The Washington Informer - July 9, 2020

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Images from Blackout March Page 11 Vol. 55, No. 39 • July 9 - 15, 2020

Pines: ‘Creating an Inclusive and equitable community’ at U.Md.

By William J. Ford WI Staff Writer @jabariwill

5 A demonstration on Monday, July 6 calls attention to the fight against construction of a storage building over what has been deemed the Moses African Cemetery on River Road in Bethesda, Md. (Roy Lewis/The Washington Informer). See story on page 30

Farrakhan Addresses World, Cites Final Period of Divine Reckoning

PINES Page 13 1 (Courtesy of University of Maryland)

Atlanta Mayor: ‘We Are Doing Each Other More Harm than any Police Officer on This Force’

July 4th Message, ‘The Criterion’ References COVID-19, Donald Trump and a Dark Future

Keisha Lance Bottoms, Others ‘Disgusted’ Over Uptick in Black-on-Black Crime

By D. Kevin McNeir WI Editor @dkevinmcneir

In his first public address since February – and in his own words one of the last times the world will hear from him – the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, 87, of the Nation of Islam [NOI], delivered a July 4th message which raised a clarion call to international leaders, including President Donald Trump and to those who guide global communities of faith.

And while he acknowledged his long-declining physical 5 Minister Louis Farrakhan deliv-

FARRAKHAN Page 44

Darryll J. Pines may be one of the few people who understands the University of Maryland.

Besides his 25 years teaching and dean of the A. James Clark School of Engineering, his two children are also “true Terps” who graduated from the university.

But Pines began his new role last week as the university’s first Black president and 34th overall. He has two main priorities for the university — excellence “in everything that we do” and create a more inclusive and multicultural community.

“These two priorities go hand in hand,” he said. “That’s what I intend to do at this university.”

5 University of Maryland President Darryll J. Pines’ Another African American educator also be- first day as leader on the College Park campus on July

ers a virtual July 4th message. (WI File Photo/Shevry Lassiter)

By Stacy M. Brown WI Senior Writer @StacyBrownMedia A range of disturbing incidents has happened since George Floyd’s death and subsequent protests against racism and police brutality.

USA Today, the Associated Press, Fox News and other outlets have reported on situations around the country that depict most of the victims of violent crime in the

past 90 days as Black.

In Illinois, a man was charged with a hate crime allegedly for riding his motorcycle into a protest and hitting two people.

According to USA Today, authorities said a KKK leader tried to run his car through a group of peaceful protesters in Virginia. Video shows a white man accelerating his vehicle toward a Black woman in a Wisconsin parking lot.

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Women the Cycle of wi hotBreak topics Domestic Violence Ward 8 Residents Protest Prince George’s Creates Killing of Davon Food Security Task law Force enforcement. She said they threat,” she said. McNeal

By Tia Carol Jones WI Staff Writer

had come together to bring a Among the programs Marlow community leaders and aresupporter sense of uniformity in theWard way 8 wants to see implemented When L.Y. Marlow's 23-year- domestic violence victims gathered Tuesday, Julyorder 7 policies, to protest the and on stricter restraining old daughter told her the father survivors are treated. increasing murder rate foramong people in more rights victim'syoung families of her daughter threatened her “She's using her own the city’s personal ward. Residents called an increase to intervene onhave behalf of for a viclife, and the life of their child, story, her own personalinpain to funding tim, aand domestic assess- as well police heavierviolence police presence, she knew something had to be push forward,” Davis-Nickens ment coupled with further as an increase in unit FY’21-22 funding for youth predone. Out of her frustration said about Marlow. training for law enforcement vention services in education, vocational training, with law enforcement's handling Davis-Nickens said employment anyone agencies, a Child's and health services.Life Protecof the situation, she decided to who reads Marlow's bookJohn willW. tion ActDavon’s and mandatory counselAyala, grandfather was invited start the Saving Promise cam- “get it.” She said she “puts the ing for batterers. to attend the rally which took place in front of the paign. case in such a way, theCouncil average of the“If we areofever going toineradiDistrict Columbia Northwest.

“It seems to be a vicious cycle person can get it.” She saidAccording at the cate violence, we must to domestic John Henry, WUSA9 July 7 rethat won't turn my family end of the day, the book will look at both sides of the port, “DC’s murder rate continues to coin. go up despite loose,” Marlow said. Marlow help people begin to have a dia- We need to address both the viccoronavirus.” Residents reported that District ofshared her story with the audi- logue about domestic violence. andlooking the batterer,” Marlow ficials must tim begin at the root cause of the George’s County Council introduced a resoluencePrince at the District Heights Also present at the event was said. problems and offer permanent solutions to solve them. tion Tuesday, July 7 to create a Food Security Task Force Domestic Violence Symposium Mildred Muhammad, the exMarlow would also like to see toMay provide food options locations.

The Muhammad, programs designed to raise on 7 athealthy the District Heightsat certain wife of John Allen 20-memberCenter. group The wouldsymporecommend to de- to six consec- awareness among children in Municipal whooptions was sentenced crease was food sponsored insecurity, especially at least 115,000 sium by the when utive life terms without parole public and private schools. She residentsand filed for unemployment coronavirus Family Youth Services amid by athe Maryland jury for his role in feels children need to be educatpandemics.

Thecity task of force would have a year to attacks in ed about domestic violence.

Center of the District the nearly Beltway Sniper present and a report with a deadline 2021. The Heights the National Hook-by June 2002.30,Mildred Muhammad is “We have to stop being pasUp of Blackcomes Women. resolution after County Executive AngelaofAlsothe founder After the Trauma, sive-aggressive with poor chilMarlow has written a book, brooks announced last week World Central Kitchen willthat helps the dren about domestic violence,” an organization “Color Me distributions Butterfly,” which a of end meal at theis end the month.

The survivors of domestic violence Marlow said. story about generations of Way andoftheir county will four partner with United the children.

National Marlow has worked to break domestic violence.

Thedonations book is from residents “I lived in fear for six years. Six the cycle of abuse in her family, Capital Area to receive through inspired own experiences, years in local fear isAAU a long time. It is and is confident the policies she “Stand by up her & Deliver” program. Although and those of Team her grandmother, not$75,000, an easy thing organization Takeover donated more to come out is pushing for will start that her mother her daughter. of,” she said. process. funding will and be needed.

SheTosaid everygotime she reads Mildred said “I plan to take these policies to donate, to https://bit.ly/3gmcpKa. For Muhammad more excerpts fromabout her book, she still andpeople who want information the program other methods of to help a Congress and implore them to can not believe the words domesticor violence donating, call Roxy Harris came at 202-488-201, email at victim must change our laws,” Marlow said. from her.

“Color Me Butterfly” be careful of how they go into “I will not stop until these polirharris@uwnca.org. won the 2007 National “Best the victim's life, and understand cies are passed.”

Books” Award. that she may be in “survival Tia Carol Jones can be reached “I was just 16-years-old when mode”. at tiacaroljones@sbcglobal.net my eye first blackened and my “Before you get to 'I'm going lips bled,” Marlow said. to kill you,' it started as a verbal WI Elaine Davis-Nickens, president of the National Hook-Up Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) announced that of Black Women,fiscal said there is no 2021 District of Columbia Appropriations the House’s year (FY) consistency in theJuly way7,domestic bill, released contains most of her top policy and funding priorviolence are among dealt with by things, prohibits the president from federities. issues The bill, other alizing the D.C. police department; contains no anti-home-rule riders; abides by D.C.’s local budget autonomy law; and provides $40 million for the D.C. Tuition Assistance Grant Program (DCTAG), with a $250,000 increase in the family income eligibility limit for DCTAG. The bill will be marked up by the Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee on July 8.

“Until the Senate passes our D.C. statehood bill, we are on guard to protect the city’s local autonomy and priorities,” Norton said. “I am grateful to Subcommittee Chairman Mike Quigley and Committee Chairwoman Nita Lowey for their continued support for D.C.’s right to self-government. I also particularly appreciate that they provided $40 million for DCTAG, my program that allows thousands of D.C. students each year to attend colleges and universities across the United States in the absence of the typical state university system in the District.”

Norton shared her disappointment that the bill allows new students to enroll in the private school voucher program Congress imposed on the District but was pleased that it requires participating voucher schools to comply with federal civil rights laws. The D.C. voucher program, the only federally-funded in the U.S., has failed to improve academic achievement, as measured by math and reading test scores.

THE WASHINGTON INFORMER / WWW.WASHINGTONINFORMER.COM L.Y. Marlow

Norton Spending Bill Blocks President from Federalizing D.C. Police

“

We have to stop being passive-aggressive with poor children about domestic violence. I plan to take these policies to Congress and implore them to change our laws. I will not stop until these policies are passed.

“

SOMETHING NEW EVERYDAY

COMPILED BY WI STAFF WRITER WILIAM J. FORD AND WI EDITOR D. KEVIN MCNEIR

AROUND THE REGION

NAACP Sets Its Sights on D.C.

Jilted Baltimore Officials Chide Move

By James Wright WI Staff Writer @Jamesdcwrighter The decision by the NAACP to move its national headquarters from Baltimore to the District has received praise and groans from the respective cities as the organization seeks to sharpen its mission of fighting for the civil rights of Americans.

In a joint statement, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson announced the move on June 29.

The NAACP will be a prominent tenant at the newly rebuilt Frank D. Reeves Center for Municipal Affairs in Northwest, the mayor said.

Bowser seemed pleased with the NAACP, billed as the nation’s largest civil rights organization, coming to her city and setting up shop at the Reeves Center.

“The Reeves Center stands in the iconic and culturally significant area of the U Street corridor with deep connections to the NAACP,” the mayor said. “As we continue fighting for change and working to build a more fair and just nation, we look forward to welcoming this iconic civil rights organization to Washington, D.C.” The NAACP has a Capitol Hill bureau where it lobbies the Congress and interacts with federal agencies and courts on its behalf. While Bowser and Johnson appeared happy with the move, Baltimore City Council President Brandon Scott criticized the relocation.

“The NAACP’s history runs deep in Baltimore,” he said, mentioning Baltimoreans such as Thurgood Marshall, a former general counsel of the organization who became the first Black to serve as an associate justice on the U.S. Supreme Court, as well as Juanita Jackson Mitchell, a NAACP Baltimore leader for civil and feminist rights, and Parren Mitchell, the first African American to represent Maryland in the U.S. Congress.

Scott pointed out two of its recent leaders, Rep. Kweisi Mfume (D-Md.) and Ben Jealous, the 2018 Democratic gubernatorial nominee in Maryland, as native Baltimoreans.

Scott, who won the Democratic

Party primary for mayor on June 2, said his city and the NAACP have a bond.

“We are in the midst of the largest civil rights call to action that our country has seen in a generation,” he said. “Baltimore and the NAACP alike are integral pieces of Black history that should remain together and continue to break barriers, cultivate the impossible and represent justice, equality and equity for all.”

Bowser said on July 1 she sympathizes with Baltimoreans who are upset with the NAACP leaving their city, saying she knows how it feels to be on the short end of a relocation decision.

“I like Baltimore,” she said. “There is hope for Baltimore.”

Derrick Johnson, president and CEO of the NAACP, expressed excitement about the move, calling D.C. “the epicenter of change.”

“A new home in Washington will allow us to not only fully participate in the growth of this great city, but to also amplify the voices of Black people as we fight for the crucial policy changes and economic empowerment needed in common across the country,” Johnson said.

The Reeves Center, named in honor of civil rights attorney Frank D. Reeves, has been on the corner of 14th and U streets in Northwest since 1986. Many economic development experts say the Reeves Center jumpstarted the commercial activity that defines the area presently. John Falcicchio, the acting deputy mayor for planning and economic development, said the Reeves Center will be transformed into a transit-oriented, mixed-used development with office space, affordable housing and neighborhood serving amenities “in a way that reflects the site’s historical and cultural significance.”

“The inclusion of this national institution, the NAACP, as a foundational partner in the Reeves Center redevelopment sets a cultural and historical intention that will serve the neighborhood and Washington, D.C. for years to come,” he said.

“We look forward to this partnership to bring the NAACP to the U Street neighborhood.”

WI

5 The Frank D. Reeves Center for Municipal Affairs will be rebuilt so that tenants such as the NAACP can set up operations there.

(Courtesy photo/Popville.com)

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JULY 9 - 15, 2020 5

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black facts

JULY 9-15, 2020 SOURCE: BLACK AMERICA WEB

JULY 9

1901 – Actor and composer Jester Hairston of “Amos ‘n’ Andy” and “Amen” fame, is born in Belews Creek, North Carolina.

JULY 10

1875 – Civil rights luminary Mary McLeod Bethune (below right) is born in Mayesville, South Carolina.

1893 – Dr. Daniel Hale Williams performs the world’s first open-heart surgery at Provident Hospital in Chicago on a man stabbed in the chest.

1941 – Iconic ragtime and jazz pianist Jelly Roll Morton dies in Los Angeles at the age of 50.

1943 – Tennis great Arthur Ashe is born in Richmond, Virginia.

1973 – The Bahamas is declared a fully independent nation.

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1920 – Emmy-winning actress Beah Richards is born in Vicksburg, Mississippi.

1936 – Rose McClendon, founder of the Negro People’s Theatre and a leading Black Broadway actress in the 1920s, dies in New York City at the age of 51.

1937 – Famed actor and comedian Bill Cosby is born in Philadelphia.

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1905 – W.E.B. Du Bois and William Monroe Trotter found the Niagara Movement, a Black civil rights organization.

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1966 – R&B singer Gerald Levert, son of O’Jays lead singer Eddie Levert, is born in Canton, Ohio.

JULY 14

1891 – Inventor John Standard of Newark, N.J., receives a patent for the refrigerator.

1934 – Golfer Lee Elder, who became the first African American to play in the Masters Tournament in 1975, is born in Dallas.

1941 – Professor Maulana Karenga, a major figure in the Black nationalist movement and the creator of Kwanzaa, is born in Parsonsburg, Maryland.

JULY 15 GERALD LEVERT 6 - JULY 9 - 15, 2020

1961 – Award-winning actor, producer and director Forest Whitaker (top) is born in Longview, Texas.

1970 – James McGee is sworn in as the first Black mayor of Dayton, Ohio.

WI

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I think we should just restart the human race on a blank piece of paper from scratch. This would make sure we’ll be free from our incriminating history.

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We have discussed this for more than 40 years, at least, in D.C. Why has it not changed already?

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JULY 9 - 15, 2020 7

The World According to Dominic

BY D. KEVIN MCNEIR / WI EDITOR / @DKEVINMCNEIR

Terry Crews Has it Right – ‘Black Lives Matter’ Cannot Be Simply Defined

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Terry Crews joined Don Lemon, who anchors an evening CNN news show, on July 7 to explain his concerns about the Black Lives Matter movement but instead ended up in a heated debate with the anchor.

Lemon opened the segment with two recent Crews tweets that have sparked an outcry – the first warning about a “#blacklivesbetter” sentimentemerging from Black Lives Matter; the second announcing that he would “die on this hill” after receiving threats for his decision to “unite with good people, no matter the race, creed or ideology.”

Lemon introduced the actor by saying, “Man, you stepped in it,” eventually closing the segment by talking over Crews about the meaning of Black Lives Matter.

If Lemon’s intent was to increase viewers, he did his job. But I find it difficult to go along with his premise which seeks to limit both the definition and scope of the Black Lives Matter movement.

As the author Christopher J. Lebron explains in his thought-provoking “The Making of Black Lives Matter: A Brief History of an Idea,” the movement itself remains grounded in history – Black history. Specifically, with the murder of young Trayvon Martin in February 2012

If Lemon’s intent was to increase viewers, he did his job. But I find it difficult to go along with his premise which seeks to limit both the definition and scope of the Black Lives Matter movement.

– a tragedy I personally experienced and covered as the then-editor for The Miami Times.

Since then, the movement, particularly with the recent murders of George Floyd and Rayshard Brooks, has secured its place in both American and world history – a far cry from its origins less than a decade ago when it was merely a social movement hashtag – one which will undoubtedly define today’s generation.

Crews went on to say, “there are some very, very militant-type forces in Black Lives Matter. What I was issuing [in his June 30 tweet] was a warning ... When you issue a warning and a warning is seen as detrimental, how can you ever, ever have checks and balances? Other Black people who are talking about working with other whites and other races, they’re being viewed as sellouts or called Uncle Toms. You start to understand that you are now being controlled. You’re not being treated as loved, you’re actually being controlled.”

“If you are a child of God, you are my brother and sister. I have family of every race, creed and ideology.

We must ensure #blacklivesmatter doesn’t morph into #blacklivesbetter.”

Crews said he sees a “dangerous self-righteousness” developing from the movement, where certain people “really viewed themselves as better.”

“Are all white people bad? No. Are all Black people good? No. Knowing

this reality, I stand on my decision to unite with good people, no matter the race, creed or ideology. Given the number of threats against this decision, I also decide to die on this hill.”

I won’t bother to continue the exchange that ensued between Lemon and Crews. But I must, again, support Crews in his belief that in any movement, there should be a “nonracial element.”

And while there is something profoundly powerful about the three words “Black Lives Matter,” I posit that its founders would never suggest that in their struggle to demand change in America and the end of centuries of violence against Black bodies, that they – or rather, the movement – exists in a society where “only” Black lives matter.

Rather, this new-age philosophy pushes us toward the precipice when African Americans will finally, and rightfully, be placed on a level of human equality with whites – something our so-called “wise” Founding Fathers found it impossible, or perhaps far from prudent or profitable to do.

Black Lives Matter suggests both a political agenda as well as a philosophical system. In both instances, it must by necessity continue to evolve and morph. At the same time, and as Crews asserts, it cannot be bound by the over-simplification that its threeword title might suggest.

It’s great that Lemon chose this topic and invited Crews to explain his views. But I’m not convinced that Lemon is the best person of color to advocate for marginalized Black folk, given his own history. Lemon hasn’t always been a cheerleader for Black rights or for gay rights, but in recent years he has used his “pulpit” toward both agendas. For that, I applaud him.

However, the complexity of the mission which undergirds Black Lives Matter remains far too complex and significant to be reduced to a 10-minute debate followed by pages of tweets. WI

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Thomas Weighs Ward 5 Council Comeback Some Residents Wary of Return

By James Wright WI Staff Writer @Jamesdcwrighter Former D.C. Council member Harry Thomas, Jr. has indicated an interest in running for his old Ward 5 seat in 2022 but some residents are wary of him doing that.

Thomas, who joined the council from 2007, resigned on Jan. 5, 2012, when federal prosecutors filed charges against him for embezzlement and filing false tax returns for a nonprofit youth organization he oversaw. After pleading guilty and serving more than two years of a 38-month prison sentence, Thomas was released in 2015 and came back to the District.

In an interview with The Informer, Thomas said he has moved on with his life since incarceration and wants to jump-start his career in public service.

