugural week of workshops, lectures, teach-ins and panels that honor Wright’s approach to interpreting the Bible in practical, everyday life. To see the full inaugural “Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr. Spiritual Leader-in-Residence” sermon, visit the Rankin Chapel YouTube, https://youtu. be/742XDMT1R6Q WI

5 Dr. Frederick D. Haynes III, pastor of the Friendship-West Baptist Church in Dallas, the first Jeremiah Wright, Jr. Spiritual Leader-in-Residence at Howard University preaches at Rankin Chapel on Jan. 15. (Roy Lewis/The Washington Informer)

Let me begin by talking about what I see daily as a teacher in the public school system. In every class, unless otherwise instructed, the face of nearly every child is facing a cellphone. It makes me wonder what they would be doing today if we did not have cellphones for just about every member of the family.

One day, it took everything in me to stick to the subject, because I wanted to go rogue and ask the question: What do you think you would do differently without a cellphone? It may be an impossible question for them to answer, since cellphones have been around for their entire lives. I watch students search for answers to handouts by Googling the question. Never mind reading the article or looking in the book — let's just use Google to find the answer.

This article is based on some facts, but quite a bit is just my comparison to how life once was, compared to today. Even youngsters ages 1, 2 and up can pick up a cellphone and move around on it. Amazing!

Recently, as I waited for my new cellphone upgrade while the information was transferring, I sat between two young children. The little boy, younger than 2, was going to town with his cellphone. I couldn't figure out who his parents were, since nobody said anything to him while I sat beside

the religion corner

WITH LYNDIA GRANT

Cellphones Helping or Hindering Children?

him. I watched as he played game after game, watching something that looked ridiculous. I definitely would not want my child to watch that!

Then you have parents like my daughter, who has one child, a girl, that she tried to keep away from electronics. Like the Bible says in Proverbs 22:6, "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is gone, he will not depart from it."

Both parents kept her away from cellphones, computers and all electronics for years. In fact, they didn't even allow her to watch very many television shows. Now that she's 11 years old, she has a cellphone, and she is just like the others. We cannot understand why she is studying how to apply a full face of makeup. And the list goes on and on!

Multiple studies link addictive relationships with mobile devices to mental health problems in teens, including depression, anxiety and disrupted sleep. Neuroscience tells us that tweens' and teens' developing brains make them especially vulnerable to both addiction and mental health crises.

Since teens use their phones for everything from schoolwork to socializing to getting around, it can be hard to distinguish between use that is appropriate and beneficial and that of obsessiveness. Red flags include missing out on in-person interactions with friends or family in favor of time on devices and neglecting their other activities and responsibilities. One key step parents can take is to institute a cellphone curfew — for everyone in the family.

Plus, radiation has risks.

Whether or not the radiofrequency energy emitted by cellphones

causes cancer has been debated since the advent of the first mobile phone. While some studies have found statistically significant links between cancer risk and long-term cellphone use, other studies have found no link. And the effect of these waves on children's developing brains is not yet known. Since it's better to be safe than sorry, encourage everyone in your family to adopt safe habits.

In 2017, the state of California issued guidelines for limiting exposure to radiofrequency energy from cellphones from research done by an organization called Great Schools. Safe practices include:

• While sleeping, keep your phone a few feet away from your body.

• When streaming audio or video, keep your device away from your body and head.

• If talking on the phone, use a headset rather than holding the phone close to your head.

• In a fast-moving vehicle or on rapid transit, use airplane mode because your phone puts out more radiofrequency energy to maintain a connection as it switches from one cell tower to the next.

These are just some tips for each of us to keep in mind. Families manage to pay cellphone bills before they buy groceries. WI

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

Church of Living Waters

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

Allen Chapel A.M.E. Church

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. 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

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...

Pastor

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

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

Mt. Zion Baptist Church

Reverend John W. Davis

Pastor

5101 14th Street, NW / Washington, DC 20011

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

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

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

7:00 PM “Reaching Up To Reach Out” Mailing Address : Campbell AME Church 2502 Stanton Road SE - Washington, DC 20020

Turning Hearts Church

Virgil

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

(Disciples of Christ) 1812 12th Street, NW - Washington, DC 20009 Phone: 202-265-4494 Fax: 202 265 4340

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

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

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

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 Church

St. Stephen Baptist Church

Reverend William Young IV

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 Lincoln Park United Methodist Church

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

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”

Email: mtmoriah@mountmoriahchurch.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

Prayer Meeting/Bible Study: Tuesday @7:00pm

Theme: "Building On A Firm Foundation"

Email: revprbstmbc@gmail.com Website: www.stmatthewsbaptist.org

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

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

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

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 “

Rev. Dr. George C. Gilbert

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

Embassy DC

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.

Christ

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

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: "Aaron Dwayne Gilbert II©", in full life, in propria persona, sui juris, in solo proprio, Haqdar by natural issue, the beneficiary and heir of:“ AARON D’WAYNE GILBERT II”, corp.sole Dba.: " AARON D GILBERT II© ", AARONDWAYNE GILBERT II, AARON GILBERT II, AARON D GILBERT II, 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 ofAmerica, 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 governing moors, and hereby declare and proclaim my nationality in good faith as a: Moorish American. I am that I am: " Aaron Dwayne Gilbert II© ", from this day forward, in harmony with my Nationality / Status / Jurisdiction, shall be known as: " Haroon Abu Jibreel Gilbert© ". 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 ANDCUSTOMS 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: STAT E OF MARYLAND DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND MENTALHYGEINE DIVISION OF VITAL RECORDS : STATE FILE NUMBER, 1983-1536755: "AARON D’WAYNE GILBERT II© ", is as a special deposit order, conveyed to " The Bani HaroonTrust© ". 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: "Haroon Abu Jibreel Gilbert© ", nom de guerre: " Aaron Dwayne Gilbert II© ", as a special deposit order in lawful money. This special deposit is to be used exclusively for the benefit of : " The Bani Haroon 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.

