The Washington Informer - May 4, 2023

Talbert Terrace Residents Fight for Community Park

By Kayla Benjamin WI Climate & Environment Writer

Karen Hilliard, 68, has seen her Southeast, D.C. neighborhood change profoundly in the years since she first moved there as a 2-year-old. New condominiums have sprouted among the townhouses that have long made up the Talbert Terrace community in Ward 8. Hilliard’s new neighbors have trended younger, and the historically Black area has become far

“There’s definitely been gentrification,” she said. “But the community is still the same, we still have that same bond. I think this is a unique neighborhood because everybody knows everyone.”

That sense of community has become particularly crucial in recent months, as a handful of neighbors— Hilliard included—have continued a decades-old fight to protect a cherished green space. The lot across from Hilliard’s home, used as a neighborhood park for decades, has recently become the site for a planned 18-unit development.

TALBERT Page 48

Dr. Ben Vinson III Tapped as 18th President of HU Students Express Jubilation, Concern about HU’s Department of Defense Contract

By Sam P.K. Collins WI Staff Writer

A year-long search for the next president of Howard University (HU) has culminated in the selection of Dr. Ben Vinson III as the institution’s 18th president.

Vinson currently serves the provost, executive vice president, and Hiram C. Haydn professor of history at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. In assuming the helm at HU, Vinson makes his return to the D.C. metropolitan area after previously serving

Bowser Set on Protecting K Street Transitway

By Sam P.K. Collins WI Staff Writer

Project

Adjustments to D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s fiscal year 2024 budget proposal that defund the K Street Transitway and increase fees on rideshares going downtown have further emboldened the mayor and other local officials to press on with plans to revitalize Downtown D.C.

On Monday, Bowser, D.C. Councilmember Brooke Pinto (D-Ward 2), D.C. Department of K STREET Page 48

‘IT SEEMS LIKE THEY’RE ROBBING US’

Celebrating 58 Years - Vol. 58, No. 29 • May 4-10, 2023

5 Karen Hilliard (center) joins other Talbert Terrace neighborhood residents in a short march on April 8 in support of protecting a beloved community green space. (Kayla Benjamin / The Washington Informer)

5Dr. Ben Vinson III, 18th president of Howard University (Courtesy Photo/ Howard University)

Pharrell Williams on Artists Rights Page 32

5 On Monday, May 1, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D), D.C. Councilmember Brooke Pinto (D-Ward 2), D.C. Department of Transportation Director Everett Lott and several others converged on Franklin Park in Northwest to demand that the D.C. Council reallocates funds to a multi-year construction project intended to set up dedicated bus lanes and bike lanes along the K Street corridor and portions of L Street. (Shedrick Pelt/ The Washington Informer) HU PRESIDENT Page 49

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May 1 Celebrated as Inaugural DC Statehood Day

The DC Statehood PAC, with the support of D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D), declared May 1 as DC Statehood Day, a first, at an event held at the National Press Club in Northwest.

“DC Statehood Day is a rallying cry for all Americans who believe the 700,000 tax paying citizens of the District should enjoy equal participation in our democracy,” said DC Statehood PAC Lorie Masters.

The DC Statehood PAC is a hybrid political action committee registered with the Federal Election Commission. Its goal is to give District residents full and equal voting members of the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate using statehood as a vehicle. On April 27, Norton introduced a resolution expressing support for May 1 as DC Statehood Day.

“The single idea of ‘taxation without representation’ that gave rise to the American Revolution still resonates today,” she said. “D.C. residents pay the highest federal taxes per capita and more federal taxes than 23 states, and the District has a

bond rating higher than 35 states. D.C. residents have fought and died in every war since the Revolution, and they deserve voting representation in Congress and full local self-government.”

DC Statehood PAC leaders advise supporters to discuss its importance with friends and relatives; wear District-themed clothes and apparel in public; sign the petition in support of D.C. statehood which will be hand delivered on May 1 and use #dcstatehoodday on all social media channels. WI

Senator Cardin Announces Retirement

Maryland’s senior senator announced today that he will not be running again for the seat he has held for nearly two decades, leaving a rare vacancy for the Senate position.