“When it comes to the Ward 5 council seat in 2022, I am keeping my options open on whether to become a candidate for the office,” he said. “I am already in politics now. I serve as the Ward 5 committeeman for the D.C. Democratic State Committee and have been elected as a delegate for Joe Biden for president at the Democratic National Convention. I like the present council member and he has been good to my family. If I decide to run in 2022, it won’t be personal it will be for the good of the residents of Ward 5.”

Requests to Council member Kenyan McDuffie (D-Ward 5) for comment were not immediately answered.

Thomas said if reelected to the council, he will focus on economic development and job opportunities, just as he did when he served previously.

“I want to make sure Ward 5 residents can live and work in their communities,” he said. “There are a lot of newcomers to the ward who don’t understand its history and legacy and we need to keep people here who have been around for years. But I recognize there

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DESIGNER EYEWEAR 5 Harry Thomas, Jr. served on the D.C. Council from 2007-2012 before resigning due to criminal charges. (Shevry pull a photo)

have been changes.

“When I was growing up, there were four high schools in Ward 5 and they were Phelps, McKinley Tech, Spingarn and Dunbar,” Thomas said. “Now, the only non-specialized high school that anyone can attend is Dunbar. I also remember a time when recreation centers would be the center of young people’s lives. The recreation center for me was like a second home and it offered me employment opportunities as a young man such as working as a lifeguard. I realize the city has changed but the city is missing that home, neighborhood focus it used to have. On the council I hope to bring some of that back.”

Thomas pondering a run for re-election, however has some Ward 5 residents unsettled. While Gordon-Andrew Lee Fletcher, chairman of the Ward 5 Democrats, would only say Thomas “has the right to run like everybody else” Frank Wilds, a longtime Democratic activist and Ward 5 resident, doesn’t think the former lawmaker should become a candidate.

“I like Harry and we talk and text but before he makes a move like that, he needs to think about his family,” Wilds said. “Why damage your family going through a process like that? I believe in second chances but he needs to move onto something else.”

Kathy Henderson, a former Ward 5 advisory neighborhood

commissioner, was more blunt about Thomas’ possible candidacy.

“He was elected to represent us on the council but instead executed a scheme to steal from children,” she said. “We don’t need that in Ward 5. He seems to think the seat belongs to him but it is the people’s. We need to have someone on the council who will uplift our community, not steal from it.

He needs to move on.”

Ken Fealing, who also served as an advisory neighborhood commissioner in the ward, spoke of his familiarity with Thomas and his father, Harry Thomas, Sr., who represented the ward on the council from 1987-1999. Fealing said he, like Wilds, believes in second chances for people who have done wrong but Thomas shouldn’t get another chance to be a council member.

“I would be opposed to his running and if he were to run, I would not support him,” he said. “I think he violated the public trust and he did it taking money from children and that’s not right.”

Thomas acknowledges the animus among Ward 5 residents regarding his possible political aspirations, but argues he has changed.

“I ask people to look at my individual situation,” he said. “I have paid my debt to society. Look at what I did when I was on the council and my body of work in Ward 5. The criminal conviction was a blip on the screen.”

WI

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AROUND THE REGION CAPTURE THE MOMENT WE WON’T STAND FOR THIS

A six-hour sit-in took place July 4 outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Northeast to honor Black women victimized by violence. The hours represented the number of times Breonna Taylor was shot and killed by police. Law students from the University of the District of Columbia presented $300 to “We Won’t Stand for This” organization who hosted the event. (Robert R. Roberts/The Washington Informer)

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“No race can prosper until it learns that there is as much dignity in tilling a field as in writing a poem. It is at the bottom of life we must begin and not the top. Nor should we permit our grievances to overshadow our opportunities . . . Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome while trying to succeed.”

– Booker T. Washington

Tuskegee Institute was founded July 4, 1881 with Booker T. Washington as its first principal.

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AROUND THE REGION Protests for Justice Continue

Black Lives Matter Movement’s “Black Out Day” on July 4 encouraged supporters to not spend money all day in an effort to end police brutality and racism towards Black people. (Roy Lewis/The Washington Informer)

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JULY 9 - 15, 2020 11

PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY LGBTQ Organization Protests for Black Lives, Acceptance in Prince George’s County

By William J. Ford WI Staff Writer @jabariwill The LGBTQ Dignity Project was established as a movement to not only fight for the rights of those in that community in Prince George’s County, but also for Black lives and residents from low-income communities.

So far, the group helped push for legislation approved by the school board earlier this year to hire trained facilitators to address the needs of LGBTQ students.

The group helped organize at least seven protests throughout the county on police brutality and

other forms of racism.

It recently joined Heart to Hand to distribute more than 100 meals for low-income families during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

“If Black lives really matter, then that should include those in the LGBTQ community,” said Cassy Morris, who along with her wife, Krysal Oriadha, helped create the Dignity Project that plans to officially become a 501-C3 nonprofit organization in the fall. “It’s sad to say in a Black community like Prince George’s County that most of our allies are white. We need to do better.”

One of those white allies, school board member Pamela Booz-

er-Strother, represents the only LGBTQ person on the board.

Last month, she helped craft a resolution that received approval last month to recognize June as LGBTQ Pride Month.

One Black county official has supported the Dignity Project: State’s Attorney Aisha Braveboy.

Her office established a LGBTQ committee comprised of attorneys and other staff to coordinate meetings and outreach events to address matter from those in that community.

The office created a human trafficking and commercial sex-worker diversion program, which allows individuals arrested for a particular offense will receive legal, mental health and other services.

Those individuals are triaged at the county’s Family Justice Center in Upper Marlboro and referred to three organizations based on their needs and age: University of Maryland Safe Center, Catholic Charities and Courtney’s House, which provides counseling and mentoring for youth and young adults.

Later this year, Braveyboy’s office plans to schedule a virtual LGBTQ justice forum.

“We are one big community,” she said. “We incorporate everybody. I’m very proud of the work we are doing with the LGBTQ community and we believe it’s going to continue to grow.”

The Dignity Project was launched after two transgender

5 Ashanti Martinez (right, with bullhorn) participates in a July 6 protest organized by the LGBTQ Dignity Project and Our Prince George’s. (Anthony Tilghman/ The Washington Informer)

women were fatally shot last year in Fairmount Heights.

Although some residents rallied for change and justice in their deaths, group members say more progress must be made.

In the meantime, the Dignity Project seeks support from the county in terms of passing policies that include financial and other incentives for Black businesses to remain and move in the county.

Also, provide a safe, brick-andmortar space for LGBTQ youth.

Ashanti Martinez of New Car-

rollton, who came out to his family as gay at age 13, also said a LGBTQ liaison in the county executive’s office would show the county cares for all people.

“Having representation in our government … help foster a sense of welcoming within the community,” he said. “Organizations such as The Dignity Project help bring a face to this community and show how normal we really are and how we are just like everyone else.”

For the full version of this story, go to washingtoninformer.com. WI

Absence for Civic Engagement Allowed in Prince George’s Schools

By William J. Ford WI Staff Writer @jabariwill

5 Angel Nwadibia (left) and Leena Mohamed participate in the Global Climate Change protest in Northwest in September, 2019. (Courtesy of Angel Nwadibia)

12 - JULY 9 - 15, 2020

Angel Nwadibia and Leena Mohamed recalled when they joined thousands of other youth in D.C. in September to protest climate change.

During that time, the seniors at Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Greenbelt felt the adrenaline to continue this form of civic engagement activities. They wanted to attend another protest in December, but administrators said students would not only receive an unexcused absence, but also would not be permitted to make up any missed work or tests.

“We didn’t think it was fair,” Angel, 18, said. “We had enough of adults telling us what to do when it really wasn’t their future at stake.”

After attending and speaking at

county council and school board meetings and help from a few adults with the Greenbelt Climate Action Network, the Prince George’s County school board approved a policy last month for students to receive excused absences for college visits, civic engagement and military-related activities.

Gauging by online attendant policies from the 24 school systems in Maryland, Prince George’s appears to be the first school system in the state to adopt an excused absence policy strictly for civic engagement activities.

The board’s vote doesn’t specify types of activities and number of excused absences a student can use, but it requests the public schools CEO, or superintendent, to formulate the policy and make any necessary changes.

A spokesperson for the school system said the policy remains under review. How the policy may look could

be determined by how Prince George’s and other school systems will assess plans to formally reopen for the 202021 school year, especially during the coronavirus pandemic.

Across the Woodrow Wilson Bridge, the Fairfax County Public Schools board approved a policy for students in grades 7-12 with an option to receive an excused absence to participate in a civic activity.

According to the policy that went into effect in January, students can meet with an elected official, volunteer for a campaign, or any other work in the community not supervised by Fairfax County staff. Students must fill out a form and provide documentation on the activity with parental or guardian approval.

For the full version of this story, go to washingtoninformer.com.

WI

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Fish Market Protest Draws Eyes to Black Businesses

By William J. Ford WI Staff Writer @jabariwill While protests continued outside The Fish Market in Clinton that’s been closed for more than a week, organizers and patrons decided to showcase Black-owned businesses across the street.

To accentuate that point, the event took place on America’s holiday, the Fourth of July.

“We are not only promoting our business, [but] we need people to understand we are important as well,” said Valerie Taylor, who’s owned Taylor Design with her husband, Brian, for 22 years.

“In order for us to move up in our ranks, we must protest. We must let people know what’s going on.”

Other merchants such as Deidra Coleman know employees at The Fish Market who’ve explained how working conditions haven’t

PINES from Page 1 gan a new role last week in leading a university in the D.C. area. Not only will Gregory Washington serve as president at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, but he also served as a dean of the engineering school at the University of California Irvine.

Back in Maryland, Pines will take over for former President Wallace Loh, who worked at the university for nearly 10 years.

The state’s flagship public institution has won at least four national championships in field hockey and lacrosse the past 10 years, dedicated a Frederick Douglass statue on the campus, and received a $31 million gift from alumnus Brenda Iribe to fund scholarships and building a new computer science building.

Under Pines’ leadership as dean of the engineering school, female student admittance from the freshmen class increased from 22 percent in 2010 to 33 percent in fall 2019.

But the school has encountered recent racial incidents and tragedies dating back to 2015 when a student resigned from Kappa Sigma fraternity after an email from the year prior contained racism and sexually explicit language about

been idle. That’s why merchants are collecting donations for those workers while the market remains closed.

“We’re here to showcase our businesses, but we also need to help them, too,” said Coleman, who runs Deidra Fades Beauty Supply, which is scheduled to open this month at St. Charles Towne Center in neighboring Charles County.

The controversy at The Fish Market began June 26 when co-owner Rick Giovannoni, who’s white, allegedly told Black patron Darryl Rollins he couldn’t come into the restaurant and place an order because he wore a T-shirt that read, “I can’t breathe.”

Sherry Giovannoni, wife and co-owner, posted an apology on Facebook and said her husband “is bipolar and was drinking heavily” the day before the incident.

Black, Asian and Indian women.

In 2017, students and faculty members found white supremacist fliers on the campus. That same year, 2nd Lt. Richard Collins III was killed on the campus while visiting friends, just days before he was to graduate from nearby Bowie State University.

The suspect, Sean Urbanski, a white University of Maryland student, stabbed Collins due to him being Black. A jury found Urbanski guilty of first-degree murder, but a formal sentencing was postponed because courts are closed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

In 2018, football player Jordan McNair, 19, died due to heat exhaustion after collapsing during a team practice. A scathing report showed coaches and staff failed to protect McNair and certain protocols weren’t followed.

The school’s newspaper, The Diamondback, reported last month a doctoral student started a petition for the school to support its African American Studies Department with more funding and require undergraduate students take an introductory level course.

Although those incidents occurred under Loh’s presidency, Pines will look to improve the school during

PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY

“My family is taking steps today to get my husband the help he needs. We apologize to any and all that were hurt by his behavior,” she wrote.

About five minutes later, Rick Giovannoni posted a reply: “Because my wife found it necessary [to] stab me in the back and throw me under the bus, it’s with great sadness I announce Sherry and I are no longer man and wife, business partners or friends.”

Rick or Sherry Giovannoni didn’t respond to a phone message for comment.

Residents have protested for more than week on the sidewalks in front of the restaurant with a predominantly seafood menu, a house band and liquor store attached to it. The majority of the customers are Black, according to pictures posted on Facebook.

Some people wore T-shirts and masks with the “I can’t breathe” phrase, which has become a rallying cry for Blacks being killed by police and other forms of police brutality.

Eric Garner uttered those three

the ongoing pandemic as students are scheduled to return to the College Park campus for the fall semester.

Pines, who spoke with members of the media on his second day at the helm on Thursday, July 2, explained his vision on academic excellence, in-person attendance for athletics and bringing Black students back to a campus that resides in Prince George’s County, where 62 percent of the residents are Black. Here are portions of his responses: Strategy to attract more Black students to the campus: We might have the most significantly diverse class in the last decade at this institution. One of my priorities will be to increase the number of diverse students that come to the University of Maryland. We are the number-one graduating [bachelor of science and bachelor of arts] degrees of African Americans in the United States of any flagship or public land grant institution. I’m committed to advancing faculty and staff diversity.

It will also be a focus of my presidency. I’m going to use some of the same methods that we used in engineering and apply them uniformly across the campus. These include partnerships with local high schools as well as part-

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5 Black vendors showcase their products in a parking lot near Planet Fitness and across the street from The Fish Market in Clinton on July 4. (Anthony Tilghman/The Washington Informer)

words in 2014 after being placed in a chokehold by New York City police. He later died.

Six years later on May 25, George Floyd said “I can’t breathe” to Minneapolis police after being knelt on his neck. He also died.

As for The Fish Market, one of the main rally organizers, Rachel Sherman, demanded the removnerships with some of our two-year institutions in the state. That has worked very well to create diversity at the University of Maryland-College Park.

Significance of becoming first Black president: It’s an honor to be the 34th president at the University of Maryland.

It’s also an honor to be the first African American president of the university.

I understand the symbolism that it represents to the African American community and to the community at large here at the University of Maryland, and what it represents in these kinds of uncertainty and social injustice. I’m going to focus on excellence in everything we do and on creating an inclusive and equitable community that’s multicultural. I believe the university has incredible diversity and just an incredible place to be when you come on campus. We embrace that with our values, our traditions.

It’s part of our culture and it’s a measure of our excellence. I intend to enhance that going forward.

When to cancel fall classes if coronavirus cases spike: We’ve been first working with the

PINES Page 43

al of Rick Giovannoni from the property deed as a co-owner because of his history of racist and insensitive statements.

If Sherry Giovannoni remains the owner, entrepreneurship training should be offered to local high school students, Sherman said.

Although the restaurant is normally open Tuesday through Sunday, peaceful protests prevented any business at the establishment on Sunday, June 28 and Tuesday, June 30. Sherman said the restaurant hasn’t opened since July 1.

Sherman, who resides in neighboring Charles County but owns property in Clinton, said she and others are willing to help current Fish Market employees find new jobs.

“Don’t think for a second that the organizers aren’t thinking about those employees. We are trying to do some things for them,” said Sherman, a nurse practitioner who runs Maryland Concierge Primary Care. “We sympathize with the employees, but there is a bigger need and a greater calling.

“The big overarching goal is more Black ownership in the county,” she added. “If you are not here to respect the people who are your bread and butter, then you can leave.”

POLICE REFORM

While people continue to protest The Fish Market in Clinton, police reform also became a topic on the Fourth of July in Palmer Park led by Del. Julian Ivey

BUSINESSES Page 43 JULY 9 - 15, 2020 13

BUSINESS Perilous Unemployment and Wage Gaps Plague African-American Women

By Stacy M. Brown WI Senior Writer @StacyBrownMedia While the coronavirus pandemic has led to massive unemployment and job uncertainty for just about everyone, Black women have especially fallen victim.

A report from the Center for American Progress (CAP) in D.C. notes that gender differences stand as a critical driver in the rise of the Black unemployment rate. In short, the African American unemployment rate is fueled by the rise in jobless Black women.

The report, which doesn’t include June statistics, states that Black men’s unemployment rate decreased from 16.1 percent to 15.5 percent.

It notes that the increase in the

overall African American unemployment rate was due to the uptick in the unemployment rate for Black women from 16.4 percent to 16.5 percent and a rise in the unemployment rate for younger Black workers.

“The pandemic has laid bare and exacerbated pre-existing, long-standing disparities in the labor market faced by women, especially women of color, that have been worsened by the current economic crisis,” CAP officials noted in a release.

Between February and May, women overall lost 10.9 million jobs, accounting for more than half (56 percent) of all nonfarm payroll jobs lost during the period.

According to the CAP, that virtually wipes out a decade of women’s progress and job gains.

5 Job seekers wait their turn for interviews during a job fair at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Northwest. (WI File Photo)

The numbers are made worse by the lack of child care, which disproportionately harms Black and Hispanic families.

The increase in caregiving has also forced many women to leave their jobs, reduce their work hours, or have difficulty finding a new job. They perform the majority of caregiving for elderly or sick family members and children whose school or child care provider is unavailable.

The experiences of women of color can provide essential insights into the current problems

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Proposals will be accepted at DCPS/OCA on Tuesday, July 22, 2020, no later than 1:00 p.m. at. dcpsoca.inquiries@k12. dc.gov.

14 - JULY 9 - 15, 2020

in the labor market and the type of recovery interventions needed to improve outcomes for workers, according to the CAP release.

Many women of color must confront and navigate the combined effects of race, gender, and ethnic bias, often reflected in lower wages, fewer promotional opportunities, inadequate workplace support, and higher unemployment rates, which is particularly relevant now.

In a separate news release, the National Black Women’s Reproductive Justice Agenda spotlighted how far into the year — three months — a woman must work to earn the same pay a white man received the previous year.

“The intersection of sexism and racism hurts Black women in many ways, including our paychecks,” said Marcela Howell, founder and president of National Black Women’s Reproductive Justice Agenda.

“While the average white woman may make 70 cents for every dollar a white man makes, Black women earn only 62 cents for every dollar a white man makes doing the same job. This means that Black women’s Equal Pay Day is really eight months later — August 13, 2020.

“That pay disparity is further compounded by the fact that Black women and other women of color are also heavily impacted by the growing COVID-19 crisis,” Howell said. “Black women’s

disproportionate employment in low-wage service and minimum or sub-minimum wage jobs, most of which lack benefits like paid sick leave, contributes to the disproportionate harm caused by the virus. Even as Congress passes bills to address the needs of workers during this crisis, the programs may not relieve the problems faced by low-wage workers., many of whom are being laid off.”

Howell added that many others continue to work at considerable personal risk. Low-wage service workers — primarily women of color — are the unsung heroes of the pandemic, staffing grocery stores, takeout restaurants and other essential positions that put them at increased risk of exposure.

“We know that Black women and families, even during normal times, suffer from inadequate access to affordable, quality health care, food security challenges, and unsafe housing issues at a disproportionately higher rate,” she said. “With the pandemic, the public programs and support services Black women and families normally rely on may be harder to access.