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131

2022 ADM 001427

Estate of Edith H. Riley-Gottowy

NOTICE OF STANDARD PROBATE

Notice is hereby given that a petition has been filed in this Court by Maximillian Riederer von Parr and Guenter L. Gottowy 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 September 20, 2001 exhibited with the petition upon proof satisfactory to the Court of due execution by affidavit of the witnesses or otherwise

Date of first publication: 1/5/2023

Frederick D. Cooke, Jr. 1250 Connecticut Ave. NW Suite 700 Washington, DC 20036

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 001193

Mildred M. Brown aka Mildred McDuffie Brown aka Mildred McDuffie Decedent

NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

Renee A. Newman, whose address is 816 Quade Street, Oxon Hill, MD 20745, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Mildred M. Brown aka Mildred McDuffie Brown aka Mildred McDuffie who died on 9/7/2022 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 7/5/2023. 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 7/5/2023, 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: 1/5/2023

Renee A. Newman 816 Quade Street Oxon Hill MD 20745 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 149 October 7, 2022 Date of Death

Jerry P. Nielsen Name of Decedent

NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT OF FOREIGN PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE AND NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Vicki M. Nielsen whose address is 997 Landon Lane, Arnold, MD 21012 was appointed personal representative of the estate of Jerry P. Nielsen, deceased, by the Orphans Court for Anne Arundel County, State of Maryland, on 11/3/2022.

Service of process may be made upon Irene Price, 2101 Connecticut Avenue NW, Apartment 88, Washington DC 20008 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.

3412 Prospect Street, NW, 20007: 4807 Georgia Ave., NW, 20011: and 2205 14th Street, NW, 20018. 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: 1/5/2023

Vicki M. Nielson

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 001376

Shirley Lee Jacobs Decedent

NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

Sabrina M. Jacobs, whose address is 122 Michigan Ave. NE, Unit L44 Washington DC, 20017, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Shirley Lee Jacobs who died on November 12, 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 7/5/2023. 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 7/5/2023, 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: 1/5/2023

Sabrina M. Jacobs Personal Representative

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 1377

Leroy Wells, Jr. Decedent

Aimee D. Griffin, Esq. 5335 Wisconsin Ave., NW Suite 440 Washington, DC 20015 Attorney

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division

Washington, D.C. 20001-2131

2022 ADM 001299

Mary K. Wallace aka Mary Katherine Wallace aka Mary Wallace aka Mary Hamilton

Decedent

NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131

2022 ADM 001290

Joseph P. Griffin Decedent

Jeffrey K. Gordon, Esq. 5335 Wisconsin Ave., NW, Suite 700 Washington, DC 20015

Attorney

NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

James Angevine, whose address is 5109 41st Street, NW, Washington, DC 20016, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Joseph P. Griffin who died on August 20, 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 7/5/2023. 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 7/5/2023, 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: 1/5/2023

James Angevine Personal Representative

TRUE TEST COPY

Nicole Stevens Register of Wills Washington Informer

NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS

AND NOTICE TO

UNKNOWN HEIRS

Ruth C. Wells, whose address is 5914 3rd St., NW, Washington, DC 20011, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Leroy Wells, Jr. who died on 9/15/2022 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 7/5/2023. 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 7/5/2023, 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: 1/5/2023

Tanya Evette Hamilton Smith, whose address is 12008 Shadystone Terrace, Bowie, Maryland 20721, was appointed

Personal Representative of the estate of Mary K. Wallace aka Mary Katherine Wallace aka Mary Wallace aka Mary Hamilton who died on 9/15/2022 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 7/5/2023. 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 7/5/2023, 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: 1/5/2023

Tanya Evette Hamilton Smith

Personal Representative

TRUE TEST COPY

Nicole Stevens Register of Wills Washington Informer

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT

COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131

2022 ADM 001389

James E. Jones aka James Edward Jones Decedent

NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

Muai-Aakhu R. Meskheniten, whose address is 1637 Lawson Drive, Cordova, TN 38016, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of James E. Jones aka James Edward Jones who died on 11/18/2022 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 7/5/2023. 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 7/5/2023, 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: 1/5/2023

Muai-Aakhu R. Meskheniten 1637 Lawson Drive Cordova, TN 38016

Personal Representative

COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131

2022 ADM 001426

Mabel Rhymes Hart Decedent

NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

Hampton H. Hart, Jr., whose address is 5235 Fisher Crest Lane, Henrico, VA 23231, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Mabel Rhymes Hart who died on September 24, 2022 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 7/5/2023. 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 7/5/2023, 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: 1/5/2023

Hampton H. Hart, Jr. 5235 Crest Lane Henrico, VA 23231

Personal Representative

TRUE TEST COPY

Nicole Stevens Register of Wills

Washington Informer

Nicole Stevens Register of Wills Washington Informer

Ruth C. Wells Personal Representative

TRUE TEST COPY Nicole Stevens Register of Wills Washington Informer

OF

OF

LEGAL NOTICES LEGAL NOTICES

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA PROBATE DIVISION Washington, D.C. 20001-2131

20001-2131

James W. Baldwin Decedent

James Larry Frazier, Esq.

918 Maryland Avenue NE Washington, DC 20002 Attorney

NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

Brenda Baldwin-Marshall, whose address is 1707 Plane Tree Way, Bowie, Maryland 20721, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of James W. Baldwin who died on August 1, 2022 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 7/5/2023. 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 7/5/2023, 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: 1/5/2023

Baldwin-Marshall Personal Representative

TEST COPY Nicole Stevens Register of Wills Washington Informer

2022 FEP 000143

January 22, 2021 Date of Death

Minnie Brown Name of Decedent

NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT OF FOREIGN PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE AND NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Jeffrey Brown whose address is 13002 Boykin Place, Upper Marlboro, MD 20774 was appointed personal representative of the estate of Minnie Brown, deceased, by the Chancery Court for Holmes County, State of Mississippi, on January 22, 2021.

