BUSINESS SPACE AVAILABLE

Samaritan Ministry of Greater Washington (SMGW), a faith-based nonprofit organization in Congress Heights, seeks to lease its 3rd floor and part of the 2nd floor at 3111 MLK, Jr. Avenue, SE, at the intersection of Alabama Avenue. Space includes bathrooms, access to kitchen on second floor, small group and office space, and elevator. Buses from Anacostia Station stop in front of the door, and it is .7 miles from Congress Heights Station. Street parking only is available.

Samaritan Ministry of Greater Washington (formally Southeast Ministry)

3111 Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue SE Washington, DC 20032

3rd Floor Rental

• Access via interior stairwell, interior elevator, and exterior stairwell.

• Restroom

• Area of third floor = 1,088 SF

• Code allows for 11 occupants.

If interested, please email dwolf@samaritanministry.org or call (202-693-1764 ©) Rev. David B. Wolf, SMGW’s Executive Director, directly.

The justices determined that the universities failed to provide sufficient justification for using race in admissions.

Further, they claimed that affirmative action programs do not comply with the Equal Protection Clause’s requirement that race not be used negatively or as a stereotype.

The Court noted that affirmative action resulted in a lower acceptance rate for Asian American applicants at Harvard.

The Court further stated that basing admissions on race leads to stereotyping and assumes that individuals of a particular race think alike, which it said it found offensive and demeaning.

The justices did acknowledge that race can still be considered if it is directly tied to an applicant’s character or unique abilities that they can contribute to the university.

Chief Justice John Roberts, in the majority opinion, emphasized that students should be evaluated based on their experiences rather than their race.

He criticized universities that he said had wrongly prioritized skin color, stating that America’s constitutional history does not support such a choice.

Jackson lambasted that opinion.

“With let-them-eat-cake obliviousness, today, the majority pulls the ripcord and announces, ‘colorblindness for all’ by legal fiat,” Jackson forcefully dissented.

“But deeming race irrelevant in law does not make it so in life. And having so detached itself from this country’s actual past and present experiences, the Court has now been lured into interfering with the crucial work that UNC and other institutions of higher learning are doing to solve America’s real-world problems,” Jackson asserted.

“No one benefits from ignorance. Race matters in the lived experience of Americans, even if legal barriers are gone.”

LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS, INSTITUTIONS CONSIDER ATTACK TO AFFIRMATIVE ACTION

By gutting equitable access to higher education, the Court ruled against Black and Brown students’ access to the American Dream, said Jessica Giles, Executive Director of DFER DC.

“This ruling erases decades of progress – a particularly concerning reality given our higher-education system continues to uphold systemic, racist barriers to entry that keep doors of opportunity closed on Black and Brown students,” Giles said.

“Now more than ever, we must upend the college admission process to ensure it is optimized for racial equity, starting by abolishing legacy preference – a textbook example of systemic racism. In the absence of race-conscious admissions policies, we strongly urge D.C. elected officials to pass policies that ensure our Black and Brown students complete postsecondary education and can obtain economic prosperity.”

Sharon R. Pinder, president and CEO of the Capital Region Minority Supplier Development Council, serving Maryland, D.C. and Northern Virginia, criticized the Court in an op-ed.

“Across the country, we see systematic attacks on programs established to support affirmative action and the inclusion of minorities in education, business, and other aspects of American life,” Pinder insisted.

“From what we are witnessing, it has gone beyond philosophical conversations and debates to hardcore legal action.”

Diversity is key to the furtherance of institutions, as emphasized by University of Maryland (UMD) President Darryll Pines.

“We believe it is at the intersection of diversity and excellence where innovation is born, where ideas are nurtured, and where we begin to solve the grand challenges of our time,” Pines said.

“While the laws that govern the way we achieve that diversity may change, our commitment will not waver.

Scotus Blocks Student Loan Program

The day after its decision on affirmative action, the Supreme Court blocked President Joe Biden’s ambitious student loan forgiveness program, which was intended to provide up to $20,000 in relief to millions.

The decision comes as a blow to the Biden administration’s efforts to alleviate the burden of student debt on struggling individuals.