“As we strive to ‘flatten the curve’ of the coronavirus crisis, it is critical that we also address workplace discrimination and work to close the pay gap,” Howell said.

WI

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BUSINESS Understanding Medicaid Aimee D. Griffin, Esq

5 Working from home might become the standard of operations for businesses in the long-term. (Courtesy photo)

Teleworking Could Be the New Normal, Experts Say

By James Wright WI Staff Writer @Jamesdcwrighter When the coronavirus pandemic was officially declared in March, many companies and government agencies instituted working from home virtually policies instead of having employees come to a worksite to avoid infection but it appears teleworking, as it has become known, could become a permanent workplace fixture according to experts.

Brookings Institution scholars Katherine Guyot and Isabel V. Sawhill wrote a paper, “Telecommuting Will Likely Continue Long After the Pandemic,” that appeared on the think tank’s website on April 20. The scholars said the pandemic “is, among other things, a massive experiment in telecommuting.”

“Up to half of American workers are currently working from home, more than double the fraction who worked from home (at least occasionally) in 2017-2018,” they wrote. “Of course, some jobs can’t be done from home. But the outbreak if accelerating the trend toward telecommuting, perhaps for the long term.”

Guyot and Sawhill said that before the pandemic, employers acted slowly in implementing telework policies because of the cost of installing the technology and “sticky” workplace cultures that were slow to change. The pandemic has forced the change, they said, quoting economist Susan Athey,

who said “people will change their habits and some of these habits will stick.”

“There’s a lot of things where people are just slowly shifting and this will accelerate that,” Athey told The Washington Post.

Guyot and Sawhill’s conclusions are confirmed by a survey conducted by Clutch.com indicating 17 percent of U.S. employees worked from home five days a week or more before the pandemic and presently about 44 percent telework as a result of COVID-19.

On its website, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended telework as an effective tool for preventing the spread of the coronavirus.

Valerie Fisher, who works for a federal government agency, used to enjoy going into her office to work. She cited the chance to mingle with co-workers and get her tasks completed in a structured work environment as reasons for coming in even though federal employees, like her, had the option of telecommuting.

“When COVID-19 hit, we were told we needed to work from home and I was surprised,” Fisher said. “I thought it would be a situation where I would sit at home in front of my computer for hours and hours and I had to endure the drudgery for the job. But when I started doing it, I found it is great.

You don’t have to put gas in the car to drive to D.C., you can save money by cooking your meals at

This has been a time when health care issues have risen to the fore.

With this outrageous virus that has yet to find a vaccine, that has been hitting communities of color harder than any other, we have been barraged with the questions of what to do. Many of us live with underlying conditions. Many of us live managing more than a plate full. Many of us sacrifice caring for ourselves to care for others.

As a result, many caregivers are unable to care for others. As a result, there are many family members and loved ones that need to seek support to receive care or pay for care through governmental benefits because we do not have the resources to pay ourselves.

One of the resources that is very confusing is Medicaid. Medicaid is a federal resource that is managed by the states or District. As a result, each state or the District may have different criteria for eligibility. However, the basic considerations are generally the same. The program may be able to enable the loved one to live in their home with supports or live in a facility that has nursing care.

To be eligible there are two components to consider. The first eligibility threshold is the medical needs determinant. To be eligible, there needs to be physical issues defined as activities of daily living that require support. The Long-Term Care service eligibility is specific to the level of incapacity that is presented or the support that is needed.

Services in the District of Columbia include Adult Day Health programs, Personal Care Aide Services.

The Elderly and Persons with Disabilities Waiver Program includes (1) Case Management; (2) Chore Aide; (3) Respite; (4) Personal Care Aide Services; (5) Homemaker; (6) Personal Emergency Response Services (PERS); (7) Environmental Accessibility Adaptation Services (EAA) services; (8) Adult Day Health; (9) Occupational Therapy; (10) Physical Therapy; (11) Assisted Living; (12) Participant Directed Community Support Services; and (13) Individual Directed Goods and Services.

Maryland’s Home and Community Based Waiver provides support for people aged 65 and above and people with disabilities who want to stay in their home and receive supports and meet the thresholds of income and physical needs as well. People who receive support in the nursing facility may be able to receive support through the Money Follows the Person program to transition to the community support.

Again, the government provides the financial support that is needed for care and the eligibility is defined based upon the resources that the person needing support has and the medical necessities.

After the person who receives the support has died the state or District government may try to recover the money that has been expended on the person. This is called estate recovery. Often, we hear of the “state” taking someone’s home.

As mentioned, the federal government requires the states to attempt to recover the funds that were paid out. If steps are not taken to protect the Medicaid recipients house it may need to be sold to settle the claim or the lien on the property for Medicaid recipients age 55 or older.

When there is a surviving spouse or child with disability living in the home are some of the exceptions that will not allow the property to be sold to satisfy the claim. Different jurisdictions have exemptions for undue hardships that will provide capacity for the family to maintain the home.

As I often say, the key is strategic planning prior to the crisis. The best time to plan is when you have the time to plan. In all your getting, get understanding.

TELEWORK Page 32

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JULY 9 - 15, 2020 15

NATIONAL Doctor Discusses ‘Principles of Total Life Transformation’

By Stacy M. Brown WI Senior Writer @StacyBrownMedia

Across the world, COVID-19

is disproportionately affecting the Black community.

Mentally, physically and spiritually Dr. Joseph Williams said he understands that our health

should not be an afterthought during this pandemic.

As author and health expert, Williams fiercely advocates for better health and, with summer approaching, wants to help others reach their goals.

His recently released book, “The Journey: Principles of Total Life Transformation,” helps people that are trying to achieve transformative action.

“What got me into this lane is I was obese, and I had a story similar to many Americans, and I got tired of it,” said Williams, affectionately known by his friends, colleagues and family as Dr. Joe. “One of the most important things people should know, with science and particularly to the African-American community,” Williams noted. “In South Africa, they are wondering why they’re not struggling with COVID-19 5 (Photo courtesy Dr. Joseph Williams)

like African Americans. They are moving.

“We are conclusively seeing that people who don’t have underlying conditions is that they can survive this, and we learn from that is that our health is our wealth. We have to be serious about what we’re eating, exercising, and our overall lifestyle.”

Williams said he once had an “unhealthy relationship with food.”

“In America, there’s a connection with food,” he said. “When we close a deal, we eat. When we mourn, we eat. Everything is followed by eating. We have to break that cycle.”

Born and raised in Atlanta and a Morehouse alum, Williams has made it his mission to help people reach their health goals. He noted that he’s been intentional about setting the proper parameters on what it requires to make an actual lifestyle change: “a change in the mind, body, and spirit.”

Williams said he learned how to “emotionally detoxify” as well as “spiritually recalibrate,” which resulted in his weight loss.

Reversing all medications and health ailments, Williams has taken what he learned and conducted a 40-day holistic process to help 127 people between the ages of 26 to 77 years old lose 2,325 pounds during his 40-day comprehensive process, “40 Days with Dr. Joe.” In his book, Williams noted that

16 - JULY 9 - 15, 2020

“Like a trained fighter who takes punches while remaining focused on his strategy, we should be aware of our emotions without breaking focus on what we need to accomplish. Life will throw many punches; however, when they come, we must understand our ability to choose how we react. We have more power than we often understand.”

He also proclaimed that the most significant obstacle to physical health, especially in Western cultures, “is our relationship with food. In the West, food is used to meet. It’s used to celebrate — when someone passes away, we eat. Customs and food go hand in hand. This mindset gives food purposes besides its original divine purpose.”

When a negative emotion comes and is aware of it, Williams said everyone must refocus their mind.

“The place of our focus should be in the direction that’s desirable -- not where we are, but where we are, but where we desire to be,” he said.

The bottom line, according to Williams, is simple:”What if I were able to see that my fears were merely born from fabrications of my mind, reinforced by my acceptance of being a person who is afraid of heights?”

To receive a free copy of Williams’ book, go to https://www.22s.com/app/m/121319.

WI

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NATIONAL

Honoring the Legacy of Frederick Douglass

5 The Jones Family from Washington, D.C., hear lessons from Frederick Douglass reenactor Neil Richardson at a pre-Fourth of July event at Lincoln Park in Southeast. (DR Barnes/The Washington Informer) 4 On the eve of the 4th of July, Frederick Douglass, portrayed by Neil Richardson, stands near the Lincoln statue in Lincoln Park, in Southeast, where he delivered one of Douglass’ famous speeches, “What to the Slave is the 4th of July?” The statue of Lincoln and Arthur Archer, a freed man, is drawing increased controversy and demands for removal or revision. (DR Barnes/The Washington Informer)

COVID-19 NOTICE Legal Counsel for the Elderly (LCE) is operating remotely during the pandemic, but we remain committed to the needs of DC elders 60 and older.

For legal assistance call LCE Legal Hotline: 202-434-2120 For long-term care issues call LCE’s Office of the DC Long-Term Care Ombudsman: 202-434-2190 For the latest on the pandemic, visit www.cdc.gov and www.coronavirus.dc.gov

www.aarp.org/LCE

Legal Counsel for the Elderly is an affiliate of AARP.

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Unions to Take Legal Action to Prevent SAA Liquidation

The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) and the South African Cabin Crew Association (Sacca) intend to take legal action to prevent the liquidation of South African Airways (SAA) and have urged President Cyril Ramaphosa to fire Finance Minister Tito Mboweni.

Numsa and Sacca had noted “with absolute shock and dismay” the recent press statements attributed to Mboweni and the National Treasury to the effect that SAA, and other state-owned entities including SA Express, “should be closed down”, the two unions said in a joint statement on Sunday, July 5.

“Mboweni has effectively confirmed that he supports the liquidation of South African Airways (SAA) and SA Express.

Minister Mboweni has been on record making similar reckless statements since 2018, and the most recent position he and his department adopted directly contradicts the official position of government and, more particularly, the position of the department of public enterprises [DPE], where minister [Pravin] Gordhan has formally adopted the position that DPE is against the liquidation of SAA. “DPE has gone as far as setting up the leadership consultative forum (LCF) emanating from the compact agreement, the main purpose of which is to avoid liquidation and to restructure it into a sustainable, profitable, and efficient airline,” the statement said.

This was not the first time that Mboweni had made such comments, and it was “time for him to be brought to book”.

The statement said it is “also worth noting that National Treasury has been complicit in its role at SAA, as it acted as shareholder representative for SAA during the time when forensic reports were reported on and published at SAA, and yet it refused to act to end mismanagement and looting.”

Numsa and Sacca would not tolerate “these irresponsible statements and we call on President Ramaphosa to immediately intervene and fire Mboweni for his recklessness.”

“To the extent that these statements have compromised the independence and credibility of the imminent vote on South African Airways’ business rescue plan, Numsa and Sacca are in the process of taking legal advice as to the best course of action and all our rights remain reserved.”

Numsa and Sacca would under no circumstances accept the liquidation of SAA, and for that matter also SA Express, or any other state-owned entity (SoE).

“We have accordingly instructed our lawyers to prepare a legal challenge in order to ensure that those who are intent on liquidating South African Airways will be stopped in their tracks and workers can be assured that we will leave no stone unturned in protecting their rights and interests in these difficult times,” the unions said. WI

caribbean now Barbados Demostrators Show of Solidarity with Black Lives Matter Movement A small group of protesters voiced their support for the Black Lives Matter movement and for other matters on Saturday when they converged in front the United States Embassy in Barbados.

The peaceful protest at the Wildey, St. Michael location was organised by the Caribbean Movement for Peace and Integration. It came on the heels of last 5 David Denny, General Secretary month’s march and rally in Bridgetown, which was also in support of the BLM of the Caribbean Movement for Peace movement, the Barbados Advocate reported on July 5. and Integration speaking to attendees at The protest action, which was slated to run from 11am until 1:30pm, was supSaturday’s protest. ported by the Caribbean Against Apartheid in Palestine, whose representatives were in attendance.

David Denny, General Secretary of the Caribbean Movement for Peace and Integration, said the date for the protest was strategically selected because it is the Independence Day for the United States of America. He stated the day’s action was not only staged to express continued solidarity with the BLM movement in the USA, but to “stand in solidarity with the government and the people of Venezuela and to fight against any military war against Venezuela”. He further said it was to stand in solidarity with “the people of Palestine who are going through some very tough times and periods and we also want to condemn the United States of America and Israel for its action against the Palestine people.”

Though the turnout was small, Denny said the event gave attendees “the opportunity to express their true feelings with the protest action.” WI

THE WASHINGTON INFORMER / WWW.WASHINGTONINFORMER.COM

July Greetings from DC Department of Aging and Community Living Laura Newland Director Department of Aging and Community Living Like many of you, my heart has been heavy with grief.

Words are insufficient to convey my despair for our future together when over and over again, we see that some people are valued over others, while others are counted merely as bodies.

And still, I have tremendous hope for our future together as people across the country are uniting in the most American of activities — speaking out against injustice.

We live in a racist society with a brutal violent history toward Black people, with every generation finding more and more ways to express and maintain white supremacy. The pandemic has only highlighted the health inequities that are a result of this shameful history and present, and I don’t think any of us have been surprised that Black people are more likely to contract COVID, and more likely to die when they do.

Racism is deeply American — from our founding fathers to our current life. Terrorism against Black people is America’s constant companion. In recent years technology has allowed us to capture some of acts of violence toward and murders of Black people, but we know that the racism doesn’t turn off just because it’s not recorded. What makes

America great isn’t the amplification of our shameful hate or unearned privilege — it’s the amplification of the relentless belief that we can redefine what it means to be American.

That’s why I’m so proud to work for Mayor Bowser. Her response to the president’s suppression of first amendment activities was painting Black Lives Matter on the street that leads to the White House. Black Lives Matter Plaza is right in front of the White House, so tourists and the president are confronted directly with what we mean when we say D.C. Values.

As we continue to move safely towards reopening, the Mayor has challenged all of us to use this as a once-in-a-generation opportunity to create a more equitable, resilient and vibrant city. Part of this includes the construction of two new, state-of-the-art hospitals to improve healthcare and address inequalities in health outcomes for District residents.

Even as we’re facing significant budget deficits, the Mayor has prioritized building a new $306 million hospital at St. Elizabeths East, expected to open in the fall of 2024, and the construction of a $69 million health services complex at St. Elizabeths that is expected to open in the fall of 2023. Two new urgent care centers in Wards 7 and 8 will open in the fall of 2021 and the spring of 2022.

We know that no one action will end the systemic racism and inequalities embedded within our society, just like no one action cre-

ated and sustains it. But individual actions and the actions we take as a community do matter. If you haven’t completed the 2020 Census, please take the time to be counted.

The census is just another way of saying that you matter — and that our city matters.

I’m grateful to be a part of this community with you and to have a Mayor who is a staunch defender of our D.C. values. As the Mayor has said, together we’ll build a better America. We’ll fight for D.C. statehood. We’ll demand justice for George Floyd and every Black person who has been killed by an unjust and unfair system. Together, we’ll make it clear to our nation and to the world: Black Lives Matter. I can’t think of a better way to celebrate Independence Day than that!

For the latest information on the District Government’s response to COVID-19 (Coronavirus), please visit coronavirus.dc.gov.

WWW.WASHINGTONINFORMER.COM / THE WASHINGTON INFORMER

JULY 9 - 15, 2020 19

HEALTH Summer Travel Takes a Hit During the Pandemic

By Stacy M. Brown WI Senior Writer @StacyBrownMedia To stay or to go.

That’s the big question facing most Americans, some of whom might sense that the four walls around them have all but closed in as they’ve remained homebound during the coronavirus pandemic.

With the reopening of the economy and more people hosting indoor and outdoor gatherings, many have an itch to hit the road

for a summer vacation.

However, some experts warn that staying home might prove the smarter decision.

“I’m following the public health guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC] to stay at home and limit nonessential travel in order to slow the spread of COVID-19,” Dr. Regina Benjamin, a former U.S. surgeon general and founder and CEO of Gulf States Health Policy Center, told CNN. “The same applies for nones-

A CONTINUING SERIES

COVID 19 UPDATE Strategies to Survive, Sustain and Succeed sential international travel,” added Benjamin, who lives in Alabama.

“I am going to spend time enjoying some of the local treasures on the beautiful Gulf Coast of Alabama.”

Americans are expected to take more than 700 million trips between July and September, which is about 120 million fewer than those taken a year ago.

Analysts at AAA projects that bus, rail and cruise ship travel will experience a decrease of roughly 86 percent. Air travel is expected to decline 74 percent below 2019 levels, according to AAA. However, the forecast for road trips in automobiles sits at 3 percent.

“Americans will get out and explore this summer though they’re

taking a ‘wait and see approach’ when it comes to booking and are likely to book more long weekend getaways than extended vacations,” Paula Twidale, AAA’s senior vice president of travel, said in a news release.

“When they do venture out, the greatest share of travelers — 683 million — will take to the road to satisfy their wanderlust,” Twidale suggested.

Dr. Jay C. Butler, CDC deputy director for infectious diseases, said that travel increases the chances of getting and spreading COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus, so planning will be important for those who hit the road.

“This time around, people will have to anticipate who they are go-

ing to come into contact with and who they are going to visit,” Butler told CNN. “They’ll also have to consider factors such as preparing while on the road; if they are traveling by car, train, or plane, and looking at the local conditions of their final destination.”

If you do plan to travel, the CDC recommends regularly washing hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after you have been in a public place, after touching surfaces frequently touched by others, after blowing your nose, coughing or sneezing, and before touching your face or eating.

If soap and water are not available, bring and use hand sanitizer that contains at least 60 percent alcohol. Cover all surfaces of your hands and rub your hands together until they feel dry.

• Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth.

• Avoid close contact with others.

• Keep 6 feet of physical dis-

UPDATE Page 44

Virginia: Open with care.

COVID-19 isn’t over.

We’re making progress, but we can’t leave behind all the safety measures we’ve been taking. They’re working!

That’s why, when you visit your local stores, restaurants, and places of worship, they’ll only allow in half as many people as before. And they need all of us to do our part to keep them safe. Please continue to:

6 ft.

Wear a mask in public.

Stay 6 feet away. from others.

Wash your hands often.

Get tested if you’re sick!

More at vdh.virginia.gov, or call 2-1-1 for help with food, shelter or safety.

20 - JULY 9 - 15, 2020

THE WASHINGTON INFORMER / WWW.WASHINGTONINFORMER.COM

HEALTH

Digital Distress, Dependence on Rise During Coronavirus Pandemic

By Brigette Squire WI Contributing Writer Cell phone dependence, which has recently reached unprecedented highs, can result in a number of physical problems that may cause permanent damage.

Prior to COVID-19 most people in the U.S. routinely relied on their digital devices and required an uninterrupted connection to the internet, according to the World Health Organization.

Further data from the PEW Research Center indicates that 67 percent of smartphone owners have admitted to checking their phone for calls or messages even when their phone didn’t vibrate or ring.

So what will be the physical effects of increased screen time due

to the coronavirus-related stay-inplace directives?