Service of process may be made upon Valerie Edwards 1725 DeSales Street, NW, Suite 600, 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.

709 Adrian Street, SE, Washington, DC 20019. 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: 1/5/2023

Jeffrey Brown Personal Representative 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 001297

Gregory Don Smith Decedent

NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

Zed Anthony Smith, whose address is 3801 Canterbury Rd, Unit 1009, Baltimore, MD 21218, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Gregory Don Smith who died on May 24, 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 7/5/2023. 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 7/5/2023, 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: 1/5/2023

Anthony Smith

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 001173

NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

Romaine Christina Grayson, whose address is 4804 Avondale Road, Hyattsville, MD 20782, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Patricia Louise Hallman who died on July 18, 2022 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 7/5/2023. 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 7/5/2023, 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: 1/5/2023

Romaine Christina Grayson 4804 Avondale Road Hyattsville MD 20782

Personal Representative

TRUE TEST COPY

Nicole Stevens Register of Wills Washington Informer

In God We Trust. Declaration of Nationality. Notice of White Flag Surrender.

Notice of Special Appearance: am that am: "Daniel John Stein©", in full life, in propria persona, sui juris, in solo proprio, Haqdar by natural issue, the beneficiary and heir of: “DANIEL JOHN STEIN", corp.sole Dba.: "DANIEL J. STEIN© ", DANIEL STEIN©”, “DANIEL JOHN©”, “DANIEL J. STEIN©”, “STEIN©”, “STEIN DANIEL J©”, “STEIN DANIEL JOHN©”, “D. STEIN©”, “MR DANIEL JOHN STEIN©”, “MR DANIEL STEIN©”, “MR DANIEL JOHN©”, “MR DANIEL J STEIN©”, “MR STEIN©”, “MR STEIN DANIEL J.©”, “MR STEIN DANIEL JOHN©”, “MR D. STEIN©”, having reached the age of majority, being duly certified, hereby affirms to declare my intention to be as my pedigree subscribes, as a: washingtonian, but not a citizen of the United States. declare permanent, and unalienable, allegiance to The Constitution for the united States of America, Article III Section 2, The Lieber Code, Hague Conventions of 1899 & 1907, The Geneva Conventions, and all natural laws governing American Citizens, and hereby declare and proclaim my nationality in good faith as a: washingtonian. I am that I am: "Daniel John Stein©", from this day forward, in harmony with my Nationality / Status / Jurisdiction, shall be known as: "daniel-john: stein© ". Notice of White Flag Surrender: as "hors de combat", pursuant to The Geneva Conventions, Article III, as a minister of yhwh's covenant, 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 WASHINGTON DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH: STATE FILE NUMBER, #146-1959-043026 "DANIEL STEIN©”, “DANIEL JOHN©”, “DANIEL J. STEIN©”, “STEIN©”, “STEIN DANIEL J©”, “STEIN DANIEL JOHN©”, “D. STEIN©”, “MR DANIEL JOHN STEIN©”, “MR DANIEL STEIN©”, “MR DANIEL JOHN©”, “MR DANIEL J. STEIN©”, “MR STEIN©”, “MR STEIN DANIEL J.©”, “MR STEIN DANIEL JOHN©”, “MR D. STEIN©", is as a special deposit order, conveyed to "DANIEL JOHN STEIN 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: "daniel-john: stein©", nom deguerre: "Daniel John Stein©", as a special deposit order in lawful money. This special deposit is to be used exclusively for the benefit of: "DANIEL JOHN STEIN 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.

20001-2131

Washington, D.C. 20001-2131 2022 ADM 001208

Jesse L. Davis Decedent

NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

Taylor Woodson, whose address is 1015 Rhode Island Ave. NE, Washington, DC 20018, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of La’Shawn Woodson who died on February 26th, 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 7/12/2023. 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 7/12/2023, 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: 1/12/2023

Jeffrey K. Gordon, Esq. 5335 Wisconsin Ave., NW, #700 Washington, DC 20015 Attorney

NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

Guy P. Davis, whose address is 703 Candle Ridge Ct., Fredericksburg, VA 22407, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Jesse L. Davis who died on February 28, 2021 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 7/12/2023. 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 7/12/2023, 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: 1/12/2023

Guy P. Davis

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131 2022 ADM 000831

Doris Leslie Wright Decedent

Jeffrey K. Gordon, Esq. 5335 Wisconsin Ave., NW, #700 Washington, DC 20015

Attorney

NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

Karen Amanda Leslie Klopfer, whose address is 2922 Meadow View Road, Falls Church, VA 22042, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Doris Leslie Wright who died on May 6, 2022 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 7/12/2023. 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 7/12/2023, 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: 1/12/2023

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131

2022 ADM 000906

Larry Darnell Campbell Decedent

NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

Sheila O. Campbell, whose address is 20 Galveston Place SW Unit B, Washington, DC 20032, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Larry Darnell Campbell who died on December 12, 2021 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 7/12/2023. 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 7/12/2023, 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: 1/12/2023

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131

2022 ADM 1434

Blanche R. Hammond Decedent

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

Marcia M. Linder, whose address is 65 Gallatin St., Washington, DC 20011, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Blanche R. Hammond who died on January 27, 2022 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 7/12/2023. 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 7/12/2023, 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: 1/12/2023

Marcia M. Linder

Personal Representative

TRUE TEST COPY

Washington Informer

Nicole Stevens Register of Wills

Washington Informer

Brenda

TRUE

Zed

SUPERIOR

Taylor Woodson Personal Representative

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division

Personal Representative

TRUE TEST COPY

Nicole Stevens Register of Wills Washington Informer

Patricia Louise Hallman Decedent

Karen Amanda Leslie Klopfer Personal Representative

TRUE TEST COPY

Nicole Stevens Register of Wills Washington Informer

Sheila O. Campbell Personal Representative

Nicole Stevens Register of Wills

LEGAL NOTICES

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131

2022 ADM 000728

Gregory Lumpkin Decedent

NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

Alice Lumpkin and Lawanda Lumpkin, whose addresses are 301 M St., SW #904 Washington, DC 20024 & 8918 Simeon Ct., Upper Marlboro MD 20772, were appointed Personal Representatives of the estate of Gregory Lumpkin who died on May 12, 2022 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 7/12/2023. 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 7/12/2023, 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: 1/12/2023