Cardin first won his Senate seat in 2006 in a contested primary against Baltimore Congressman Kweisi Mfume (D). He played a large role in establishing the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) that kept many businesses afloat during the earliest stages of COVID-19.

“It’s been the honor of my life to represent the people of Maryland in the General Assembly, as Speaker of the House of Delegates, as a member of the U.S. House of

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

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PUBLISHER

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STAFF

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Mable Neville, Bookkeeper

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REPORTERS

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

PHOTOGRAPHERS

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

Representatives and now in the United States Senate,” Cardin said in his statement.

Following this announcement, Senator Chris Van Hollen (D) said:“From increased funding for our schools to bringing more resources to the Chesapeake Bay to expanding health care services and empowering minority, women, and veteran-owned small businesses – Senator Cardin has never backed down from a challenge or taking on special interests. We all witnessed this last week on the Senate floor as he led the fight for the Equal Rights Amendment because, as he said, ‘There is no time limit on equality.’” WI

As Deadly Fighting Continues in Sudan, Many Americans Remain Stranded

Despite extending a tenuous truce between the country's top generals, massive explosions and gunfire continued to rock the Sudanese capital of Khartoum and its twin city of Omdurman.

Casualties are in the hundreds, and the capital city has become a war zone due to the power struggle between these competing generals, resulting in hundreds of deaths.

African and Arab nations, the United Nations and the United States have all pressured the generals to peacefully halt the conflict. However, they have only managed intermittent ceasefires, which have not prevented battles, but have given tens of thousands of Sudanese time to move to safer places and

other governments time to evacuate their citizens by land, air and sea.

With security lacking in Khartoum and the airport shutdown, the U.S. State Department recommends that U.S. citizens remain in their current locations and await further instructions from the U.S. government on evacuating safely.

The State Department has specified available border crossings and the necessary paperwork for entering each country.

The Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Moussa Fakin Mahamat, has appealed to the neighboring states of Sudan and the international community to “speedily extend humanitarian support to civilians fleeing the conflict in Sudan.”

Meanwhile, fighting continues, and many paths remain risky and uncertain.

The majority of the about 16,000 Americans thought to be in Sudan are dual nationals of the United States and Sudan, and only a tiny percentage of them have voiced a desire to leave.

WI

Read the full story on washingtoninformer.com

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

5 D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton has a resolution in the House declaring May 1 as DC Statehood Day. (WI File Photo/ Anthony Tilghman)

5 The Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Moussa Fakin Mahamat

AROUND THE REGION

Transitioning to FBI this Summer

Chief Contee to Step Down from MPD's Top Spot Contee

By Sam P.K. Collins WI Staff Writer

After less than three years at the helm of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), Chief Robert J. Contee will soon end his tenure.

Contee, a 33-year veteran of the department, recently revealed his intention to leave MPD for an assistant director position in the FBI. With D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) and his fellow public safety officials standing around him, Contee reflected on his years of service to the community.

“When I started this role, I stood before our community bearing my soul and [telling] my story.,” Contee said on Thursday morning at the John A. Wilson Building. “I’m just a kid from Carver Terrace who happened to dream and do something that’s impactful. It’s my highest honor to be able to serve the residents of the District of Columbia. This is a move that I decided to make for Robert Contee and to inspire young people across our city.”

Contee, whose last day is set for June 3, is the latest high-profile leader to leave the D.C. government in recent months. His departure follows that of John Falcicchio and Chris Geldart, former chief of staff and deputy mayor of public safety respectively. Bowser said a nationwide search is underway for Contee’s replacement.

In 2020, Bowser tapped, and the D.C. Council later confirmed Contee, a Ward 5 native and D.C. Public Schools alumnus, as the replacement of Peter Newsham, who took a new job as chief of the Prince William County Police Department in Virginia.

At the time of Contee's confirmation, D.C. and other U.S. cities were in the midst of racial justice protests that inspired calls for police reform. Many residents expressed their desire for a police chief who could get a handle on violent crime while engaging residents and remaining transparent with the community.

Though Contee received accolades for MPD’s response to the January 6 insurrection at the Capitol,

critics continue to point at the litany of police-involved shootings and allegations of fourth amendment violations under his watch. The District had also experienced levels of violent crime not seen in previous years, all while the number of officers dwindled.