“Overuse of electronic devices may adversely affect the median nerve with the carpal tunnel and the transverse carpal ligaments, resulting in numbness, tingling and pain in the hand,” said a report recently published in Muscle & Nerve Magazine, which further indicated that “repeatedly clicking, swiping, scrolling, tapping and pressing may increase muscle pain in the wrist, fingers and reach up to the elbow.”

“To minimize risk keep the wrist as straight as possible when using devices, ‘’ advises Peter White, an assistant professor at Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

Text neck, also known as anterior head syndrome, is another growing lifestyle and health con-

dition which will likely increase due to the pandemic. Text neck, a modern-age term coined by U.S. chiropractor Dr. D.L. Fishman, refers to repeated stress injury and pain in the neck resulting from excessive watching or texting on handheld devices over a sustained period of time.

“Optimize breaks and understand the impact of digital distress on the body,” suggests the Digital Wellness Institute.

Apart from neck pain, digital distress can also cause shoulder pain, upper back pain, headaches, digital eye strain and increased illness due to germs.

Eighty percent of infections come from what we touch. One in six phones has fecal matter on it researchers found in a 2011 conducted by London School of Hy-

5 The increase of screen time during the pandemic may cause permanent damage across the globe. (Photo courtesy Bakari Mustafa)

giene & Tropical Medicine. Therefore, cell phones are a potentially dangerous source of bacteria and viruses such as COVID-19.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend using a solution that contains at least 70 percent alcohol to disin-

fect phones. In addition, washing your hands at least five times a day has been shown to significantly decrease the frequency of colds, influenza (the “flu”) and other infections.

DIGITAL Page 44

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JULY 9 - 15, 2020 21

EDUCATION Teachers’ Union, DCPS Clash on Fall Plans

By Sam P.K. Collins WI Contributing Writer @SamPKCollins Even as the D.C. Public Schools’ (DCPS) Office of Teaching and Learning continued developing a curriculum to enhance the online learning experience, teachers received “Return to In-Person Work” guidelines that prompted them to indicate

22 - JULY 9 - 15, 2020

their ability to teach in a school building next fall.

The online form raised a red flag among Washington Teachers’ Union (WTU) officials who’ve since discouraged teachers from signing it, primarily out of concern about the legal ramifications and a belief that teachers have been purposely excluded from discussions about plans for the 20202021 academic year.

Teachers like Langston Tingling-Clemmons echoed those sentiments, telling The Informer that DCPS officials appear to be gearing up for a reopening without any regard for students’ and teachers’ health, and that of the greater public.

“This seems like it is locked in step with decisions to prematurely open the states to help assuage fears and rebuild the economy rather than seeing that lives be the priority,” said Tingling-Clemmons, a teacher at Jefferson Middle School Academy in Southwest.

Tingling-Clemmons expressed fears that resuming in-person instruction could reverse progress made over the months to curb coronavirus’ spread. He also noted that another abrupt mid-year change to structure could further impede students’ academic progress.

In advocating for WTU’s involvement, Tingling-Clemmons suggested that the ReOpenDC Advisory Group takes into account scheduling conflicts that DCPS teachers with children in the charter school system

5 Langston Tingling-Clemmons (Courtesy photo/Facebook grab)

could face if all public schools reopen, while some charter schools continue distance learning.

“Teachers are concerned that we have an unsafe work environment for us and our students,” Tingling-Clemmons continued.

“In a lot of ways, we’re frustrated.

We don’t believe our opinion is that political. I have high doubts that we’ll be represented on the [education and childcare] committee [of the ReOpenDC Advisory Group], but I think our disagreement with the chancellor and the mayor could have larger effects on how that committee is planning to move forward.”

WTU President Elizabeth Davis recently wrote a letter asking DCPS Chancellor Lewis Ferebee to rescind the guidelines for returning to in-person work. The letter also called for Ferebee to engage teachers in dialogue about a safe reopening and release parent, student and teacher survey data about citywide enrollment trends.

DCPS didn’t answer The Informer’s inquiry about whether it would follow through on the first demand.

Davis’ letter came shortly after the release of WTU’s Reopening Schools report, which recognized DCPS employees’ role as caretakers to parents and children and criticized the advisory committee’s recommendation to reopen schools during Phase 3. In touting the need for balancing the demands of in-person and virtual teaching, the report indicated an investment of $11 million as a means of expanding student laptop access.

Central to the battle between WTU and the DCPS was a recommendation that teachers be included in decisions about whether public schools reopen and under what conditions.

In her recent communique to

DCPS, Davis said the central office gave WTU little opportunity to review the return-to-in-person-work guidelines that described the implementation of a hybrid learning model in the fall and the enforcement of social distancing and personal protective equipment protocols in school buildings.

DCPS’ five-page document also mentioned daily health screenings taking place in school buildings, and employees receiving disposable masks, hand sanitizers, and cleaning supplies.

Staff members would also be eligible for up to 10 weeks of paid sick leave and expanded medical family leave for reasons related to COVID-19, according to the document.

“DCPS has decided to move forward without engaging the union, our members, or the community in a meaningful dialogue about what education in our public schools will look like in the fall,” WTU’s June 30 letter said. “Unfortunately, this move has eroded any trust that he has managed to build with teachers,” added.

In the weeks leading up to the end of a newly virtual 2019-2020 academic year, the District has joined the states in conducting phased reopenings. Some governors have since rolled back parts of their plan amid the resurgence of coronavirus cases in Florida and elsewhere. In the D.C. metropolitan area, Northern Virginia has drawn criticism for jumping ahead of its neighbors to Phase 3.

As of July 4, the District has reported 10,482 positive coronavirus cases.

While the DC Department of Health has reported a sustained decrease in illnesses and deaths over the last few weeks, experts and public officials alike continue to advise residents —

TEACHERS Page 43

THE WASHINGTON INFORMER / WWW.WASHINGTONINFORMER.COM

EDUCATION

HU President Addresses Fall Re-Opening Plan WI Staff Report

Howard University President Dr. Wayne A. I. Frederick recently sat down with alumna and journalist Anna-Lysa Gayle of WJLA ABC 7 for a WHUT TV special titled, “Howard University Re-Opening Plan for Fall 2020.”

During the conversation, Frederick highlighted the University’s plan to return to campus in a hybrid format, while cautioning that the administration will continue to monitor the coronavirus spread and make adjustments accordingly. Watch the video here.

The conversation touches on key points of the plan, including what the hybrid campus model entails, additional fall campus safety measures and the need for the community buy-in to achieve a successful environment.

“We have a sacred obligation when students come to Howard University to protect them; it’s the first priority. This is an urban city which comes with all of the risks of being in an urban city and now, the coronavirus is highest risk that rises to our attention at this point of time,” Frederick said.

“However, being an urban campus, there are risks all the time and we take the responsibility of bringing students to campus very seriously. We will put the best effort forward to create a safe campus, but our student’s participation in our process is key. We can put up all the safeguards, but if they don’t social distance, if they don’t wash their hands frequently, if they don’t wear their masks, then those are risks that we are not going to be able to combat.

We need everyone to commit to make sure that this works.”

When asked about his concerns related to students adhering to the safety measures, he said he’s confident that Howard’s predominantly African-American population of scholars are paying attention to how the virus is disproportionately impacting minority communities and will carry themselves appropriately.

“I’ll tell you what my own gut

instinct is, being a Howard alum, a faculty member and as someone who is currently still operating during this crisis and seeing patients who have contracted this virus,” he said. “The disproportionate impact this has had on African Americans is something that I think our community needs to take seriously and this movement around the social injustice and the systemic racism that has been occurring in our country has brought a lot of people to the party. A party that Howard University, in many ways, has been at since the very beginning and has continued.”

“While everybody else comes and goes out of this particular issue, we’ve been steady. At the core of this issue is that Black Live Matter and one of the things I hope that people will recognize is that Howard’s Black Lives Matter and they should be of paramount significance in our thoughts as we think about what we should be doing. So rather than have students and faculty and staff sign a pledge, I want to speak to their consciousness about who we are as a community and why we need to take care of each other.”

The special is available to view on Howard’s YouTube channel and will rebroadcast on WHUT TV on Friday, July 10 at 7:30 p.m. and Monday, July 13 at 9 a.m. For the latest Fall Re-open Plan updates from Howard University, please bookmark howard. edu/reopen. WI

5 Howard University President Dr. Wayne A.I. Frederick (WI File Photo/Roy Lewis)

During the conversation, Frederick highlighted the University’s plan to return to campus in a hybrid format, while cautioning that the administration will continue to monitor the coronavirus spread and make adjustments accordingly.

WWW.WASHINGTONINFORMER.COM / THE WASHINGTON INFORMER

JULY 9 - 15, 2020 23

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THE WASHINGTON INFORMER / WWW.WASHINGTONINFORMER.COM

OPINIONS/EDITORIALS

EDITORIAL

Higher Education Faces Unprecedented Challenges as Fall Approaches

No one seems to know what the fall will bring for students in the nation’s thousands of colleges and universities given the ongoing impact of COVID-19.

But it’s certainly a topic that remains at the top of a list of uncertainties with some schools only a month away from their previously-planned dates for kicking off the fall 2020 semester.

As the president of Howard University, Dr. Wayne Frederick recently shared in his message broadcast on the University’s television station, WHUT-TV, “there are risks being an urban campus and we take the responsibility of bringing students to campus very seriously . . . but if they don’t social distance, if they don’t wash their hands frequently, if they don’t wear their masks, then those are risks that we are not going to be able to combat.”

Frederick’s concerns mirror those held by most university presidents who continue to work toward an amiable solution which allows school to reconvene while keeping students, staff and others as safe as possible.

Further, as Frederick also notes, “the disproportionate impact this [COVID-19] has had on African Americans is something that our community needs to take seriously . . . Howard’s Black Lives Matter and they should be of paramount significance in our thoughts.”

What remains apparent is that the plans for fall re-opening and how higher education will adjust to the coronavirus must be developed with extreme caution and the input of everyone involved.

School bells may be ringing soon but this fall will be unlike any other our nation, if not the world, have ever faced. However, we believe in the creativity and steadfast resolve of educators, Black and otherwise, who realize the importance of today’s youth young adults obtaining a quality education which will adequately prepare them to enter the job market in their roles as the doctors, lawyers, teachers, preachers, business owners and politicians of tomorrow.

If our ancestors were able to maneuver their way through the maze of racial inequity and discrimination, then surely those who stand on their shoulders will be able to do the same.

WI

D.C. Council Proposes Tax Increases At a time where there is so much uncertainty for individuals and communities across the nation, it is understandable why thinking broadly and boldly for solutions is necessary. COVID-19 has emptied the wallets of millions of Americans who lost jobs and income due to the shutdown of thousands of businesses while draining the coffers of previously weak local and state economies. The District of Columbia is no exception. But for the significant budget surplus that sets D.C. apart from many major urban areas, the need to cut spending and freeze previously proposed increases by years is a reality.

After weeks of community hearings allowing residents to review Mayor Muriel Bowser’s proposed 2021 budget, it is now up to the D.C. City Council to approve or tweak it before sending it back to the mayor for approval. On Tuesday, the council did its job and looked for ways that might increase revenue to support much-needed community services for D.C. residents.

We get it. And we look on with pride at a council that gets it, at least in words.

We don’t get, however, the short-sightedness of some who either don’t appreciate how specific measures will negatively impact jobs and commerce in the future or don’t seem to care.

Less than two decades ago, D.C. was flush with national and local media. We have watched these institutions die at an unbelievable rate. There were more than a dozen Black-owned publications in D.C. Today there are two – The Washington Informer and the Afro. Other neighborhood publications emerged, and now many of them are gone. Even our dailies have dwindled in number and pages, let alone

TO THE EDITOR

Sierra Story is a Hit Rolling the Dice on COVID-19 I really enjoyed the story with Cuban native Pedro Sierra and his time with the Negro Baseball League and the Washington Senators. I’d never heard of him before and it’s quite remarkable the life he has lived. Thanks, Informer.

Tevin Williams Washington, D.C.

Not sure why the MGM National Harbor is reopening with the coronavirus cases and deaths rising. I think it’s overall not safe for anyone, but I understand that money talks and the casino is a huge cash cow that brings in a lot of money and employs tons of people. I just hope everyone can stay safe.

Carrie Drayton Silver Spring, Md.

reducing coverage of a city fighting to tell its own local story.

We are disheartened by Chairman Mendelson’s proposal to create a 3% tax on advertising – the life-blood of media – and the council’s unanimous approval. While other jurisdictions across the country have proposed similar measures, nowhere does a tax on advertising exist.

And, to do so without public input is questionable.

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We appreciate those members of the council who expressed their understanding of the impact this tax will have on media organizations holding on by a thread. The term “Black Lives Matter” applies to the Black Press that has never received its fair share of ad revenue comparable to what Black consumers spend.

The last thing we need now is a tax that will diminish what few ad dollars we rely on to stay alive.

We urge the council to reconsider. WI

JULY 9 - 15, 2020 25

OPINIONS/EDITORIALS Guest Columnist

By Julianne Malveaux

No Economic Victory Lap

The June Employment Situation report, released on July 2, showed a continued decline in the unemployment rate. Thanks to coronavirus, the rate shot up to 14.7 percent in April and declined to 11.1 percent in June.

About 4.8 million more people were on payrolls in June than in May. Just about every sector of the economy saw job gains, in-

cluding the troubled leisure snd hospitality industries. The Council of Economic Advisors says this employment report “shatters expectations.” It represents progress in the recovery from the corona-generated recession, but I’m not sure what expectations have been shattered. This administration has been bragging about economic strength even when there was none.

It’s not yet time to throw a victory party, though. We still have a jobs deficit of about 15 million

jobs, which means that while 7.5 million jobs were added in April and May, 22 million jobs were lost in March. If the economy continues to reopen, we might erase the jobs deficit by October or November at the rate we are going. But the economy CAN’T continue to open as it has. In some places, it is closing, with restrictions reimposed. Some cities have introduced curfews. Others have closed bars. Still others are strictly imposing social distancing. Some beaches in Florida and

Guest Columnists

California are closed in response to climbing virus numbers. And in early July, the daily number of positive tests is climbing. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the plain-talking infectious disease expert, says we may soon see 100,000 new cases per day, up from 50,000 plus in late June.

We know that the president considers himself a “cheerleader” for the economy, but you can’t cheerlead your way into economic prosperity. If 45 wants to cheerlead anything, he might try

cheerleading social distancing or mask-wearing. Our inability to control COVID-19 and the lack of a vaccine will slow, not quicken, economic recovery.

While the employment report mostly showed improvement, the official unemployment rate does not include people working parttime who want full-time work, discouraged workers (who have stopped looking for work because they don’t think they can find it),

MALVEAUX Page 45

By David J. Johns and Jada Grisson

Why Blacks Should Care About Supreme Court Decision on Abortion Access On Monday, June 29, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) struck down Louisiana laws restricting abortion.

The 5-4 decision was led by Chief Justice Roberts and backed by Justices Ginsburg, Kagan, Breyer and Sotomayor. The now-invalid Louisiana law is a conservative push to restricts access to abortion.

The Louisiana law was modeled off of a similar Texas law (which SCOTUS ruled unconstitutional in 2016), which required abortion providers to receive admitting privileges to hospitals in order to operate. These illegal “guidelines” have been determined as not medically necessary to ensure the safety of patients and are created with the

Guest Columnist

sole purpose of closing as many abortion/reproductive health clinics as possible.

This latest victory in the fight towards reproductive freedom also serves as a reprieve for our Black LGBTQ/SGL (same-gender-loving) family. Queer and trans people are also in need of abortion access; a fact that often goes ignored by mainstream media. Additionally, members of the Black queer community are disproportionately likely to experience poverty and

lack access to qualified and competent health care system due to anti-Black racism and anti-LGBTQ stigma and bias. These policies and practices have disastrous effects on the health of Black and queer people. Black women are 40 percent more likely to die of breast cancer than White women. Black Americans make up 500,000 cases of those living with HIV in the United States. We don’t collect data on the heath of Black queer people but based on what we know

about the data on Black people and LGBTQ+ people we can only imagine that the data would reveal what we know--those of us with multiple marginalized identities often suffer the most.

Conservative attempts to control bodies through the provision and denial of health care must include the fact that clinics that provide reproductive services such as abortion provide the life-affirming

GRISSON Page 45

By Rev. Jesse L. Jackson Sr.

Mandatory College Football Practices at Time of Pandemic are Nuts The NCAA has just ruled that mandatory football practices can begin in July, anticipating a full season of college football. This is nuts. The pandemic isn’t going away; it’s surging in more than 29 states, with seven reporting new records for cases in a day. States that opened early without adequate safeguards — Texas, Florida, Arizona — now face a spread of

26 - JULY 9 - 15, 2020

the pandemic that may soon exhaust the supply of hospital beds.

Deaths are now over 125,000.

Increasing numbers of young people are contracting the disease, presumably because of the lack of social distancing, the scorn for masks that has accompanied the reopening in many states — and, of course, in the White House itself.

The experience of Texas and Florida and Arizona in reopening suggests that it may not even be safe to reopen college campuses

with thousands of students gathering together in dorms, classes, parties and bars, much less begin practices on a football field.

In the so-called “voluntary workouts” that some schools began in June, dozens of players have already tested positive. UNLV suspending on-campus workouts when four athletes tested positive for the virus. Texas Tech reports 23 players have tested positive; Clemson reports 37 football players and 47 cases in all among athletes. And now the NCAA says it’s time to

open mandatory workouts.

Football is a physical contact sport. The coronavirus is transmittable through respiratory droplets.

If an infected athlete wipes his nose or mouth between plays, or takes out his mouth guard, he has the virus on his hands that will be in repeated contact with other players. Does anyone doubt that the virus will spread like wildfire once mandatory camps and contact drills begin?

To discount this reality, we hear a lot of gibberish. The athletes will

be tested regularly, we’re told, and isolated, traced and quarantined if they have the disease. How regularly? Well, daily would be optimal — that is what wealthy professional teams are talking about doing — but few if any universities can afford that. So some will test weekly; some only if an athlete exhibits symptoms, even though young people are often asymptomatic. No wonder Ohio State University is forcing players and

JACKSON Page 45

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OPINIONS/EDITORIALS Guest Columnist

By Charlene Crowell

Supreme Court Decision Jeopardizes CFPB

A June 29 U.S. Supreme Court split decision represents a major setback to both the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the consumers who have come to rely upon the agency. Since 2010, more than 25 million consumers were helped by the agency’s efforts that returned over $11 billion.

Although the case, known as Seila Law v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, was argued on March 3, its origins date back to 2017 when Seila Law, a California-based debt relief firm, asked the CFPB to set aside a civil investigative demand (CID) that sought information to determine whether it was engaged in illegal debt relief practices.

CFPB declined to set aside the CID and turned to a California federal court to pursue its interests.