LEGAL NOTICES

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131 2022 ADM 001462

Alonzo Brown aka Alonzo F. Brown Decedent

Iris McCollum Green, Esquire 1714 15th Street, NW, Suite B Washington, DC 20009 Attorney

NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

Kathryn Ward, whose address is 901 6th Street, SW, #414-A, Washington, DC 20024, was appointed Personal

Representative of the estate of Alonzo Brown aka Alonzo F. Brown who died on 9/28/2022 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 7/12/2023. 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 7/12/2023, 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: 1/12/2023

LEGAL NOTICES

In God We Trust. Declaration of Nationality. Notice of White Flag Surrender.

LEGAL NOTICES

LEGAL NOTICES

NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

Dominick Adams, whose address is 701 Monroe Street NE, Apt 607, Washington, DC 20017, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Diane Adams who died on November 8, 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 7/19/2023. 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 7/19/2023, 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: 1/19/2023

TRUE

Nicole Stevens Register of Wills Washington Informer

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131 2022 ADM 001446

Albert Leon Avery Decedent

NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

Vera M. Thomas, whose address is 315 Livingston Terrace SE #B, Washington, DC 20032, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Albert Leon Avery who died on 7/13/2020 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 7/19/2023. 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 7/19/2023, 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: 1/19/2023

Vera M. Thomas Personal Representative

Notice of Special Appearance : I am that I am: " Paul Lawrence Morant Jr.© ", in full life, in propria persona, sui juris, in solo proprio, Haqdar by natural issue, the beneficiary and heir of: “ PAUL LAWRENCE MORANT JR. ", corp.sole Dba.: " PAUL L. MORANT JR.© ",  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 governing moors, and hereby declare and proclaim my nationality in good faith as a:  Moorish American. I am that am: " Paul Lawrence Morant Jr.© ", from this day forward, in harmony with my Nationality / Status Jurisdiction, shall be known as: " huni sen hotep el © ". 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: Tennessee Office of vital records: STATE FILE NUMBER, 141-1976-022080 © ", is as a special deposit order, conveyed to " HUNI SEN HOTEP EL 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: " Lawrence morant bey © ", nom deguerre: " Paul Lawrence Morant Jr. © ", as a special deposit order in lawful money. This special deposit is to be used exclusively for the benefit of : " Huni Sen Hotep El 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.

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131

2022 ADM 001182

Thomas L. Sullivan Decedent

NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

Brian K. Sullivan and Khristopher J. Perrin, whose addresses are 1127 Ring Bill Loop Upper Marlboro MD 20774/4165 Alabama Ave SE WDC 20019, were appointed Personal Representatives of the estate of Thomas L. Sullivan who died on August 25, 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 7/19/2023. 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 7/19/2023, 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: 1/19/2023

Brian K. Sullivan Khristopher J. Perrin 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 2023 ADM 000003

Lidia Dominga Gramajo Giron Decedent

NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

Jeniffer A. Ochoa, whose address is 3126 Newton Street, NE Washington DC 20018, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Lidia Dominga Gramajo Giron who died on July 10, 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 7/19/2023. 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 7/19/2023, 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: 1/19/2023

Jeniffer A. Ochoa 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 001413

Douglas Edward Young Decedent

James Larry Frazier, Esq. 918 Maryland Avenue NE Washington, DC 20002 Attorney

NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

DeAngelo Edward Young, whose address is 5626 Clay Place NE, Washington, DC 20019, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Douglas Edward Young who died on September 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 7/19/2023. 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 7/19/2023, 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: 1/19/2023

DeAngelo Edward Young 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 1456

Claudette L. Helms Decedent

Ferguson Evans, Esq. 601 Pennsylvania Ave., NW Suite 900 South Building Washington, DC 20004 Attorney

NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

Ferris C. Helms, whose address is 4830 8th St., NW, Washington, DC 20011, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Claudette L. Helms who died on 10/17/2022 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 7/19/2023. 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 7/19/2023, 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: 1/19/2023

Ferris C. Helms

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 1484

Dorothy Loretta Mosley Horne Decedent

Howard Haley, Esq. 7600 Georgia Ave., NW #416 Washington, DC 20012 Attorney

NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

Angela Horne-Jackson, whose address is 65 Posting Way, Charles Town, WV 25414, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Dorothy Loretta Mosley Horne who died on March 28, 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 7/19/2023. 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 7/19/2023, 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: 1/19/2023

Dorothy Loretta Mosley Horne

Personal Representative

TRUE TEST COPY

Nicole Stevens Register of Wills

Washington Informer

Alice Lumpkin Lawanda Lumpkin Personal Representative TRUE

Nicole Stevens Register of Wills

Washington Informer

Diane Adams Decedent

Dominick Adams Personal Representative TRUE

Nicole Stevens Register of Wills Washington Informer

Kathryn Ward Personal Representative

TEST COPY

TRUE TEST COPY

Nicole Stevens Register of Wills Washington Informer

LEGAL NOTICES

I am giving this notice in accordance with UCC 1-202(Notice; Knowledge). In God We Trust. Declaration of Nationality. Notice of White Flag Surrender.