With Contee at the helm, MPD has launched community-based initiatives, including those focused on homicide reduction and quelling criminal activity in nightlife areas. These efforts have reportedly led to reduction of crime citywide, and at some along Good Hope Road in Southeast and the Brightwood community in Northwest.

The latest iteration of those programs, announced by Contee and Bowser on Thursday, takes patrol officers out of their cars and into District neighborhoods to collaborate with residents and address quality-of-life issues. Contee said that MPD officials will continue to examine the data in conjunction with researchers at George Mason University who pioneered research about community policing.

D.C. resident Mikki Charles expressed skepticism about MPD’s ability to curb crime. She went further to question the veracity of Contee’s assertion that violent crime fell after MPD dispatched officers to affected neighborhoods.

Charles, a member of local abolitionist organization Harriet’s Wildest Dreams, said that inconsistent leadership in the Bowser administration fails District residents. She went on to tell the Informer that the mayor overly relies on punitive measures, and not investments in resources, to address crime.

For Charles, recent revelation about D.C. Housing Authority Director Brenda Donald's bonus drives this point home.

“They said they’re building community but they don’t know what community means,” Charles said. “The community for far too long has [talked about] the issues they’ve been facing and [the city] doesn’t address it. They don’t address the cries of the

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SMALL BUSINESS SUMMIT

Connect, Grow, Succeed

The DC Chamber of Commerce 2023 Small Business Summit will convene leaders from across local & federal governments and the small business industry for a deep dive into the state of the District of Columbia’s small business industry and the future vision, policy, and programs for all businesses. This year’s Summit will also feature a dedicated retail track with educational content tailored to our small retailers. Join us and be a part of shaping the future of small businesses in DC and beyond!

Program Attendee – Complimentary

• Entrance to Makers Market, networking opportunities and morning program

• Continental Breakfast

• Attendance at featured workshops throughout the day

Awards luncheon $125 members and $175 non-members

Morning keynote speaker Gina Shaefer, CEO and Co-Founder, A Few Cool Hardware Stores

Three tracks of small business workshops:

• Create Your Own Success: A Workshop on Starting Your Business

• Growing Strong: Building and Expanding Your Business

• Connecting the Dots of the Procurement Process

Three tracks of retail workshops:

• Retail Beginner’s Guide

• Marketing Your Retail Business on a Budget

• Scaling Retail Business in Post Pandemic Era

Contee (WI File Photo/Robert R. Roberts)

AROUND THE REGION

facts

MAY 7

APRIL 27 - MAY 3, 2023

SOURCE: BLACK AMERICA WEB

1878 – Inventor Joseph Winters receives a patent for a wagon-mounted fire escape ladder.

1943 – The SS George Washington Carver launches at the Richmond Shipyard No. 1 in California.

MAY 8

1911 – Legendary blues guitarist and singer-songwriter Robert Johnson is born in Hazlehurst, Mississippi.

1915 – Henry McNeal Turner, the first Black chaplain in the United States Colored Troops, dies in Windsor, Ontario, at 81.

MAY 9

1800 – Abolitionist John Brown, who led the slave revolt at Harper's Ferry in 1859, is born in Torrington, Connecticut.

1899 – Inventor John Albert Burr patents one of the first rotary-blade lawn mowers.

2010 – Famed singer, dancer, actress and civil rights activist Lena Horne dies in New York City of congestive heart failure at 92.

MAY 10

MAY 4

1884 – Civil rights pioneer Ida B. Wells refuses to give up her seat on a Tennessee train, sparking her fight for equal rights.

1961 – The Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) stages its first "freedom ride" to challenge racial segregation throughout the Deep South.

MAY 5

1865 – Community activist, author and pastor Adam Clayton Powell Sr. is born in Franklin County, Virginia.

1905 – Robert S. Abbott begins publishing The Chicago Defender, the city's first Black newspaper.

1988 – Eugene Marino is installed as Archbishop of Atlanta, becoming the first African American archbishop in American history.

MAY 6

1787 – Prince Hall founds the first Black Masonic lodge, African Lodge No. 459 of Boston.