Guest Columnist

In response, Seila Law restated its challenge of the independence of the agency’s director who could only be removed by a president for cause, seeking to have the entire agency abolished as unconstitutional.”

The Supreme Court’s 5-4 decision refuted CFPB’s hallmark: its independent director. By allowing for an agency director to be removed for any reason, it now becomes possible for partisan interests to influence whether or not a full, 5-year term of

office enshrined in the law will occur, or that powerful corporations will be held accountable.

The Court majority argued that CFPB is “unique.”

“The CFPB director has no boss, peers, or voters to report to,” wrote Chief Justice John Roberts in the majority opinion. He was joined by Associate Justices Sam Alito, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Clarence Thomas.

“Yet the Director wields vast

rulemaking, enforcement, and adjudicatory authority over a significant portion of the U. S. economy. The question before us is whether this arrangement violates the Constitution’s separation of powers,” Roberts wrote.

“We therefore hold that the structure of the CFPB violates the separation of powers …The agency may therefore continue to operate, but its director, in light of our decision, must

Contrary to the claims of the Trump administration, increased testing does not explain the surge in reported infections. The number of people testing positive is rising much faster than the number of people being tested. Twenty states currently have a positivity rate above 5%. The World Health Organization recommends rates of positivity should remain below 5% for 14 days before states consider reopening.

Arizona reported that 21.15% of tests are coming back positive. Florida’s positivity rate is 12.22%.

There’s little question that the surge is related to the rush to reopen the na-

tion’s economy without proper safety measures in place. Earlier outbreaks were linked to nursing homes, prisons, and meatpacking plants — places where people had little choice but to be present. The current surge is linked to crowded bars, casinos and churches — where there is little need for anyone to be present.

It has always been a dangerous fiction that our choice is between saving the economy or saving lives. The stock market tumbled in response to the surge in infections, and states are being

CROWELL Page 44

By Marc H. Morial

Worst COVID-19 Fears Becoming Reality

“Look at the guidelines. The leaders, the governors, the mayors, the local leaders at the county level — look at the guidelines. Many of the governors and the mayors are doing well, but it’s the people that are out there that are not listening because, as you said, they’re pent up. Please restrain that. If you follow the guidelines and do it slowly and discreetly and do it very carefully, we’ll get through this.” — Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of infectious diseases at the

National Institutes of Health Weeks ago, as some governors began to lift stay-at-home orders against federal guidelines, the National Urban League urged people to stay home. In a joint statement with other civil rights organizations, we said the governors’ actions showed “reckless disregard for the health and life of Black residents.”

Now, sadly, a surge in coronavirus infections has confirmed our worst fears.

The United States set several records last week for the most infections confirmed in one day, rising above 50,000 daily for the first time. That brings the number of confirmed infections to more than

Askia-At-Large

2.9 million.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that only about one in every 10 COVID-19 cases in the U.S. has been identified. That means more than 20 million people in the U.S. may have been infected.

Officially, more than 130,000 Americans have died from COVID-19 in just over four months. That is a higher death toll than all of World War I, or the Vietnam and Korean wars combined. It’s higher than the first wave of the deadly flu of 1918. And most experts agree the true death toll is much higher than the official count.

MORIAL Page 46

By Askia Muhammad

Farrakhan Speaks

The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan addressed the world in a threehour speech from his Michigan farm on July 4, 2020. That date was the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Nation of Islam in North America.

On July 4, 1930, W. Fard Muhammad, a man from Mecca, Arabia, began teaching Black people in Detroit’s “Black Bottom” neighborhood that

they were descendants of royal ancestors, not the “shines” or “coons” or “niggers” that they were depicted as in White America.

“Master” Fard Muhammad, and his deputy, the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad, delivered a message to Black people that, right up to this very minute, changes the lives of those who accept the message — regardless of race, creed, or religion — for the better.

Minister Farrakhan has been an adherent of that message for 65 years. This writer has been a fol-

lower for 51 years.

The Minister’s address was streamed online to tens and tens of thousands of viewers online. It was broadcast live over Washington’s listener-funded community radio station WPFW-FM (89.3). It was also streamed online by Revolt TV, the content provider owned

by Sean “Diddy” Combs. Bravo!

The speech had been scheduled to air on the Fox Soul TV streaming service, but pressure from the Anti-Defamation League and other Jewish organizations forced Fox to cancel their

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broadcast. They accuse Farrakhan of anti-Semitism. That is a patently false charge intended to blunt his message which has awakened Black people to follow a righteous lifestyle: to abandon drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, crime, adultery, all the bad lifestyle choices which render Black communities weak and vulnerable.

The message calls Black folks to insist that White America desist from the wicked practices which enslaved and oppressed them for more than 400 years, and which continue to this

very day — from slavery, to Jim Crow, to the horrendous practices which are inflicted right up to this very minute: George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, among the most recent and most visible representations.

Why wouldn’t everyone who looks upon the wretched condition of Black people in this society welcome a message with a proven track record of reforming the addicts, the criminals, the pimps, the prostitutes? Well, the folks

ASKIA Page 46 JULY 9 - 15, 2020 27

LIFESTYLE Loni Love Delivers Laughs with Real-Life Lessons Autobiography Reveals How to Turn Opportunities into Success

By Brenda C. Siler WI Contributing Writer Beginning as a child, Loni Love took notice of everything going on around her. She has used it through every aspect of her life. Those lessons are what Love is giving readers in her autobiography “I Tried To Change So You Don’t Have To.” Love, the Emmy- and NAACP Award-winning co-host of talk show “The Real,” a weekly radio host on

Café Mocha and a longtime comedian, grew up in Detroit’s Brewster-Douglass Housing Projects. It was a community of working-class Black folks who all knew and cared about each other.

Her book is a “let-me-tell-y’all,” not a “tell-all,” affair, in which she illustrates that the projects where she and her brother Bruce were raised did not have to lead down a path frequently told in the media.

“Everybody from Detroit has this great sense of humor,” said Love from her Los Angeles home. “When you live in a project environment, either you can make money the safe way or the illegal way.”

THE ROOT OF THE HUSTLE

The foundation of Love’s hustle was her helping people in the neighborhood with errands or chores. In school, she got special attention by assisting one of her teachers.

Love also learned about family dynamics when an often-distant mother-daughter relationship resulted in Love being thrown out of the family apartment at age 18. Even though Love had a job at General Motors and paid for her own food, it seemed that action from her mother came for “no good reason,” but there were other things going with her mother.

Her older brother Bruce had learning disabilities that slowed his ability to advance in school, but also led to a few hilarious family moments that surely contributed to Love’s comic timing.

“Not only is this a funny book, but it also takes you back to the ‘80s, the crack era,” Love said. “How did

Public Hearing The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) invites you to provide comments on the Washington Union Station Expansion Project Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS).

The DEIS is available for review at: www.wusstationexpansion.com Comments on the DEIS are due on or before September 28, 2020.

For further questions and inquiries, or to submit a comment, please email: info@wusstationexpansion.com In writing mailed to: David Valenstein Office of Railroad Policy and Development USDOT Federal Railroad Administration (MS-20 RPD-10) 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590

this little Black girl navigate through all that?”

BUILDING STRENGTH, GETTING NOTICED

The really hard stuff began after high school with Love being homeless and living in her car while working at GM. Opportunities began to open for her. A Prairie View A&M State University alumnus who was an engineer at GM helped her get into that university. The hustle mentality helped Love to figure out how to cover college expenses beyond a partial scholarship.

“Black women need to tell our stories because they are filled with historical things that are not happening today,” Love said in a reflective moment.

Getting a good corporate job at Xerox, only to realize that it was not really happening for her, put Love in front of her biggest leap of faith. She started standup comedy. Her hustle paid off as she became a regular on the club and cable television circuit.

The exposure gave Love an opportunity in 2008 to begin co-hosting “Café Mocha” created and produced

by Sheila Eldridge under her company Miles Ahead Broadcasting.

“Loni did not know anything about Café Mocha, but she trusted the concept,” Eldridge said. “The show played to Loni’s desire to speak to Black women.”

THE GAMBLE PAYS OFF

Then came “The Real,” which created a chance for two White House interviews first with President Obama then with first lady Michelle Obama.

“The history of the White House and being from the Brewster projects is a wonderful, lovely story,” Love said. “What’s even more important are the things that led up to that and the lessons. You never know what small opportunities may open up into bigger opportunities.”

Love has also found her true soulmate in James Welsh. After a few relationships that did not hit the right notes for Love, Welsh accepts her just as she is.

Each chapter in Love’s autobiography ends with what I call “food for thought” lists that are funny, but are real-life lessons. She is giving a gift to those who are open to receive.

“I wrote this not about me. I call myself the tortoise, you know from the story ‘The Tortoise and the Hare,’” Love said. “I have all of the hares around me, but I am always the tortoise going at my own pace. I am constantly amazed at what happens.” WI

TELEPHONIC PUBLIC HEARING Tuesday, July 14, 2020 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

866-478-3399 A presentation summarizing the contents of the DEIS will be posted on the project website at least one week prior to the Public Hearing.

All comments received will become part of the public record. Commenters’ names and, when applicable, organizational affiliations, may be shown but no other identifying personal information (including personal email addresses) will be published.

FRA is coordinating compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act and NEPA under the general principles in 36 C.F.R. § 800.8(a). The DEIS includes a Draft Assessment of Effects (AOE) on historic properties.

FRA encourages review and comment on the AOE as well as the DEIS. Public participation is solicited without regard to race, color, national origin, age, sex, religion, disability or family status. Persons who require special accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act or persons who require translation services (free of charge) should contact the project team at info@wusstationexpansion.com at least ten days prior to the meeting.

28 - JULY 9 - 15, 2020

5 Jacket for “I Tried To Change So You Don’t Have To” (Courtesy of Hachette Books) 3 Loni Love (Courtesy of Hachette Books)

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JULY 9 - 15, 2020 29

LIFESTYLE Protesters Decry Construction on Hallowed African Burial Site

By Sam P.K. Collins WI Contributing Writer @SamPKCollins

Construction of a self-storage facility on an African burial site has intensified the longtime struggle to preserve and memorialize that large plot of land, which the River Road community, as early as the 1900s, designated as Moses African Cemetery, the final resting place for many of its Black residents.

A key element of this endeavor currently involves archeologists such as Dr. Michael Blakey, who said,

given the area where the excavation took place, disturbance of a burial site is likely. Days before meeting with Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich (D), Blakey said he saw photos taken of Moses African Cemetery that alluded to this possibility.

“There needs to be an archeological examination of the soil as they proceed and that needs to be reported regularly to the descendent community and others who can be assured, [given] all the reasonable distrust, on a daily or weekly basis that there are no remains,” said

Blakey, an archeologist perhaps best known for showing the effects of chattel slavery in New York City.

In the early 2000s, after Congress stopped the excavation of the Lower Manhattan burial site, Blakey’s discovery of African skeletal remains on the federal land supported the creation of New York City’s African Burial Ground U.S. National Monument. While drawing parallels between that project and Moses African Cemetery, Blakey said that New York City officials too pushed on with development despite cries from residents to do otherwise.

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“If there are human remains, [Montgomery County] should be in a position to halt construction,” Blakey continued, saying that he and Elrich didn’t discuss specific plans about the archeologist’s involvement. “The bottom line is that there hasn’t been a careful assessment of the possibility that human remains would be disturbed by the construction, and there has not been subsequent monitoring of the soil.”

On Monday, Blakey counted among several voices who called for a moratorium on construction during BACC’s interfaith press conference and protest at Moses African Cemetery, located behind the parking lot of a McDonald’s franchise on River Road in Bethesda.

Other speakers and presenters that morning — including Ayanna Gregory, the Council of American-Islamic Relations, and Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld — publicly appealed to Elrich and Montgomery County officials to cede control of the site to Macedonia Baptist Church, another bastion of Black history on River Road.

Participants lined up along River Road near the McDonalds, towing signs, reciting chants, and blocking entry into the cross street below a bridge marking the Capital Crescent Trail. Officers from the Montgomery County Police Department (MCPD) descended on the scene when two BACC-affiliated protesters attempted to enter the construction site, which by that time had been blocked by a gate.

Even as MCPD vehicles blocked the portion of River Road where the protest occurred, protesters continued to take to the bullhorn and express their displeasure toward Elrich, who some have accused of showing partiality toward the construction crews.

Though the county executive, shortly after winning election in the fall of 2018, indicated some desire to quickly and openly find a solution to the burial site quandary, memorialization advocates said he’s acted slowly to elevate the River Road descendent community’s concerns about the endangerment of what’s estimated to be the remains of more than 200 people.

Much to their chagrin, BACC members received a letter on June

17 from Elrich noting that an archeological consultant hired by the property owner denied the presence of human remains. That communique incited cries of multimillion-dollar collusion between Montgomery County, the property owner, and developers.

It also led to protests at Moses African Cemetery in the three days leading up to the July Fourth weekend. Those organized gatherings followed others at the burial site and nearby Macedonia in solidarity with the legions of people across the United States speaking out against racialized police brutality.

These acts of civil disobedience have brought about an opportunity to educate various audiences about Moses African Cemetery. Most recently, the 400 Years of African American History Coalition recognized BACC and provided funding for the creation of a pop-up tabletop exhibit. Members counted the exhibit as part of larger plans to build a museum about slavery in the United States.

On numerous occasions, BACC members, particularly Dr. Marsha Coleman-Adebayo of Macedonia Baptist Church, have referenced the untold number of people who lost their lives along River Road, including young African women who were raped to breed future generations of labor.

Gregory, a renowned singer and activist, followed in that tradition Monday by evoking the name of her late father Dick Gregory and other well-regarded African ancestors while pouring libations.

Onlookers rose their fists in solidarity and yelled “Ase!” in intervals while Gregory spoke about the greater implications of BACC’s battle with the Montgomery County government.

“They are intimidated by our light and truth. Victory is inevitable,” Gregory said.

“This is not a revolution of Black versus white, but right against wrong,” she continued. “In the spirit world, right does not lose. Rights, justice and liberation are our birthright. We recognize that white supremacy is falling on its head and destroying itself. We are the ones we’re looking for. We are the light.”

WI

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DC Area Latter-day Saints Respond to COVID-19 and Racism The World is in the Grip of Two Pandemics: Coronavirus and Racism.

Submitted by DC Area Latter-day Saints On June 17, 2020, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced that due to concern for the effects of COVID-19 and until large public gatherings are deemed safe, the open house youth devotional and rededication of the Washington D.C. Temple is postponed.

“We are looking forward to showing the inside of the temple to all of our family and friends in the area,” said Kisha Sogunro, who serves as part of the church’s local public affairs council. Sogunro further stated, “It’s better to make sure there are no roadblocks, like coronavirus, that will keep people from partaking in the peace and beauty of this area landmark.”

The temple closed in March 2018 for a significant renovation.

In addition to work being done to refurbish and renovate the structure, mechanical, electrical, plumbing and lighting systems throughout the 160,000-squarefoot structure have been refreshed.

The last time church leaders opened the temple doors to the general public was from September 17 to October 19, 1974, at which time more than 750,000 visitors toured the building.

Church President Spencer W. Kimball dedicated the temple on November 19, 1974. The temple serves Latter-day Saints in Washington, D.C., Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania.

“The Washington, D.C. temple means a lot to me personally, as my husband and I were married there, so I am eager to share it with our many communities of faith,” said Sogunro. “For years, we have been honored to work side by side with these congregations and we are grateful for the dialogue of respect and dignity that so many have shown us [during renovations].”

For now, Sogunro said, “we are pretty much at the mercy of the pandemic.” Church leaders have said that they will follow the lead of governments and healthcare professionals around the world as

it considers a measured return to normal Operating procedures disrupted

by COVID-19.

The coronavirus is not the only pandemic the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is working through. Racism is on the minds of many of its African American church members. “The death of George Floyd by Minneapolis Police Officers sent a reverberating sound of protests around the world and a new level of consciousness to the disparate treatment of African Americans in this world,” said Nkoyo Iyamba, who serves as a Sunday school teacher in a French-speaking congregation in Maryland.

In a June 8, 2020 article published on Medium.com, Church President Russell M. Nelson and NAACP leaders gave this joint message: “We share deep sorrow for the senseless, heinous act of violence that needlessly took the life of George Floyd. We mourn with his family, friends and community.”

This particular partnership began two years ago with a simple conversation between leaders of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. That unlikely meeting was a first, yet it sparked insights about ways to work together to improve self-reliance and upward mobility for inner-city and minority families.

In response to the pandemic of racism and current world events, both organizations declared the following: “...The answers to racism, prejudice, discrimination and hate will not come from government or law enforcement alone. Solutions will come as we open our hearts to those whose lives are different than our own, as we work to build bonds of genuine friendship, and as we see each other as the brothers and sisters we are — for we are all children of a loving God.” The joint message was released on June 8th, on the anniversary when Church President Spencer W. Kimball announced to its worldwide congregation that all worthy men could participate in priesthood and temple blessings.

The 1978 Revelation on Priesthood was an announcement by leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that

5 Elijah Abel was one of the few black men ordained to the priesthood by the Prophet Joseph Smith, in early Church history.

5 The beginning of their relationship from 2018: The First Presidency of the Church met Thursday, May 17, 2018, with the national leadership of the NAACP. From left to right, President Dallin H. Oaks; Derrick Johnson, president and CEO of the NAACP; President Russell M. Nelson; Leon W. Russell, chairman, NAACP board of directors; and President Henry B. Eyring.

5 Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and NAACP Leaders call for Greater Civility, Racial Harmony at a news conference

reversed a long-standing policy excluding men of Black African descent from the priesthood. Beginning in the late 1840s, individuals of Black African descent were prohibited from ordination to the Church’s priesthood—normally held by all male members who met church standards of spiritual “worthiness”—and from receiving temple ordinances, such as marriage. During this time, black men and women were still permitted to be baptized and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. Much is unknown

about the origin of the priesthood and temple restrictions.

Like many religions, some members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints continue to find ways to heal the wounds of racism.

“A common question often asked is ‘why did your church restrict Black people?’”

Iyamba said, “people need to start asking what the church is doing now to have a better relationship with the Black community. I would tell them, ‘they’re working with the NAACP and interfaith congregations to serve our

communities, especially in the areas of genealogy.’”

In their joint statement, church leaders and the NAACP said: “We likewise call on government, business, and educational leaders at every level to review processes, laws, and organizational attitudes regarding racism and root them out once and for all. It is past time for every one of us to elevate our conversations above divisive and polarizing rhetoric. Treating others with respect matters. Treating each other as sons and daughters of God matters.”

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home and I actually found I finished my work quicker because I didn’t have so many distractions at home like I do at work.”

While Fisher cited some of the benefits of telework, including leaving the car at home clears the environment of auto emissions, Guyot and Sawhill cited some drawbacks. Those drawbacks include managing a teleworking staff can be challenging when people are on different schedules when they aren’t in one place and professional isolation can be counterproductive when it comes to getting work done in some cases.

Jeffrey Brown works at a District government agency and said the isolation works for him.