Notice of Special Appearance: I am, that I am: "Jeremy Lamond Henderson©", in full life, in propria persona, sui juris, in solo proprio, Haqdar by natural issue, the beneficiary and heir of: "JEREMY LAMOND HENDERSON", corp.sole, Doing Business As.: Copyright of trade name/trademark "JEREMY LAMOND HENDERSON©", including any and all derivatives and variations in the spelling, i.e NOT limited to all capitalized names: JEREMY LAMOND HENDERSON TRUST©, HENDERSON©, JLH©, JEREMY HENDERSON©, HENDERSON JEREMY JL©, JL HENDERSON©, and any derivatives thereof are under Copyright 1997, 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 National, and not a citizen of the United States Corporation - United States, Inc. or any·of its corporate subsidiaries, including the STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA, INC, STATE OF NC, INC. or any similar derivatives associated with same.

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 Ill Section 2, The Uber Code, Hague Conventions of 1899 & 1907, The Geneva Conventions, [United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People], and all natural laws governing Moors, and hereby declare and proclaim my nationality in good faith as a Moorish American National. I am, that I am: "Jeremy Lamond Henderson©", from this day forward, in harmony with my Nationality/ Status/ Jurisdiction, shall be known as: "ambassador jeremy lamond henderson, ttee©". Notice of White Flag Surrender: as "hors de combat", pursuant to The Geneva Conventions, Article Ill, as a Diplomatic Minister and Ambassador of The Moorish Empire and a 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, and to reserve all rights, titles, and interest, in the property, Re: THE NORTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES VITAL RECORDS CERTIFICATE OF LIVE BIRTH CERTIFICATE NUMBER: 1979-00-0046798 for "JEREMY LAMOND HENDERSON©" is a special deposit order, conveyed to "JEREMY LAMOND HENDERSON 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: "ambassador jeremy-lamond:henderson, ttee©", nom deguerre: "Jeremy Lamond Henderson©", as a special depositorder in lawful money. This special deposit is to be used exclusively for the benefit of: "JEREMY LAMOND HENDERSON TRUST©", an Inter Vives Unincorporated Divine Granter 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 balances and liabilities as accord and satisfaction. Inter alia enact fuit.

V

III

LEGAL NOTICES

Notice (for publication)

This publication certifies the existence of one man assuming the role of head for his house. Notice the man to be mature and to act of sound mind as the bearer for all good deeds.  Notice “See” United States foreign relations manual 8 FAM 505.21 Endorsement Code Procedures the Bearer IS ALSO KNOWN AS (K-A GIVEN NAMES) (K-A SURNAME).

Bearer uses an assumed name in addition to their legal name.

Name KENNETH MICHAEL SIMMONS II II

The address of the known place of business is 9801 Apollo dr. P.O Box #6101, Largo Maryland [20792]

note: I Kenneth Michael, of the Simmons come forth as the executor public and private for the name KENNETH MICHAEL SIMMONS II.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, perpetually.  The original known place of existence for the entity known as KENNETH MICHAEL SIMMONS II is:  Adventist Health Care Shady Grove Medical Center, u9901 Medical Dr Rockville, 20850, the agent for this entity is a living, breathing and comprehensive man, notice I am original to the land mass referenced by given names Maryland, America, and Amexem, North America.

Notice I the bearer, am that I am reflection of man. Having power of attorney in fact for Kenneth Michael Simmons II and for my new court commissioned named change as Mubaraq Tali El, in esse. Notice by this publication an act of good deeds I assume the role of executor, guardian, conservator, and power of attorney over the following names estates and trusts as caretaker for all legal names: KENNETH MICHAEL SIMMONS, KENNETH MICHAEL SIMMONS II, KENNETH MICHAEL SIMMONS III, NAJAH KENNA SIMMONS, MARIAMA UMU BAYOH, HABBIE FOFANAH.

IV Copyright notice for stramineous homo. This copyright notice informs any potential use, usage, users, of any constructive use thereto any legal names created for my paramount use may be a direct violation for using the expressed intellectual property protected by this notice. Any user of the names expressed heron shall be protected by this notice intended to protect all intellectual property and not to interfere with any commercial activity regarding trafficking or employment thereto.

I intend to uplift humanity and help all my fellow mankind. In propria persona, sui juris, proprio solo, proprio heredes, in esse.  Notice any unauthorized use thereof hereon without my express, prior, written authorized permission signifies the users unauthorized users’ consent. Notice that use will imply your debt obligation to any injury, damages, loss, etcetera. In the amount of $500,000 per use, plus time material and additional cost. Notice this publication is not expressed to take advantage of anyone for anybody. I redeem IAW 12 USC 411 and 412.

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Notice of Special Appearance: I am: simmons, kenneth michael © in full life, in proprio, by natural issue, the beneficiary and heir of: SIMMONS II, KENNETH MICHAEL© corp.sole Dba: KENNETH MICHAEL SIMMONS II© having reached the age of majority, being aboriginal to the northwestern and south-western shores of Africa, the Atlantic Islands, the continental Americas, being duly sworn, hereby affirms to declare my intention to be as my pedigree subscribes, as an: sharakhi shabtau Moorish American moslem national, but not a citizen of the United States. I declare permanent, and inalienable, allegiance to the Moorish Empire, Societas Republicae Ea Al Maurikanuus Estados United States Republic, The Constitution for the united States of America, Article III Section 2, The Barbary Treaties, International Law, United Nations Declarations on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and all Natural laws governing moors and herby Declare and Proclaim my nationality as an: sharakhi shabtau Moorish American moslem national. Any and all facts contained  in this publication, are fully applicable to any and all private tribal issue offspring of: simmons, kenneth michael©, my wives, Nunc pro Tunc, not limited to but including: 1. fofanah, habbie©, the beneficiary and heir of Fofanah, Habbie© corp sole, Dba: HABBIE FOFANAH© I am: simmons, kenneth michael© from this day forward, in harmony with my Nationality /Status /Jurisdiction, shall be known as “el, mubaraq tali ©”. Notice of 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: SIMMONS II,KENNETH MICHAEL© corp.sole DBA.: KENNETH MICHAEL SIMMONS II©, Board of Trustees: simmons II  Chairman of the & Re: FOFANAH HABBIE©, corp sole Dba: HABBIE FOFANAH©, etc., to the depositor and or in the capacity as Guardian/: el, tali mubaraq© nom deguerre: simmons-ii, kenneth michael©. 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: el, mubaraq tali© nom deguerre: simmons, kenneth michael© as a special deposit order in lawful money. This special deposit is used exclusively for the benefit of: KENNETH MICHAEL SIMMONS II TRUST, to be used exclusively for the benefit of THE BOOK OF KENNETH TRUST, a private foreign Islamism ecclesiastical trust. Notice, the direct living beneficiary in flesh as people and in person having rights in name(s): najah-kenna; mariama-umu bayoh, kenneth-michael simmons III of the house SIMMONS and now officially known as house of EL This deposit is not to 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, all outstanding liabilities accord and satisfaction. All that which provides for me also provides for my wives and offspring vice versa. In addition, common law copyright KENNETH MICHAEL SIMMONS, KENNETH MICHAEL SIMMONS II, MUBARAQ TALI EL, NAJAH KENNA SIMMONS, KENNETH MICHAEL SIMMONS III, HABBIE FOFANAH, MARIAMA UMU BAYOH, mubaraq tali el, kenneth michael simmons, kenneth michael simmons II, kenneth michael simmons III, najah kenna simmons, mariama umu bayoh, habbie fofanah ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © common law, in esse; Notice we are in union and good faith with the United States, the United States of America, and the United Nations we are not sovereign citizens.