Considering the decision, sources close to the White House said the Biden administration intends to emphasize to borrowers and their families that Republicans are responsible for denying them the much-needed relief that the president has been fighting to deliver.

The White House said it remains committed to its mission of easing the financial strain on Americans burdened by student loans.

Read more on www.wqshingtoninforemr.com

WI @StacyBrownMedia

Fireworks are Beautiful, But Also… Kind of Just the Worst

Around 10 p.m. on the Friday before the Fourth of July holiday, I was walking with a friend on U Street. We heard a popping sound behind us; someone was lighting some small fireworks from the sidewalk into the street. When they set off a second one, we heard a woman scream. Standing directly across the road, she’d been hit full-on with the sparks. After seeing the woman walk off with her own group, my friend and I hurried on our way. But days later, the moment kept taking up space in my thoughts. It was unsettling to see something I’d always thought of as just fun and pretty lights suddenly turn into a danger.

That uneasy feeling made me look into it. Here’s what I found:

• Fireworks killed 11 people and sent over 10,000 to the ER in 2022, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

• Both combat veterans and gun violence survivors have said the sounds can trigger harmful post-traumatic stress symptoms.

• Dogs, with their far-more-sensitive ears, hate the loud, unpredictable noises. According to the Humane Society, the panic can cause pets to run away or even fall ill.

• Fireworks regularly cause devastating impacts for wildlife like birds and squirrels.

• The National Fire Protection Association estimates that fireworks cause about 19,500 fires each year. From 1992 to 2015, more than 7,000 wildfires started in the U.S. on July 4, researchers found.

• Fireworks absolutely destroy air quality. D.C. in particular sees huge spikes in harmful particle pollution every year around July 4.

Those last two factors feel particularly pressing this year, given the wildfire smoke that left our region looking vaguely apocalyptic for several days last month. And lots of D.C. residents say they hear and see fireworks going off all summer, far beyond Fourth of July weekend.

Many jurisdictions have implemented—and enforced—strict regulations on fireworks. Personally, I’m a fan of Massachusetts's policy, which allows professionals to put on shows but otherwise bans them. Some places have begun swapping fireworks shows for shape-shifting, flashing drone displays.

Here’s the conclusion I’ve reached: fireworks are just not worth it. They’re beautiful and exciting and fun—but still not worth the price of our own health and the planet’s.

Is July 4th a Day of Pride or Just a Day to Party?

As millions of people celebrated July 4th, America’s Independence Day, one could not help but ask if their festivities focused on the historical event that severed the relationship between America and Britain, creating a free United States of America. Or, has it become an annual day-party event with no connection to the past except for the traditional parades, cookouts, fireworks, and, of course, the disgusting annual Nathan’s hotdog eating contest now in its 51st year?

While red, white and blue flags were waving, and fireworks lit up the sky commemorating the Americans’ high-spirited love for their country, a recent Gallop poll indicates that American pride is at a near record low, and it has remained the same since 2022.

According to Gallop, when U.S. adults were asked in January 2001, “55% of U.S. adults were extremely proud to be American. However, pride soon intensified after 9/11, with extreme pride ranging from 65% to 70% between 2002 and 2004. The percentage of Americans expressing extreme pride declined in 2005 and in subsequent years, but it remained at the majority level through 2017. Since 2018, extreme pride has consistently been below that, averaging 42%.”

The question, then, is why is American pride so low. The Gallop poll distinguishes groups by age and politics. Younger people have less pride than older ones, and Republicans seem more proud of America than Democrats.

If race was included, there’s no doubt that the recent Supreme Court decision on affirmative action would put many Black Americans firmly in line withe the least proud. And, they too, might ask what Frederick Douglass, the famous newspaper publisher, abolitionist, and orator, asked when he delivered his famous 4th of July speech in 1852 in celebration of the 76th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.

Douglass asked, “What to the Slave Is the Fourth Of July?” Among his many points, he acknowledged, “Citizens, your fathers made good that resolution. They succeeded; and to-

Day of Reckoning

What is the Supreme Court doing to our nation? It seems the clock is rolling back on all of our rights one by one. Every minority group in this country is seeing their existence stepped on by these people who have way too much power if you ask me. All I’ll say is elections matter.

Tony Sellers Washington, D.C.