“I keep in close contact with my supervisor and I can get my work done without the distractions,” he said. Besides, I don’t want to be working and then not be able

to come in because I get infected from being around co-workers.”

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser ordered telework policies en masse for the city government workforce on March 16 as a result of the pandemic and has kept those policies in place for the safety of the employees.

Bowser expresses satisfaction at how the D.C. government has adjusted to the change.

“Our District government employees have done a remarkable job make the transition to a modified telework schedule,” the mayor said on July 1. “About 60 percent of District government employees are working in that manner.

Of course, when things get back to normal, some jobs will require they come to their worksites but we have learned a lot about teleworking. We will review teleworking policies to see if some will be permanent for some agencies when things get back to normal.”

WI

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Black Suffragettes Carved Out Path for Veep Hopefuls

By Stacy M. Brown WI Senior Writer @StacyBrownMedia This is part of an ongoing Washington Informer series about the Women’s Suffrage Movement and an initiative that includes Informer Publisher Denise Rolark Barnes that will use the lens of history, the fabric of art and culture and the venue of the public square to shine a light into dark places, equipping all with a compass to chart the way forward. The initiative lives in the institutional home of the Washington Informer Charities.

Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), former Georgia Rep. Stacey Abrams, former U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice, Rep. Val Demings (D-Fla.) and Congressional Black Caucus Chair Karen Bass (D-Calif.) all share a common bond.

Each is greatly respected, and each is considered top candidates for running mate alongside presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.

Whoever gets the nod, they can look at not their popularity and ability to win votes, but to the past and understand they had a path carved out because of the Black women of the suffrage movement.

“I have to say that we owe everything to our forefathers and mothers.

I greatly appreciate their courage, bravery, and persistent pursuit for equal rights for all,” said Deborah Pretty, founder of PYTalkBiz.com, which assists small business owners in learning from costly mistakes of the past.

“The adage is true if we don’t know our history, we will repeat it. And that knowledge and knowing is power. Just to know that people that walk, talk, and look like us inspires us to keep moving,” Pretty proclaimed.

Monique Lewis of Monique Lewis Management added that, as a Black woman of the 21st century, she did not grow up without hearing stories of misogyny, discrimination, and racism.

“Particularly the intersection of all three when it came to Black women,” Lewis said. “From a young age, I understood what the feminist movements did-equality, voting rights, equal pay, and more.

“What was hidden from me, quite intentionally, were the stories of women who looked like me leading or par-

5 The current list of Black women who head Joe Biden’s vice presidential list have individuals like Ida B. Wells-Barnett to thank for blazing the trail. (Courtesy of National Portrait Gallery)

ticipating in these movements,” she said. “It would take another decade or so before I would start learning, through self-education, the contribution of Black women in feminist movements.

“We literally were the hidden figures, and oftentimes, when white and non-Black women reached their success, they never reached back to pull us up along with them,” Lewis said. “We were utilized and discarded at a whim. This is why I vehemently state that I am not a feminist, I am a womanist who stands for and with other Black women. Being the most maligned, degraded, and abused, I soon realized that we are forced to rely on each other as we lack support from other women.”

If any of the outstanding Black women in line for the vice presidency earns that role, they have their ancestors to thank, said Franchon Davis, a mother of three who works as a postal worker.

“That’s what it comes down to, the women like Sojourner Truth, Mary Ann Shadd Cary, and Ida B. Wells-Barnett, who were fearless enough to blaze a trail and make sure that Black women could vote and to make sure that Black people would be counted,” Davis declared.

WI

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LIFESTYLE

wi book review “Vanessa Williams Presents Bubble Kisses”

By Vanessa Williams, illustrated by Tara Nicole Whitaker c.2020, Sterling $17.95 / 32 pages + CD

By Terri Schlichenmeyer WI Contributing Writer You can teach a bird to sing along with your favorite songs.

Dogs love to learn new tricks, if you’ve got the patience; cats, too, but that might take longer. If you’ve got a pet pony, you can do all kinds of things together, and even a gerbil or hamster is fun to play with. If you’ve got an aquarium, though, there’s not a whole lot of snuggling going on, and you can’t walk a guppy or throw a ball for it. Still, when people ask you why you love your fish, you know the answer. In “Bubble Kisses”

by Vanessa Williams, illustrated by Tara Nicole Whitaker, you’ll know you’re not alone.

Oh, how she loved her pet!

Other kids had dogs that woofed and cats that scratched. They had frogs and guinea pigs or hamsters or ponies. Other kids had regular kinds of pets, but this little girl had special pet: she had a goldfish named Sal. The thing was, Sal wasn’t just a fish. She was a “pal.”

Now, you might think a fish is not nearly as much fun as a puppy or a kitten. You might think that you can’t play with a fish. A goldfish isn’t like a bird or a deer that you watch from your window but that was OK. The girl and Sal had fun, especially when they played “lots of games together,” although mostly pretend ones.

But the biggest reason she loved Sal, though, was because Sal gave the girl “bubble kisses as she swims … in the water.” Sometimes in her dreams, the little girl swam like a mermaid with Sal, and they visited other mermaids for those “delicious” bubble kisses. She thought it was sad that from other “people’s lives such things are missing,” but she was lucky.

She had Sal, right by her bedside. All night long …

There is one very important thing parents need to know about “Bubble Kisses,” and it’s in two parts: as a book, this is really a no-go. It’s repetitive and not very interesting to read. But as a book with accompanying CD, it’s stellar and your preschooler will adore it.

Indeed, this book itself is mostly a vehicle for author Vanessa Williams’ song, which follows the words in this book identically — meaning, basically, that when your child requests it, you’ll be required to read song lyrics aloud. So many “bub-bub-bub-bub-bubble” recitations might make you want to call it a day and head for the shower.

But then, breathe deep and remember that you’re not a 2-year-old.

Williams’ words are perfect for silly-singing, and the bouncy, light, super-memorable song is one your toddler will warble everywhere, all the time. With book-in-hand — and it’ll be in their hands often — kids can sing and follow along as you both admire the adorable artwork by Tara Nicole Whitaker.

Just beware that this isn’t a one-and-done book. It’s going to be repeatedly requested and you might get an earworm from it. Still, just one round of “Bubble Kisses” and your toddler-to-preschooler will sing its praises.

WI

horoscopes

JULY 9 - 15, 2020

ARIES Aries are rarely sensitive to criticism, but you may feel the boss is coming down a little hard on you. Prepare yourself ahead of time by having a list of your accomplishments ready to display. It’s likely you’ll be asked to take on additional responsibilities. Choose high visibility projects for which you can receive some recognition. Lucky Numbers: 19, 25, 49 TAURUS Tauruses are very practical and there is lots of work always to be done. But you are co-creating with the universe and today is a good day to send out your wishes. Make a little magic happen.

Take a leaf from a tree and write your wish on the leaf. Then, from your front door or from your balcony, release the leaf in the breeze and send your wish to the universe. Lucky Numbers: 1, 8, 40 GEMINI You may be at a point where it’s time to invest in yourself and your future security. You are versatile, dexterous, and a quick thinker. Most of these translate into real skills in the business world.

Your challenge is to focus long enough on something to see some real results. Find something you love doing and this will be easy. Lucky Numbers: 2, 5, 14 CANCER For those Cancers who are dating, this is the time to discuss taking this relationship to a monogamous, more permanent level. You may discuss engagement or living together. Think about the responsibilities you have to each other to make this a wonderful relationship. Lucky Numbers: 14, 22, 33 LEO While you’re trying to get along with everyone, it’s possible that a fight breaks out today over the smallest little thing. To avoid this, pay extra care to recognize the contribution everyone is making to the household or the office. And if no one steps up to recognize what you’ve done, let it go for now.

Lucky Numbers: 8, 12, 14 VIRGO Consider stopping for a few minutes to think about what you could do to put a smile on your sweetheart’s face. For Virgos looking for love, consider getting serious about it. Look at the latest psychological studies on finding good relationships, review TED Talks about online dating, and let your friends and family know they can fix you up with someone new. Lucky Numbers: 23, 25, 35 LIBRA Taking calculated risks helps you learn to trust yourself and your own abilities. It gives you the gumption to move forward. Reach out to someone you admire and see if a connection can be made. If you haven’t moved recently, you may find now you can think of little else. Or perhaps you are redecorating or renovating the dwelling. Family is also on your mind as perhaps a relative wants your attention, or perhaps you need to take sides in a family matter. Lucky Numbers: 6, 11, 19 SCORPIO This period marks the beginning of several weeks of change. You may be looking to get into a contract in which case you need to read the fine print and perhaps do some negotiations. Or you may be looking to get out of a contract for which you need to read the fine print and do some negotiations. Whichever fits your situation, procrastination doesn’t help. Lucky Numbers: 7, 32, 37 SAGITTARIUS Write a list of affirmations and tape it to the bathroom mirror. Write them in a way that shows that you embody what it is you want to achieve. Instead of writing, “I want money” say “I’m the kind of person who sees money opportunities and takes them.” Read the list twice a day for month and see what changes. Lucky Numbers: 3, 8, 49 CAPRICORN You may feel some frustrations today as the things you’ve been working on don’t seem to be manifesting as you had hoped. What is required now is patience and persistence. You want to see the view from the top of the mountain, but, being a Capricorn, you did not choose a little hill.

Keep climbing. Lucky Numbers: 2, 30, 35 AQUARIUS Some of the things you’re really good at you don’t particularly like doing. But everyone seems to want this from you. In other words, you may want to be a major league baseball player, but the world says you have a talent for coaching Little League. See if there’s a way for you to reconcile these two different sides of you. Lucky Numbers: 15, 19, 30 PISCES If you’re thinking of taking on a roommate and this person is a friend, it would be a very good idea to have a written agreement to avoid any future misunderstandings. For the rest of you Pisces, this aspect is about the desire to be out of the house and to see friends even though this may not be possible due to many factors. See if you can find a substitute through perhaps gathering friends for an online video game. Lucky Numbers: 13, 27, 44

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JULY 9 - 15, 2020 35

SPORTS Five-Star Recruit Chooses Howard University Over Power Five Programs

By Daniel Kucin Jr. WI Contributing Writer @danielkucin88 No historically Black college or university has ever landed a fivestar recruit — until now.

Howard University will enjoy the services of 6-foot-11, 235-pound center Makur Maker, who is also the cousin of former NBA player Thon Maker.

The 22-year-old was one of the most highly touted recruits in the nation, drawing strong interest from Power Five conferences.

Schools interested in him included Kansas, Kentucky, Auburn, Oregon, UCLA, USC, Memphis and Washington. However, Maker decided that Howard was the best fit for him.

“I was the first to announce my visit to Howard and others started

to dream ‘what if.’ I need to make the HBCU movement real so that others will follow. I hope I inspire guys like Mikey Williams to join me on this journey. I am committing to Howard U & coach Kenny Blakeney #MakerMob,” Maker tweeted after he made his decision to play for the Bison.

Maker announced on July 2 via Twitter that he narrowed down his list to four schools that he still considered playing for, including Howard, UCLA, Kentucky and Memphis. The following day, he made his decision.

The Bison will desperately need Makur as the Bison went 4-29 under head coach Kenneth Blakeney, who is entering his second year with the team.

Maker is still a raw talent, but his athleticism is extraordinary for someone his size and was noticeable even early on in his high school career. During his freshman season at Chaminade High School in West Hills, California, he averaged nearly 10 points, 8.2 rebounds and a whopping 2.5 blocks per game.

He ranked 16 in the ESPN Top

100 Recruiting Database, and on April 25, Maker declared for the 2020 NBA Draft. He did play in the prep circuit, where he reportedly impressed scouts there and during his time at Hillcrest Prep High School most recently.

Maker visited Howard’s campus in October, but the Kenyan-born prodigy did allude that he was considering playing overseas in Australia for the National Basketball League.

However, in November, he was only two credits away from gradu-

Howard University will enjoy the services of 6-foot-11, 235-pound center Makur Maker, who is also the cousin of former NBA player Thon Maker.

ating with his original high school class (2019). The NBA stepped in and deemed him eligible for the draft, but Maker decided to give it a college try at HU. Maker will have an opportunity to show off his skills next year against perennial powerhouse Notre Dame on MLK Day at Burr Gymnasium. It will be the first time that Notre Dame will travel to play against an HBCU on the road in school history.

The big man will play with Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Rookie of the Year Wayne Bristol, Jr. Maker will join a 2020 recruiting class that includes another low-post threat and top prospect, Amir Rahimzad from Edge School in Canada.

During his senior year, the 6-foot-9, 230-pound Rahimzad was ranked the seventh-best student-athlete in Canada, averaging 15 PPG and 10 RPG. Rahimzad also has experience competing internationally during the U19 FIBA World Cup Championship, though he is coming off an ACL injury.

WI

John Wall Raises $550K for Ward 8 Residents During Coronavirus Pandemic

By Daniel Kucin Jr. WI Contributing Writer @danielkucin88 Though Washington Wizards point guard John Wall will not be playing during the upcoming NBA restart, he is making an impact off the court for those in need during the coronavirus pandemic.

The John Wall Family Foundation recently announced that it has raised more than $550,00 during its monthlong “202 Assist” fundraiser, nearly doubling its original goal of $300,000.

Wall and the foundation extended gratitude to those who donated, shared and assisted in the campaign.

“I am overwhelmed by how the community came together to help their neighbors,” Wall said. “This is yet another example of how, despite what’s going on in our city and across the world, we are still unified. We are in this together, and we will come out of this together.”

From May 22 to June 22, par-

36 - JULY 9 - 15, 2020

ticipants were encouraged to donate online to help provide rent assistance to families affected by the pandemic within the Ward 8 community. The foundation worked with Mayor Muriel Bowser, the Department of Housing and Community Development, Lydia’s House, and Housing Counseling Services to identify qualifying applicants and disperse rent relief.

In addition to receiving donations from residents, dignitaries

The John Wall Family Foundation recently announced that it has raised more than $550,00 during its monthlong “202 Assist” fundraiser, nearly doubling its original goal of $300,000.

and celebrities also pitched in to show their support, including Wall’s Wizards teammates, Seat Pleasant native and fellow NBA star Kevin Durant, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, and Washington Nationals player Ryan Zimmerman.

Wall started the fund with a $100,000 contribution. He, along with his foundation, continue to serve the D.C. and North Carolina communities during the pandemic.

In April, Wall donated 2,300 N95 masks and 600 Chick-fil-A meals to front line workers at MedStar Washington Hospital and UNC Rex Healthcare.

The John Wall Foundation also provided students at Bright Beginnings in Washington, D.C., with essential items from their COVID-19 Amazon Wishlist.

Wall also contributed to the Monumental Sports & Entertainment Foundation Feeding the Frontline Fund and Zimmerman’s Pros for Heroes COVID-19 Relief Fund, both benefiting front-line responders. WI

5 Washington Wizards star John Wall raised more than $550,000 to support Ward 8 residents during the coronavirus pandemic. (Daniel Kucin Jr./The Washington Informer)

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MAYOR from Page 1 However, it’s not all hate crimes – or white supremacist types attacking Black people.

In Chicago, many have described the murder rate of African Americans as “through the roof.”

In the District, residents are still disgusted by the senseless murder of 11-year-old Davon McNeal of Southeast, who was on his way to a cookout and stopped by his aunt’s house to pick up a phone charger.

After exiting a car, Davon was struck in the head by a stray bullet and later pronounced dead.

“A group of five men was shooting up in the area,” District Police Chief Peter Newsham told reporters.

Newly diagnosed with COVID-19, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms exclaimed that “enough is enough,” when speaking about the violence in the Black community.

The stricken mayor expressed outrage after an eight-year-old Black girl was killed and more than 20 other people injured over a violent Fourth of July holiday weekend.

The Atlanta Police Department responded by offering a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to the arrest or indictment of those responsible in the killing of Secoriea Turner.

Secoriea reportedly was shot near Wendy’s restaurant, where Rayshard Brooks was killed last month after a confrontation with

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Stay Informed!

www.washingtoninformer.com

5 Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms (Courtesy photo)

Newly diagnosed with COVID-19, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms exclaimed that “enough is enough,” when speaking about the violence in the Black community. police.

During a news conference, Mayor Bottoms acknowledged the simmering tensions between Atlantans, who have protested for weeks against police brutality.

She said the recent spate of shootings in the city is a result of “members of the community shooting each other.”

“You can’t blame this on a police officer; you can’t say this is about criminal justice reform. This is about some people carrying weapons who shot up a car with an eight-year-old baby,” Bottoms protested. “We are doing each other more harm than any police officer on this force.”

ABC News Chicago reported that, after a violent string of weekends marred by gun violence, which has claimed the lives of several children, responding officers had been offered days off as they also dealt with the toll the violence is taking.

“Yeah, you’d have to be inhuman not to have some effect on you when you see anyone killed is a tragedy, but when there are children killed,” Chicago Police Chief of Operations Fred Waller told the news station.

“It’s an additional emotion that comes over many of the officers who have kids myself have kids, so it’s just an additional emotion, and we’ve provided EAP, and any out-

let and outreach for the officers to have some type of way to express those feelings.”

According to ABC Chicago, the city is dealing with yet another violent night where 19 people were shot, and four killed.

Still, many activists maintained that the media’s focus should stray from theorizing Black-on-Black crimes, and indeed reframe from calling it more of a crisis than racial attacks on African Americans.

“One of their often-used talking points is Black-on-Black crime. If we were playing a game of spades, this would be their big joker, the ultimate winning play,” WUSA’s Reese Waters wrote in an op-ed.

“But, it’s just misdirection. A verbal sleight of hand used to distract from the issues, or to derail the conversation,” Reese declared.

He continued: “You’ve all heard it, some of you have said it. It usually goes something like this: “Police? Why aren’t we talking about Black-on-Black crime, that’s the real problem.”

“Want to know why no one talks about it? Because you’re not actually interested. The reality is Black activists address crime within itself all the time. Others only seem to want to address it when we talk about crimes being committed against us by uniformed officers.”

WI

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RELIGION the religion corner WITH LYNDIA GRANT

The Story of Harriet Tubman, ‘A Woman of Courage’ While watching Prime TV, I enjoyed the true story of the life of Harriet Tubman. It helped me connect the dots about racism in America and see that much of the racism in the movie is still happening today. Now, 157 years after Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, there’s protesters and demonstrators declaring Black Lives Matter on the front page. Harriet Tubman did her part then — now each of us must do all we can, for all the people we can.

Born circa 1820 as Araminta Ross, she was called Minty. At age 12, she suffered a major injury to her head when she was hit by a 2-pound iron weight that a white man threw at a slave boy attempting to escape. Harriet tried to block him, so it hit her right in her head. After being out cold for a few days, she began having fainting spells and dreams that, as a devout Christian, she strongly believed were from God. About 10 years later, Harriet married John Tubman, a free Black man; she was 24 years old. They did not have any children. One day in 1851, Harriet freed herself via the Underground Railroad — a network of secret routes and safe houses used by enslaved Africans. They used that route to escape to free states up North and to Canada, and Harriet found it.