scene of a car accident.

At the time of his death, Anderson had been visiting family in Los Angeles during winter break.

Body camera footage released and edited by LAPD showed Anderson, 31, speaking with the officers before the video cuts off and transitions to text saying Anderson “attempted to run away.” When the video resumes, Anderson is seen jogging toward an intersection where he eventually stops and two officers attempt to lay him on his stomach.

Footage from another officer’s camera showed that officer repeatedly asking Anderson to comply. Anderson could be heard yelling, “They’re trying to George Floyd me.” Shortly after, an officer tases Anderson several times as he repeats, “I’m not resisting.”

From that point, officers handcuff Anderson and place shackles on his ankles.

In a press release, LAPD said Anderson was given medical care at the scene before being transported to a

OUR EARTH from Page 19

Charles Allen, who now heads the environment and transportation committee, introduced a bill last council period that would offer free electric replacements for gas appliances to 30,000 low-income households by 2040. The local legislation would use federal funding from climate change measures Congress passed last year, which included rebates of up to $840 for homeowners to replace gas stoves with electric ones.

But that bill remains far from final passage—it will need to be reintroduced, starting the legislative process from the beginning, in the new council term. Meanwhile, more than 60% of D.C. homes use gas cooking appliances. That poses not only a health issue but an environmental one, too—gas

local hospital, where he was later pronounced dead. In their report, LAPD said a preliminary toxicology screening detected cocaine and marijuana in Anderson’s bloodstream. The Los Angeles Coroner's Office will soon conduct its own toxicology screening.

Since Anderson’s death, many people have taken to social media in demand of answers and accountability.

Patricia Cullors, co-founder of Black Lives Matter and Anderson’s cousin, counted among those who quickly designated the incident as a murder.

Anderson is the third person that has been killed this year during police encounters in Los Angeles. LAPD is currently investigating the police-involved shooting deaths of Takar Smith, 45, and Oscar Sanchez, 35. Body camera footage from both incidents has been released.

Anderson had more than eight years of teaching and leadership experience under his belt. Administrators said that he established strong relationships with students and staff in the six months he worked at Digital Pioneers Academy PCS.

In a statement, Digital Pioneers

Academy PCS founder and CEO Mashea Ashton revealed that Anderson counted as the third person the school community lost to violence this academic year. Months prior Antoine Manning and Jakhi Snider were shot and killed during separate incidents.

Ashton went on to mull over the circumstances of Anderson’s death, and what it means for young people who often live in fear of being in similar situations.

“Our school community will inevitably ask some really important questions in the days and weeks ahead,” Ashton said.

“How could the police have de-escalated this situation? How are we going to stop losing our Black boys and men to violence?” Ashton continued.

“How do we grieve and move forward as a community? We all deserve answers to these questions. Keenan’s family deserves justice. And our students deserve to live, to live without fear, and to have the opportunity to reach their fullest potential.”

WI @SamPKCollins

mate change damage than carbon. District lawmakers have taken steps to address that problem, too. In July, the D.C. Council passed legislation that will prohibit the use of fossil fuels in new commercial buildings (which includes residences with four or more stories) starting in 2027. Unlike many other cities that have passed bans on gas, D.C.’s new rule will include a prohibition on new gas stoves. That does not mean existing gas stoves will ever require removal, though.

pic drug at a time.

For many foster children, the constant state of transition makes record keeping difficult. This lawsuit aims to implement a process where doctors and mental health professionals can access full and complete medical records for foster children, and implement an adequate and enforced informed consent process, where the benefits of the child

appliances run on methane, a fossil fuel that causes even faster cli-

are the primary consideration, along with a secondary review process of the outcomes.

“Seventy-five percent of the children being prescribed these medications have no history of diagnosis,” Berger stated during a press call.

The advocates also sought to highlight that not all foster children cases are in the event of neglect or being orphaned. If a parent is unable to pay for the costs of medical treatment for

“This isn't going to be a situation where it's going to be illegal for someone who has a gas stove in their home to continue to use it,” Hobgood said. “But we’re talking about a health issue, and it’s important to us that that information be conveyed.”

WI

their child, they may end up in foster care. Sara Furlow, a Next Friend in the lawsuit, said this lawsuit is particularly important in these cases.

Psychotropic medications are defined as drugs used to treat mental health disorders. Xanax, adderall and prozac are three examples of psychotropic drugs. There are five different categories: depressants, stimulants, antipsychotics, mood stabilizers and anti-anxiety medications. WI

“The local legislation would use federal funding from climate change measures Congress passed last year, which included rebates of up to $840 for homeowners to replace gas stoves with electric ones.