Abolitionists and Quaker allies

who believed in freedom helped her out by hiding slaves in the floor, cutting a place to hide them and covering it with a rug. They hid in barns, dug holes in the ground that nobody could detect. Abolitionists knew they had very sound plans and were always successful!

The Quakers helped at least 3,000 slaves to escape, especially Thomas Garrett, a well-known Quaker abolitionist.

After making it to freedom, Tubman said, “I looked at my hands to see if I was the same person now that I was free, there was such glory over everything, the sun came up like gold through the trees, and over the fields, and I felt like I was in heaven.”

Harriet went back to Maryland to rescue other family members. They would sing “Swing Low Sweet Chariot” as a signal that Harriet was here for them. Slaves stayed together and hid all along the way until they reached freedom.

Harriet became known as Moses.

Singing “Go Down Moses,” slaves knew Harriet was coming and going.

Over 15 years, Harriet conducted her Underground Railroad, and about 300 people were freed. Thousands of others followed her instructions on their own to freedom! The stories told reveal her highly spiritual nature, as well as a grim determination to protect her assignment and those who aided them. She knew God would help her

Mt. Zion Baptist Church

— that was faith. They say she never lost a passenger.

Her first husband died during the Civil War. Later, she married again.

After the outbreak of the Civil War, Harriet became a soldier, a spy and was a successful nurse due to her ability to care for the soldiers.

Though Harriet served the Army, they denied payment without even a military pension; she did get a widow’s pension of $20 a month since her second husband served in the Army. After her biography was published, she became known as a dynamic public speaker and storyteller. In her golden years, she worked for the cause of women’s suffrage, traveling from New York to Boston and D.C., speaking in favor of women’s voting rights.

When the National Federation of Afro-American Women was founded in 1896, they asked her to be the keynote speaker at its first meeting. Harriet helped to organize the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church.

In the late 1890s, Tubman had successful brain surgery to correct her childhood injury. She spent her last years in a home called the Harriet Tubman Home for Aged and Indigent Negros, which she established in Auburn, New York.

Harriet Tubman died on March 10, 1913, after suffering from pneumonia. She was buried with military honors in Fort Hill Cemetery near her New York home in Auburn. WI

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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

WWW.WASHINGTONINFORMER.COM / THE WASHINGTON INFORMER

JULY 9 - 15, 2020 39

RELIGION The Miracle Center of Faith Missionary Baptist Church

Pilgrim Baptist Church

Bishop Michael C. Turner, Sr. Senior Pastor

Rev. Louis B. Jones II Pastor

9161 Hampton Overlook Capitol Heights, MD 20743 Phone: 301-350-2200 / Fax: 301-499-8724

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

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

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

Covenant Baptist United Church of Christ

Church of Living Waters

Allen Chapel A.M.E. Church

Rev. Paul Carrette Senior Pastor Harold Andrew Assistant Pastor 4915 Wheeler Road Oxon Hill, MD 20745 301-894-6464 Service and Times Sunday Service: 8:30am& 11:00 AM Bible Study: Wednesday 7:30 PM Communion Service: First Sunday www.livingwatersmd.org

St. Stephen Baptist Church

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

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

Reverend William Young IV Interim Pastor

Bishop Lanier C. Twyman, Sr. Senior Pastor

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

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

3845 South Capitol Street Washington, DC 20032 (202) 562-5576 (Office) / (202) 562-4219 (Fax)

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

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

Campbell AME Church Rev. Dr. Henry Y. White 2562 MLK Jr. Ave., SE - Washington, DC 20020 Adm. Office 202-678-2263 Email: Campbell@mycame.org Service and Times Sunday Worship Service: 10:00 AM Sunday Church School: 8:45 AM Bible Study Wednesday: 12:00 Noon Wednesday: 7:00 PM Thursday: 7:00 PM “Reaching Up To Reach Out” Mailing Address : Campbell AME Church 2502 Stanton Road SE - Washington, DC 20020

Turning Hearts Church Virgil K. Thomas, Sr. Senior Pastor/ Teacher 421 Alabama Ave. SE Washington, DC 20032 Phone: 202-746-0113 Fax: 301-843-2445 Service and Times Sunday School: 10:15 AM Sunday Worship Service: 11;15 AM Children’s Church: 11:15 AM Tuesday Bible Study: 6:30 PM Motto : “A Great Commitment to the Great Commandment” Website: www.turningheartschurchdc.org Email: gr8luv4u2@gmail.com

40 - JULY 9 - 15, 2020

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

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

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

Crusader Baptist Church Rev. Dr. Alton W. Jordan Pastor 800 I Street, NE - Washington, DC 20002 202-548-0707 - Fax No. 202-548-0703 Service and Times Sunday Morning Worship: 11:00 AM Holy Communion: 1st Sunday Sunday School: 9:45 AM Men’s Monday Bible Study: 7:00 PM Wednesday Night Bible Study: 7:00 PM Women’s Ministry Bible Study: 3rd Friday -7:00 PM Computer Classes: Announced Family and Marital Counseling by appointment E-mail: Crusadersbaptistchurch@verizon.net www.CrusadersBaptistChurch.org / “God is Love”

Greater Mt. Calvary Holy Church Bishop Alfred A. Owens, Jr.; Senior Bishop & Evangelist Susie C. Owens – Co-Pastor 610 Rhode Island Avenue, NE Washington, DC 20002 (202) 529-4547 office • (202) 529-4495 fax

Sunday Worship Service: 8:00 AM and 10:45 AM Sunday Youth Worship Services: 1st & 4th 10:45 AM; 804 R.I. Ave., NE 5th 8 AM & 10:45 AM; Main Church Prayer Services Tuesday – Noon, Wednesday 6:00 AM & 6:30 PM Calvary Bible Institute: Year-Round Contact Church / Communion Every 3rd Sunday The Church in The Hood that will do you Good! www.gmchc.org / emailus@gmchc.org

Isle of Patmos Baptist 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...

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

Twelfth Street Christian Church Reverend Dr. Paul H. Saddler Senior Pastor (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

Mount Carmel Baptist Church Reverend Dr. Paris L Smith, Sr. Senior Pastor 901 Third Street N.W. Washington, DC. 20001 Phone (202) 842-3411 Fax (202) 682-9423 Service and Times Sunday Church School : 9:00 AM Sunday Morning Worship: 10:10 AM Bible Study Tuesday: 6: 00 PM Prayer Service Tuesday: 7:00 PM Holy Communion: 3rd Sunday 10:10 AM themcbc.org

THE WASHINGTON INFORMER / WWW.WASHINGTONINFORMER.COM

RELIGION Shabbath Commandment Church Bishop Adrian A. Taylor, Sr. Pastor 7801 Livingston Road Oxon Hill, MD 20745 301-534-5471 Service and Times Sabbath School 9:30 a.m. – 10:30 AM Service 11:00 AM Praise & Worship Preaching 11:30 AM – 1:30 PM Motto: “A Church Keeping It Real for Real.”

Website: Shabbathcommandmentchruch.org Email: Praisebetoyhwh@gmail.com

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

All Nations Baptist Church 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. 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”

Dr. Earl D. Trent Senior Pastor

2409 Ainger Pl.,SE – WDC 20020 (202) 678-0884 – Office / (202) 678-0885 – Fax “Moving Faith Forward” 0% Perfect . . . 100% Forgiven!

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: 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 Pastor

Elder Herman L. Simms Pastor

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

1301 North Carolina Ave. N E Washington, D C 20002 202 543 1318 - lincolnpark@lpumcdc.org www.lpumcdc.org

5606 Marlboro Pike District Heights, MD 20747 301-735-6005

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

Mount Moriah Baptist Church Dr. Lucius M. Dalton Senior Pastor

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"

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

Eastern Community Baptist Church Damion M. Briggs Pastor

Rev. Stephen E. Tucker Senior Pastor

1636 East Capitol Street, NE Washington, DC 20003 Telephone: 202-544-5588 - Fax: 202-544-2964

8213 Manson Street Landover, MD 20785 Tel: (301) 322-9787 Fax: (301) 322-9240

13701 Old Jericho Park Road Bowie, MD. 20720 (301) 262-0560

Service and Times Sunday Worship Services: 7:45 AM and 10:45 AM Holy Communion: 1st Sundays at 7:45 AM & 10:45 AM Sunday School: 9:30 AM Prayer & Praise Service: Tuesdays at 12 noon & 6:30 PM Bible Study: Tuesdays at 1 pm and 7 PM Youth Bible Study: Fridays at 7 PM

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

Service and Times Sunday Worship: 11 AM Sunday School: 10 AM Wednesday Mid-Week Worship, Prayer & Bible Study: Wed. 7 PM

Rehoboth Baptist Church

Reverend Peter R. Blue Sr. Pastor

Rev. Curtis l. Staley Pastor

2001 Brooks Drive District Heights MD. 20744 240.838.7074

621 Alabama Ave., S.E.- Washington, D.C. 20032 P: (202) 561-1111 - F: (202) 561-1112

Service and Times Sunday Worship Experience: 10:15am Sunday School: 9:00am Holy Communion: 3rd Sunday Morning Noontime Bible Study: Tuesday @ 12:00pm Prayer Meeting/Bible Study: Tuesday @7:00pm Theme: "Building On A Firm Foundation"

Service and Times Sunday Service: 10:00 AM Sunday School for all ages: 8:30 AM 1st Sunday Baptism: 10:00 AM 2nd Sunday Holy Communion:10:00 AM Tuesday: Bible Study: 6:30 PM Prayer Meeting: 7:45 PM

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

Motto: “Where God is First and Where Friendly People Worship”

“Real Worship for Real People” Website: www.easterncommunity.org Email: ecc@easterncommunity.org

“A Church Where Love Is Essential and Praise is Intentional”

Foggy Bottom - Founded in 1867 728 23rd Street, NW - Washington, DC 20037 Church office: 202-333-3985 - Fax : 202-338-4958

Shiloh Baptist Church

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 “

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

Christ 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

First Rising Mt. Zion Baptist Church

Mt. Horeb Baptist Church

Rev. Dr. Wallace Charles Smith Pastor

Rev. Oran W. Young Pastor

Rev. Dr. H. B. Sampson, III Pastor

9th & P Street, N.W. - W. D.C. 20001 (202) 232-4288

602 N Street NW - Washington, D.C. 20001 Office:(202) 289-4480 Fax: (202) 289-4595

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

www.stmarysfoggybottom.org Email: stmarysoffice@stmarysfoggybottom.org

Service and Times First Sunday Worship Service (one service): 10:00 AM Second, Third, Fourth, and Fifth Sunday Worship service: 7:45 AM and 10:55 AM Sunday Church School/Bible Study: 9:30 AM Thursday Prayer Service: 6:30 PM

All are welcome to St. Mary’s to Learn, Worship, and Grow.

Email: sbc@shilohbaptist.org Website: shilohbaptist.org

Service and Times Sundays: 10 a.m. Holy Eucharist with Music and Hymns Wednesdays: 12:10 p.m. - Holy Eucharist

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

Rev. Dr. George C. Gilbert Senior Pastor

Email Address: admin@pbc712.org

Historic St. Mary’s Episcopal Church The Rev. E. Bernard Anderson Priest

Holy Trinity United Baptist Church

Florida Avenue Baptist Church

Reverend Christopher L. Nichols Pastor

Rev. Dr. Jerryl V. Moody Pastor-Elect

Web: www.mountmoriahchurch.org Email: mtmoriah@mountmoriahchurch.org

St. Matthews Baptist Church

Emmanuel Baptist Church

King Emmanuel Baptist Church

WWW.WASHINGTONINFORMER.COM / THE WASHINGTON INFORMER

Service and Times Sunday School for All Ages: 8:00 AM Sunday Worship Services: 9:30 AM Midday Prayer & Bible Study: Wednesday 11:30AM Evening Prayer & Bible Study: Wednesday 7:00 PM Laymen's League: Thursday 7:00 PM Email: Froffice@firstrising.org Website: www.firstrising.org “Changing Lives On Purpose “

Email:mthoreb@mthoreb.org Website:www.mthoreb.org For further information, please contact me at (202) 529-3180.

JULY 9 - 15, 2020 41

LEGAL NOTICES

LEGAL NOTICES SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131 2019 ADM 001079 Anthony Cornelius Baker Decedent Howard Haley, Esq. The Haley Firm, PC 7600 Georgia Ave, NW #405 Washington, DC 20012 Attorney NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

SUPERIOR COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA FAMILY COURT

IN THE MATTER OFTHE PETITION OF T.F.T. ADOPTION CASE #: 2019 ADA 198

FOR ADOPTION OF MINOR CHILD D.H., (DOB: 04/08/2013)

MAGISTRATE JUDGE JORGE VILA NEXT DATE: JULY 23, 2020

To the Unknown Birth Father and/or Mr. Damien Brown, YOU

ARE HEREBY NOTIFIED THAT a petition for adoption of a minor child has been filed in this matter. The subject male child

was born on April 8, 2013 and has the initials D.H. The birth mother’s name is Ms. Reina Alexsandra Harris.

If you want to challenge the termination of your parental

rights, or if you want to seek custody, or challenge the adoption

Lakesha Sistrunk, whose address is 14338 Marlborough Lane, Upper Marlboro, MD 20772, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Anthony Cornelius Baker who died on November 16, 2018 without a Will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., Building A, 515 5th Street, N.W., Third Floor, Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 12/25/2020. 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 12/25/2020, 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.

petition, you must file a written objection with the Court prior

Date of first publication: 6/25/2020

His address is 717 D St NW Suite 310 Washington, DC 20004.

Lakesha Sistrunk Personal Representative

to the adoption status hearing scheduled for July 23, 2020 at 9:30 a.m. This objection should be directed to the Adoption

Clerk, Family Court, Superior Court of the District of Columbia, 500 Indiana Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20001.

If you do not want to contest the termination of your parental rights and do not want to seek custody or challenge this

adoption you may consent to the adoption and relinquish the child to a licensed child-placing agency. Please contact the

subject child’s social worker, Ms. Chinwendu Utom at Child and Family Services Agency, 200 I St. SE, Washington, DC 20003, telephone number (202) 442-6100.

You have the right to retain your counsel. You also have court appointed counsel in this matter is Mr. Ronald Colbert, Esq. His telephone number is (202) 370-6228.

If the adoption is granted, your legal rights, responsibilities, and obligations with respect to this child will be forever terminated.

TRUE TEST COPY

___________________________

Nicole Stevens Register of Wills

FDOP 07/02/2020

_______________________________

Washington Informer

MAGISTRATE JUDGE JORGE VILA

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

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

2020 ADM 000268

2020 ADM 114

John Wesley Jamison Decedent

Valton Reeves Decedent

Rachelle H. Raphael, Esq. 4800 Hampden Lane, Ste. 200 Bethesda, MD 20814 Attorney

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

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

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

Joniece Jamison Elessie, whose address is 23 Avenue Racine, Neuilly-sur-Marne, France 93330, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of John Wesley Jamison who died on February 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., Building A, 515 5th Street, N.W., Third Floor, Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before January 9, 2021. 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 January 9, 2021, 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.

Cherie A. Jackson, whose address is 1116 Hamilton Street NE, Washington, DC 20011, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Valton Reeves who died on November 8, 2019 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., Building A, 515 5th Street, N.W., Third Floor, Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 12/9/2020. 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 12/9/2020, 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: July 9, 2020

Date of first publication: 7/9/2020

Joniece Jamison Elessie Personal Representative

Cherie A. Jackson Personal Representative

TRUE TEST COPY

TRUE TEST COPY

Nicole Stevens Register of Wills

Nicole Stevens Register of Wills

Washington Informer

Washington Informer

42 - JULY 9 - 15, 2020

CL ASSIFIEDS

CL ASSIFIEDS

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PINES from Page 13

Maryland Department of Health, which has been giving us guidance on how we should evaluate the situation. Then we’ve been working with the local county department of health, which also gives us guidance about what we can do, what [officials] would like to see in terms of what’s been going on in our campus. Their guidance and constant evaluation will really be the trigger upon which we will pivot and go fully online, if there’s a series of indicators that suggest our population will be at risk. The hope is that the measures we are putting within the city, within the county and within the university, will allow our community to be healthy and safe and continue our process of education and research at the University of Maryland. WI

BUSINESSES from Page 13 (D-District 47A).

Ivey coordinated a rally down the street from the Prince George’s police department headquarters calling for a special session on Maryland police reforms in the General Assembly in Annapolis.

A work group held its first virtual meeting June 23 on plans to craft legislation when the Maryland General Assembly convenes in January.

However, Ivey said it must be done sooner.

To amplify Ivey’s point, he posts daily messages on his Twitter page requesting a special session and “to highlight the name of a victim of police brutality.”

Locally, County Executive Angela Alsobrooks announced the creation of a police reform task force Friday, July 3 that plans to review police department strategies, hiring and use of force policies.

The group will be co-chaired by Circuit Court Judge Maureen Lamasney and Del. Alonzo Washington (D-District 22) of Greenbelt.

“While we have made important strides together as a community to build a responsive, transparent and accountable police department, we realize that there is still more work to be done to address issues that are present in PGPD and in police departments across the nation,” Alsobrooks said in a statement. “I am confident that this group of community advocates and public officials will develop insightful recommendations helping our police

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5 University of Maryland President Darryll J. Pines speaks with members of the media during a July 2 virtual press briefing.

department truly become a model for our nation.”

The other members include former county State’s Attorney Glen Ivey, County Council President Todd Turner (D-District 4) of Bowie, retired Assistant Sheriff Orlando Barnes, Josephine Mourning, chair of the county’s Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and Krystal Oriadha, co-founder of the LGBTQ Dignity Project.

Alsobrooks’ task force of nearly two dozen members was established after a nearly 100-page report became public June 18 that revealed white county police officers allegedly used racial slurs and retaliatory methods against fellow Black and Latino officers.

The document shows more than two dozen incidents of white officers who allegedly used racial slurs about officers and residents, white officers not disciplined for various incidents and Black and Latino officers transferred to other officers for speaking out against unjust behavior.

Hours after the report’s release, Police Chief Hank Stawinski resigned.

The next day on June 19, Alsobrooks announced Assistant Police Chief Hector Velez will serve as interim chief during a national search for a new leader of the department of more than 1,600 officers and civilian employees.

After a comprehensive study and review of the police department, the task force will submit a report with recommendations to the county executive by Oct. 30.

WI

TEACHERS from Page 22 particularly those with underlying conditions — to practice caution.

With a primary immunodeficiency disease, the stakes are that much higher for Patti Nelson, an art teacher who would rather teach in person, but is vehemently against any situation that disregards science and risks safety.

Nelson, an employee at Barnard Elementary School in Northwest, recounted being under the impression that, with the Office of Teaching and Learning’s ongoing curriculum development, that the DCPS central office would provide some teachers the flexibility to work at home.

What Nelson recalled happening instead was receiving a survey and guidelines for returning to in-person work that offered no opportunity to decline to work in person this fall.

Nelson said this took place just hours after receiving documentation from a doctor recommending the continuation of virtual teaching.

“If I go back and teach in person, I am absolutely going to end up in the hospital in critical condition or worse,” said Nelson, who expressed support for WTU’s memorandum of understanding about fall instruction plans.

“My doctors made it clear that I don’t make enough antibodies to fight off the coronavirus. I already have a risk of chronic pneumonia [and] I’m not the only teacher,” Nelson continued. “We have online teaching that will be going on, so why not offer atrisk people with at-risk family members these positions first. We haven’t met the CDC metrics of safety, so why are we opening schools? Why are we putting anybody at risk?” WI

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18+ JULY 9 - 15, 2020 43

FARRAKHAN from Page 1 health, which began over a decade ago due to cancer and a subsequent heart attack, he spoke for well over three hours, sitting when necessary and relying on the support of several members from the Fruit of Islam who kept him from falling. Nonetheless, he mustered the strength to deliver his message which addressed the current state of affairs in the U.S., the COVID-19 pandemic and clarification on several issues for which he has long been criticized including Anti-Semitism, homosexuality and Black nationalism.

Farrakhan says he chose America’s Independence Day for his message, “The Criterion,” not only for the more obvious reason but because July 4th marked the 90th anniversary of the existence of the Nation of Islam in America. According to his faith’s teachings, in 1930, Master Fard Muhammad, the teacher of the Hon. Elijah Muhammad and the Nation’s celebrated patriarch, made himself known in North America.

“The judgment is not approaching; it is present,” Farrakhan said to an audience during the airing of his live address that reached the Muslims on Final Call Radio, the U.S., parts of Europe including the United Kingdom and others. He further declared that he sought an inclusive audience.

“This message [is] not just for Muslims; it is not just for Christians; it is not just for Jews, it is for every inhabitant of this planet,” he said.

“Dissatisfaction on our earth today is at 100 percent. Therefore, there must be a 100 percent change. We are not here to celebrate firecrackers and foolishness, nor to celebrate the founders of this Republic – great white men without enough heart to write a Declaration of Independence that truly represented the basis of humanity. They made America a place of refuge – not for all the people but some of the people. So, this has never been a place of, by or for the people.”

“Jefferson wrote beautiful words but his heart was not there to fulfill them. You cannot say you believe all men are created equal and endowed with certain inalienable rights while holding another nation enslaved.

Similarly, when Trump cries, ‘make America great again,’ under that phrase is what he really means – make America white again.”

“The question we must ask our nation is if America is a hypocrite?

We must call America out. We’re smarter now, we’re deeper now, and

44 - JULY 9 - 15, 2020

we’ve lived with you for 465 years so we know you.”

Farrakhan has been described as anti-Semitic by the Anti-Defamation League and by the Southern Poverty Law Center as a proponent of “fundamentally anti-white theology and an “innate black superiority over whites,” further promoting homophobia through his comments.

The NOI leader refuted these characterizations as he continued his address.

“You leaders have gotten your power on the blood of the world,” he said. “In the 65 years as a student of the Hon. Elijah Muhammed, I have never shed the blood of another human to get where I am today. You can say I’m a hater, that I’m a bigot, that I hate my LGBTQ brothers and sisters but you cannot prove it.”

COMMENTS TURN TO POSSIBLE COVID-19 CONSPIRACY

“I am most concerned, however, about this pestilence – we’ve all witnessed the effects of the coronavirus,” he noted. “China says soldiers dropped it there. The U.S. says China created it. Trump should put on his mask and listen. This didn’t come from Wuhan or Fort Dietrich.

This virus is new, different and it mutates and goes in many different directions. Humanity’s iniquity is a pestilence on the Earth, so God has answered with a pestilence.”

“God has turned things against you that you look to for your sustenance.

Have you lost your job? In the U.S. between 30 and 40 million have.

How many have lost loved ones? How many are now arrested in their homes and find it like a prison – forced to stay with family day after day, week after week, discovering things about one another that you do not like?

Farrakhan continued to support his thesis by referring to parts of the Bible, the Koran and the Torah.

He then warned Blacks to be wary of claims of a cure-all vaccine, further suggesting that people of should not participate in any medical trials without first relying on their own experts to validate the safety of those drugs.

“I know you are now saying, ‘but Farrakhan, if we don’t take the vaccine, we’ll surely die,’” he said. “But, you’re dying now. They want to quicken your death. This has been their history. Can you imagine that some whites are sitting in a room plotting the deaths of 2 to 3 billion humans, claiming them to be useless eaters?”

CROWELL from Page 27

UPDATE from Page 20 tance from others.

• Wear a cloth face coverings in public.

• Cover coughs and sneezes.

• Pick up food at drivethroughs, curbside restaurant service, or stores.

Still, if you must travel, Benjamin said upon return everyone should self-quarantine for 14 days after your trip if possible: stay home and monitor your health.

“Afterwards, practice the 3 W’s — wear a mask, wash your hands, watch where you stand, six feet apart,” Benjamin said. “If you experience any symptoms such as fever, cough and shortness of breath, contact your health care provider immediately.

“It’s important to note, a hospital is the safest place for you to be if you start showing symptoms of “These are the thoughts of those following the mind of Satan. The satanic mind says I’m better than you. From there it’s easy to begin to treat others as if they were less than.

Whites have treated Blacks like that.

The darker man has been threatened for generations by liars and murderers. Isn’t that what the protests today against many police officers are alluding to?”

“Aren’t we saying that we won’t take it anymore?”

“We must stand on the stone of truth. And we must tell the truth from every mountaintop.”

“We cannot allow ourselves to be deceived by successful schemers. This virus will be with us for a long time.

But we should not take any medicines, drugs or vaccines until the leading Black epidemiologists and health experts have thoroughly examined them, reviewed the research and trials and have given their go ahead to the world’s communities of color,” he said. WI

COVID-19 or other conditions, like a heart attack or stroke,” she said. “The American Heart Association recently launched a public education campaign, ‘Don’t Die of Doubt,’ to remind the people that it’s still important to call 911 and go to a hospital if you’re having a medical emergency.”

WI

DIGITAL from Page 21 Meanwhile, digital eye strain can be caused by viewing a screen for over two hours.

The research is clear: Americans spend most of their waking hours interacting with screens. The blue light can cause eyes to burn, itch, blurt, become fatigued and increase occurrence of headaches.

“Eyestrain can be frustrating.

But it usually isn’t serious and goes away once you rest your eyes or take other steps to reduce your eye discomfort,” said Dr. Dianna L. Seldomridge, clinical spokesperson for the American Academy of Ophthalmology.

Researchers say that texting and driving is just as dangerous as drinking and driving. Motor vehicle fatalities are up 14 percent despite COVID-19. NSC suspects the empty roads are an invitation for reckless driving which includes texting and driving.

“Disturbingly, we have open lanes of traffic and an apparent open season on reckless driving,” said Lorraine M. Martin, NSC president and CEO. “Right now, in the midst of a global pandemic and crisis, we should take it as our civic duty to drive safely. If we won’t do it for ourselves, we should do it for our first responders, our law enforcement and our healthcare workers, who are rightly focused on coronavirus patients and should not be overwhelmed by preventable car crashes.” WI

be removable by the president at will.”

The creation of an independent consumer agency was the legislative intent defined in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act. Enacted in the aftermath of the worst financial crisis since that of the 1930s Great Depression, CFPB assumed direct responsibility for financial oversight and enforcement on a range of consumer issues that included mortgages, small-dollar loans, student debt, credit cards and more.

This agency authority included the rights to conduct investigations, issue subpoenas and civil investigative demands, initiate administrative adjudications, prosecute civil actions in federal court, and issue binding decisions in administrative proceedings.

The dissenting opinion was written by Justice Elena Kagan, who was joined by fellow Associate Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer and Sonya Sotomayor: “Throughout the nation’s history, this Court has left most decisions about how to structure the executive branch to Congress and the president, acting through legislation they both agree to. In particular, the Court has commonly allowed those two branches to create zones of administrative independence by limiting the president’s power to remove agency heads. …

If precedent were any guide, that provision would have survived its encounter with this Court — and so would the intended independence of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

“The Court today fails to respect its proper role,” continued the dissenting opinion. “It recognizes that this Court has approved limits on the president’s removal power over heads of agencies much like the CFPB. Agencies possessing similar powers, agencies charged with similar missions, agencies created for similar reasons… Congress and the president established the CFPB to address financial practices that had brought on a devastating recession and could do so again. Today’s decision wipes out a feature of that agency its creators thought fundamental to its mission — a measure of independence from political pressure.”

It is noteworthy that while the case was under Supreme Court review, the current CFPB director made no effort to explain or defend the agency.

In the remaining few months of the current Congress, consumer advocates must now heighten their

CROWELL Page 46

THE WASHINGTON INFORMER / WWW.WASHINGTONINFORMER.COM

MALVEAUX from Page 26

if the season is called off — they should at the very minimum give the players and their parents a real choice. Every player should be given the choice of whether to play or not, with their scholarship sustained no matter what decision they make. Every player and their families should be guaranteed free health care if they contract the virus. No player should be extorted to put his or her life at risk in order to get the education that they have earned.

In this time of Black Lives Matter protests, the lives of these young athletes — Black, white, brown and yellow, male and female, must matter. If the NCAA isn’t responsible enough to suspend the season, it should at the very least require that every athlete be given a choice on whether to take the risk, without losing the scholarship that has been promised to them. WI

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■

Media Training

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om ennis.c

their parents to sign an “acknowledgment of risk waiver.”

The university is prepared to risk the lives of the players, but not open itself up to liability.

Don’t worry, we’re told, “college athletes in general are a young, healthy population in relation to the general public. They are usually well-equipped to fight off the infection physically unscathed.”

Usually. But we’re learning that even those who survive the virus are often scarred with weak lungs, or bad hearts.

The watchword, we’re told, is “flexibility.” Second- and thirdstring players have to be ready to step in at any time. “This scenario,” one doctor wrote, would be analogous to spraining an ankle or pulling a hamstring during warmups and suddenly needing to sit out the next one to three games.”

No, a sprained ankle does not put a life at risk. A pulled hamstring is painful, but not as lasting as a damaged lung or weakened heart. Sprained ankles and pulled hamstrings aren’t contagious.

We’re not talking about “flexibility,” we’re talking about irresponsibility.

Many of the football players in Division One schools come from low-income families. Many depend on their scholarship to pay for their schooling. Now they are asked to risk their lives for their sport.

I believe that this college football season should be postponed.

It can’t be played in a “bubble,” as Dr. Anthony Fauci suggests. And we’ve already got vivid proof of how vulnerable the players are to the virus.

But if the NCAA and the universities are intent on playing despite the risk — driven no doubt by the billions of dollars at risk

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JACKSON from Page 26

ed in Roe v. Wade are backed by federal law and no longer dependent upon state. The goal of the Equality Act is to extend existing civil rights protections to encompass sexual orientation and gender identity. Contacting your representatives to push forward these essential pieces of legislation is a step towards ensuring that #AllBlackLivesMatter.

Find your House representative: https://www.house.gov Find your senator: https://www. senate.gov WI

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care Black queer, trans and non-binary people are often denied. Access to resources such as birth control, HIV testing and treatment, and breast cancer screenings are often provided by reproductive care clinics being targeted by anti-abortion legislation. Organizations like Planned Parenthood often support individuals living with HIV, those in need of accessing hormone replacement therapy, and various other forms of care that those belonging to the Black LGBTQ

community are often reliant on. In order for all Black lives to matter, we must address the gross inequities in our health care system and push for legislation that explicitly protects the rights of Black queer individuals in health care. Reproductive justice is social justice and it’s beyond time that we’ve recognized this fact.

Advocates are encouraging Congress to pass two pieces of legislation: the Women’s Health Protection Act (WHPA) as well as the Equality Act. The WHPA would ensure that the protections iterat-

You Can Say It Like A Pro!

: Sade

GRISSON from Page 26

fewer than half of all Americans hold stock.

Little of the employment conversation addresses low-wage workers, poverty, the failure of some employers to provide sick days, and health care challenges.

In focusing on the aggregate, we miss the circumstances that many citizens face. Even before corona hit, one in ten Americans and one in five African Americans were poor. More than 40 percent of us could not absorb a $400 emergency. If you are crowing about the “spectacular” economy, why not take a minute to acknowledge those who do not enjoy it?

Our “thriving” economy is an illusion. It’s doing better, but we’re not there yet. Now is not the time for a victory lap. It is overtime for dealing with issues of inequality.

WI

Photo

and others considered “marginally attached to the labor force.” Add these to “official” unemployment, and the rate soars from 11.1 to 18 percent. And the Black unemployment rate, reported at 15.4 percent, shoots up to 24.9 percent. Is this really cause for celebration and superlative language?

The Federal Reserve Board has urged caution and does not see economic recovery anytime soon.

They project a 9.3 percent unemployment rate by the end of this year, and a 6.5 percent rate by the end of 2021. The Congressional Budget Office has made similar projections, noting that some jobs just won’t come back, causing long-term problems.

Congress should use this information to strengthen the econ-

omy through spending and to bolster up cities and states that have laid off employees because they are collecting less tax revenue. Some in the Senate balked at further bailouts, but pushing states into bankruptcy does not serve our nation’s economic stability. Then again, neither is the head-in-the-sand approach to the coronavirus healthy for the economy. The coronavirus is not a state rights issue, and it doesn’t stop at any border, but the variation in state policies is partly responsible for the increased spread of the virus.

A decline in the unemployment rate is a positive development as the economy moves toward recovery. But it is hardly cause for irrational optimism or celebration. And a healthy stock market is beneficial to stockholders, and

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watchful role to ensure that as many other agency responsibilities can be preserved and pursued as legislatively intended.

Many reacted swiftly and directly.

“Though the consumer bureau remains intact, it is worrisome that the Court weakened its political independence from the preferences of any one administration or the political pressure of large financial institutions,” said Diane Standaert, director of the Hope Policy Institute, a nonprofit focused on underserved communities of color and other low-income households. “As laid bare by COVID, the underlying disparities in access to safe financial services creates the foundation for disparities in economic opportunity, particularly for communities of color.”

Ed Mierzwinski, U.S. PIRG Education Fund’s senior director of federal consumer programs, concurred.

“The CFPB was created after the

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forced to shut down businesses again.

Our choice is between rebuilding the economy safely or risking thousands of lives and throwing the country into an even worse economic crisis.

ASKIA from Page 27 who profit from Black ignorance and self-destruction, selling them the products and tools of that scourge would certainly not want to lose the patronage of their loyal customers.

So let me say, very plainly, that anyone outside the Black community who interferes in Black people receiving a message of deliverance from one of their own — just like they did with the Right Honorable Marcus Mosiah Garvey — is not a friend of Black people.

Black leaders don’t go around meddling in who the speakers are at Jewish events. Why should Black folks allow outsiders to dictate just who and who is not acceptable to address Black audiences? Well, that’s the state of affairs.

I understand there are some Black thought leaders who don’t like Farrakhan, and would just as soon see him sit down and be quiet. But on Monday, Oct. 16, 1995 they couldn’t keep more than 1 million MEN from coming to the steps of the U.S. Capitol for the Million Man March, a call to atonement and reform. That call to a better life, and the ongoing message of the Nation of Islam was, and is, irresistible, if allowed to be heard.

Great Recession to protect Americans from unscrupulous businesses that have too much power to wreak havoc on the public,” Mierzwinski said. “Now, the Supreme Court has agreed with the CFPB’s director, who actively worked with the Trump administration and a debt collection law firm, of all things, to undermine the Bureau’s independence from politically-connected special interests.”

Lauren Saunders, associate director of the National Consumer Law Center, said the decision “leaves the CFPB intact but weakens the director’s independence, making it more likely that the director will hesitate to cross the financial industry players that have the ear of the president — as has happened repeatedly under the current leadership of the CFPB.” “We have seen in this administration how agency heads who dare to express independent views have been short-lived, and it is unfortunate that the consumer watchdog has lost the critical independence that Congress

gave it when addressing the fallout from the 2008 financial crisis,” Saunders added. “Nonetheless, the CFPB survives as an agency with the rest of its critical consumer protection tools intact, and it will be up to the current and future CFPB directors to resist political pressure to favor corporations over consumers.”

Will Corbett, litigation director with the Center for Responsible Lending, agreed.

“The Supreme Court’s decision to defang the CFPB’s for-cause removal provision will render the agency less effective and leave consumers vulnerable to bad actors on Wall Street,” Corbett said. “Predatory lenders and their allies in Congress have consistently tried without merit to weaken CFPB’s independence for political reasons. Today, the majority of the U.S. Supreme Court has joined in that effort, ensuring financial damage for consumers for years to come.” WI

Interestingly, at the same time infections are rising due to voluntary large gatherings, a study concluded that the demonstrations against police brutality did not lead to a spike in infections as many had feared. That is partly because a significant percentage of the demon-

strators have worn masks.

As the nation’s leading infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, told Congress this week: “Plan A: Don’t go in a crowd. Plan B: If you do, make sure you wear a mask.”

WI

Even as these self-interested deceivers of Black people chant hatred of Farrakhan, and do everything in their power to prevent the rise of blacks from poverty and ignorance, they cannot cite one single injury that has ever been committed against one single Jewish person by Farrakhan or his followers. The Minister is a good man!

Neither he, nor any of his followers carry any weapons — not so much as a pen-knife.

The “hate” that Minister Farrakhan is accused of teaching is hatred of ignorance, hatred of slothfulness, hatred of bad habits and of eating bad food. He teaches his followers to study the ways of the Righteous Prophets of God, from Abraham, to Moses, to Jesus, to Muhammad (May Allah be pleased with those Righteous servants of His).

He teaches prayer, and fasting, and most importantly, to not do anything to anyone, you would not have done to you.

Can any of those in the ADL or the Southern Poverty Law Center who falsely accuse the Minister say the same? No, they can’t!

To the contrary, White folks have continually conspired to hold Black folks down, and to render low any

successful black communities — such as in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Rosewood, Florida, which were torched and destroyed in the early 1900s, because those Black folks found a way to unite with one another and to prosper.

White could not countenance black success in their midst.

In their downward spiral, blacks meet no resistance. But you let a black group start an upward course, like the Nation of Islam under Farrakhan; they will encounter resentment and resistance at every step.

Abolitionist Frederick Douglass told us of this phenomenon in a speech on Sept. 25, 1883. “If he comes in ignorance, rags and wretchedness he conforms to the popular belief of his character, and in that character he is welcome; but if he shall come as a gentleman, a scholar and a statesman, he is hailed as a contradiction to the national faith concerning his race, and his coming is resented as impudence.”

So anyone wishing to see for themselves the message of peace, not of hate, that Minister Louis Farrakhan delivered on July 4, 2020, the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Nation of Islam in North America, should go to noi.org to view the webcast. WI

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