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awarded to the company.

Last summer, Richmond wrote letters to then-D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine and Lesley Edmond, housing compliance officer at the DHCD, all to no avail.

“This goes back to the management company failing to provide a clean, safe and secure environment with well-maintained programs that we are entitled to by law,” Richmond said. “The tenants are co-owners.”

Property Manager and Other Parties Respond to Allegations

Since 2018, DCRA has secured more than $70,000 in judgments via 19 cases filed at the Office of Administrative Hearings against Paul Laurence Dunbar Apartments. The Department of Buildings is currently pursuing more than two dozen additional cases against Paul Laurence Dunbar Apartments. Officials within that agency have also mulled the possibility of referrals to the Office of the Attorney General.

Margaret Byrd, president of the Paul Laurence Dunbar Residents Association, declined to answer questions about the circumstances of the association’s relationship with Jair Lynch Real Estate Partners. Phuc Tran, the vice president of asset management at Jair Lynch Real Estate Partners gave a similar response to inquires about its dealings with tenants at Paul Laurence Dunbar Apartments.

lation of smoke detectors and the repair of one apartment.

When it comes to rodent mitigation, the management at Paul Laurence Dunbar Apartments touts the execution of a process that includes weekly pest control, inspection and closure of access points within affected apartments.

Cafasso also said that Paul Laurence Dunbar Apartments coordinates with the District government to repair holes on the exterior of the building.

SOME RESIDENTS SAY THEY ARE LEFT WITHOUT ANY OTHER CHOICE

At least one Paul Laurence Dunbar resident questioned the viability of the management company’s pest control program. This resident, who requested anonymity, said they had been sleeping on their couch for two years in response to a rodent takeover in their apartment.

The resident recounted seeing rodents climbing through the drain pipe in their bathtub and running out into their living room and closet space. They also spoke about other instances when they woke up with rodent feces in their hair. The resident said it had gotten to the point where they have to place food in containers and sweep rodent turds out from under surfaces.

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In regard to allegations about the rent increases, Ed Cafasso, a spokesperson for Paul Laurence Dunbar Apartments said that administrators responded to a systemic glitch that caused payment problems last summer and refunded affected tenants’ money soon after.

Cafasso went on to say that the Department of Buildings recently deemed the management company’s response to tenants’ complaints as satisfactory. He added that the management company documented these updates in a written report sent to the Department of Buildings in October.

Within that same month, WinnCompanies, the property manager for Paul Laurence Dunbar Apartments, coordinated a meeting with the Paul Laurence Dunbar Residents Association to address residents’ concerns. Cafasso said that property management representatives distributed reports in Amharic and Tigrinya.

At the time of this articles’ release, WinnCompanies awaits the Department of Buildings’ sign-off on four open cases, which involve the instal-

Through it all, this resident said they had to endure the management company’s half-hearted attempts by the management company to rectify their rodent problem -- including the application of masking tape to holes found at the bottom of a sink cabinet.

In other moments, they suggested the resident clean out and throw away excess materials, while not providing a means for doing so.

Amid their growing frustration with their living situation, this resident said they don’t want to experience the hurdle of moving elsewhere in the District, especially with affordable housing often not being available.

For the time being, they will fight management, they said.

“They take their time to fix the problems and then blame us for having too many clothes,” the resident recounted.

“The guy at the front desk told me about an inspection but he never came up. The mice are all on my sofa and in the middle of my bed,” they added. “I feel things running on my feet. The space is full of rat turds and pee stains.” WI

@SamPKCollins

social justice and memorializes the freedom march Dr. King led from Boston's historic Black Roxbury neighborhood to the center of Boston Common in April 1965. Dr. King told the crowd gathered that day, "Now is the time to make real the promise of democracy. Now is the time to make brotherhood a reality. Now is the time."

When local officials, community organizers, and sponsors gathered for the groundbreaking last April on what would have been Mrs. King's 95th birthday, many expressed the hope this memorial will serve as a powerful reminder

MYRICK from Page 24

It's true that Dr. King's talents were rare. But he didn't move mountains alone; nobody can. The lesson we should learn when we commemorate the life of Dr. King is how vital each of us can be, together and separately, in changing the world.

"We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality," Dr. King wrote, "tied in a single garment of

MARSHALL from Page 24 customs are not bad, but we can never forget that the institution of slavery was the greatest influence to the Southern beliefs and way of life. From slavery came the economy of cheap labor, racial hatred, disregard for humanity, distrust of outsiders, Christian hypocrisy and white supremacy. Each one became embedded in the unique culture of the South and remained part of the Southern identity long after slavery was ended.

As a pastor, Dr. Martin Luther King at times spoke about his disappointment with the white church. When he took on a leadership role during the civil rights movement, he felt white ministers, priests and rabbis of the South would be their strongest allies. Instead, some were outright opponents refusing to understand and support the freedom movement concerning people of color. It seems hypocritical for the region of the nation which were former slaves and Jim Crow states to refer to itself as the Bible Belt. When people from Bible Belt states consistently choose Jim Crow over the teachings of Jesus Christ, we

that right now is still that time. As philanthropist and supporter Demond Martin put it, "While we'll marvel at the art, we can't forget about the action. If we simply celebrate the symbol and don't do a better job of feeding the hungry, providing enhanced education and economic opportunities for black and brown people, then we fail. We fail at the very thing that Dr. King and Mrs. King strived for and Dr. King died for."

That is the urgent message we all need to remember as we seek to honor Dr. and Mrs. King's legacy on Dr. King's birthday and every day. The King family has long urged that the King

destiny." To me, his characteristically beautiful words mean that history is not made by a parade of individual heroes, stretching single-file through the centuries; it is made collectively, by the many.

In everyday terms, it means that the person who sets up the chairs or plugs in the microphones for an event is as important to its success as the speaker onstage. Each of us has a part to play and a gift to give.

And each of us has a responsibili-

Holiday be celebrated as a day of service and "a day on, not a day off." We should never simply celebrate the symbol and neglect to keep going on the work. Back in Boston, Hank Williams Thomas explained that "The Embrace" is designed on a scale that will allow visitors to walk through the space in the center of the sculptural arms and feel they are actually part of the spirit of that embrace. Imagining that sensation and the reminder that we are all invited to be part of the same legacy should be an inspiration to everyone.

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ty to act. Too often there is a temptation to wait for the next hero to come along to "save" us, which can lead to doing nothing. That's a downside of believing, falsely, that heroes can act alone.

So yes, we honor Dr. King for his incredible life. And we should also honor him by committing to serve our communities and work for change in any way we are able. That's how we make magic.

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It seems hypocritical for the region of the nation which were former slaves and Jim Crow states to refer to itself as the Bible Belt.

When people from Bible Belt states consistently choose Jim Crow over the teachings of Jesus Christ, we would not be wrong in questioning their Christianity.

would not be wrong in questioning their Christianity.

The ideas of "love your neighbor as you love yourself" or "treat others the way you want to be treated" often gets lost in a culture and customs deeply rooted in the economy of cheap labor, racial hatred, disregard for humanity, distrust of outsiders, Christian hypocrisy and white supremacy. Since a large amount of the South's population consists of Black citizens, is the Bible Belt description for the South inclusive of Black Christians and their interests or is it primarily referencing socially conservative Protestants?

In a Pew Research Center's Religious Landscape Study, nearly

eight in 10 Black Americans (79%) identify as Christian. By comparison, seven in 10 Americans overall (71%) say they are Christian, including 70% of whites and 77% of Latinos. Meanwhile, about seven out of 10 Blacks are Protestant, compared with less than half the public overall (47%), including 48% of whites.

Is the term "Bible Belt" a true description of the South in a racial, moral and spiritual sense? For those still celebrating Confederate heroes, Robert E. Lee is the leader dear to their hearts, but history has proven Martin Luther King was the true American and one who led with love, compassion and faith. WI

enced tax examiners is one of the reasons given for the IRS's failure to perform a required audit of the former president. This is evidence of Republicans' continuing efforts to provide advantages to the wealthy and well-connected at the expense of the average citizen. Since most of McCarthy's concessions were backroom deals, the scope of his giveaway is known by only a few. We have been made aware of McCarthy giving MAGA conservatives more influence, authority and involvement in determining what bills come to the floor. This suggests a flow of resolutions extreme in their nature and designed to exacerbate division among the populace. We

also know that McCarthy is advocating the establishment of a select committee to investigate the weaponization of government agencies (e.g. IRS, FBI and DOJ). It seems that the only legitimate investigation is one that does not target Republicans or supporters of the former president.

Also among their to-do list is the design to end all COVID mandates and funding, a "southern" border plan (read: stop the colored hordes instead of a comprehensive immigration plan), a commitment to balance the budget in 10 years (threatening Social Security and Medicare/Medicaid), and a single member motion-to-vacate authority (if McCarthy doesn't follow the guidance of the far-right, he can be removed as speaker).

know."

white member of the most racially and ethnically diverse Congress in history, the seventh Congress to break the record set by the one before it. At 52, he is the first member of Generation X to lead the House Democratic Caucus.

Jeffries, elected to Congress in 2012, had long been seen as a rising star in his party. He made history as youngest member to serve in leadership when he became chairman of the Democratic caucus in 2019. His national profile rose in 2020 when the House impeached Donald Trump for a second time and he served as an impeachment manager. Signifying the cultural and generational shift he has come to represent, he concluded his impeachment presentation by quoting fellow Brooklynite and Gen-Xer, Biggie Smalls: "And if you don't know, now you

Throughout his career in public service, Jeffries has been a tireless advocate for communities of color, committed to eliminating the barriers to equity. The National Urban League was proud to work closely with him to develop and enact sweeping prison reform legislation, the FIRST STEP Act. In 2014, he pushed for a national ban on chokeholds after the death of Eric Garner. He is a co-sponsor of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which passed the House but stalled in the Senate.

His passion for justice is matched by his eloquence, most recently on display in the instantly-viral "ABCs of American Values" speech he delivered just before he handed McCarthy the speaker's gavel, symbolizing the peaceful transfer of power.

As the new House majority embarks on a divisive agenda of ampli-

JEALOUS

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King, no doubt, would point out that even at its historic level, that spending over the next decade will be less than a tenth of what will be spent by the Defense Department. He also gave us a clear warning in his speech that the fight for what's right doesn't end with a budget appropriation: "Even when the people persist and in the face of great obstacles, develop indigenous leadership and self-help approaches to their problems and finally tread the forest of bureaucracy to obtain existing government funds, the corrupt political order seeks to crush even this be-

Hopefully, this madness will never see the light of day. A responsible Senate and a presidential veto pen will ensure that. WI

fying conspiracy theories, vilifying honorable public servants, eliminating reproductive rights, Jeffries' steady, thoughtful leadership will provide a much-needed counterpoint. WI

ginning of hope." In every state, county, and community we must prepare to stand firm together against those self-interested few who surely will work to undercut efforts to move away from fossil fuels and will defend practices that destroy our wild places.

The health of the planet will determine our shared fate, the "inescapable network of mutuality" Dr. King described writing years earlier from the Birmingham jail. What affects some directly affects all of us — no one, no place is disposable. We have the chance now to mend the fraying and tears in that "single garment of destiny" he wrote of. Let's join together to be good tailors. WI

We have been made aware of McCarthy giving MAGA conservatives more influence, authority and involvement in determining what bills come to the floor.

The health of the planet will determine our shared fate, the "inescapable network of mutuality" Dr. King described writing years earlier from the Birmingham jail.

TThroughout his career in public service, Jeffries has been a tireless advocate for communities of color, committed to eliminating the barriers to equity.

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