1812 – Physician, writer and Black nationalist Martin Delany, one of the first three Black people admitted to Harvard Medical School, is born in Charles Town, Virginia, which is present-day Charles Town, West Virginia.

1931 – Hall of Fame baseball player Willie Mays is born in Westfield, Alabama.

1960 – President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs the Civil Rights Act of 1960, establishing federal inspection of local voter registration polls and penalties for obstructing voter registration.

1991 – The Smithsonian board of regents unanimously approve the establishment of the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

1837 – P.B.S. Pinchback, the first African American to become governor of a U.S. state, is born in Macon, Georgia.

1950 – Baseball great Jackie Robinson becomes the first African American to be featured on the cover of Life magazine.

1994 – Nelson Mandela is inaugurated as South Africa's first Black president. WI

NELSON MANDELA

LENA HORNE

Innovative Signage Solutions to help you grow your business

Innovative Signage Solutions to help you grow your business

BY SARAFINA WRIGHT

The NBA playoffs are underway, and Black history was recently made. Golden States Warrior Stephen Curry was the first player in history to reach 50 points in a Game 7 in victory over the Sacramento Kings. What are your thoughts?

TREVOR MILLER / WASHINGTON, D.C.

Steph just be toying with teams, making them feel good about themselves. Then bam, slamming the door on their postseason experience.

NEHEMIAH F / BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS

The Warriors could have won already. This was all about making money in Sacramento!

CURTIS WEBB / MINNEAPOLIS, MINN.

He is one of a kind, and so is Kevin Looney.

LEON DENT / CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA

He is unguardable! They will easily beat the Lakers in 6.

CLAUDIA MCINTYRE / CHICAGO, ILLINOIS

It's no diss to Curry, I love him, but every sports announcer I hear never mentions MJ. It's like he never existed; he made 40-50 points every game!

CORNER

We Own Now’s 2nd Annual ‘Ownership is the New Black’ Symposium

By WI Bridge Staff

Grammy Award-winning artist Derek Minor (@ thederekminor) is set to host We Own Now’s (@WeOwnNowOrg) 2nd Annual “Ownership Is The New Black” symposium at The Wharf (Union Stage) in Washington D.C. on May 11, in partnership with prestigious sponsors The Rockefeller Foundation and The Clapham Group. This high-profile event, scheduled from 7-9 pm, will be accompanied by additional activations on May 9-10 as preludes to the main gathering.

The symposium will feature two insightful panels focusing on bridging the racial wealth gap and a screening of the first episode of the Nashville-based non-profit’s mini-doc.

The premiere will be accompanied by 15-minute discussions and will conclude with an exclusive performance by Minor, showcasing music from his upcoming ‘Nobody’s Perfect’ LP. For more information and to read the full article visit wibridgedc.com. WI

community. We’re living in a food desert. Bowser kills bills that would help the community.”

On Wednesday, Bowser released a statement congratulating Contee.

"Since his first week on the job, and over the past 33 years, [Chief Contee] as been making Washington, D.C. incredibly proud. He’s a son of D.C. who grew up in Carver Langston, joined the Metropolitan Police Department as a cadet at 17 years old, and now he’s ready for his next chapter," Bowser said.

"He has led MPD through an incredibly challenging time for our country – from the pandemic to Jan-

uary 6th and navigating the effects of a shrinking department during a time when gun violence is exploding across the nation. He has been a phenomenal ambassador of what it means to be a police officer in D.C. – brilliant, compassionate, and determined to build a DC where all people feel safe and are safe.”

D.C. Councilmember Trayon White (D-Ward 8) also weighed in on Contee’s departure.

"Chief Contee is a solid leader and it’s going to be hard to replace him," White said. "Homegrown competent leadership is vital to moving the city forward."

WI

@SamPKCollins

CONTEE from Page 5

5 Grammy Award-winning artist Derek Minor is set to host We Own Now’s second annual “Ownership Is The New Black” symposium at Union Stage on May 11. (Courtesy Photo)

3 The second annual “Ownership Is the New Black” symposium will take place May 11, with additional pre-activities May 9-10. ( (Courtesy Photo)

John Legend Partners with D.C. Think Tank to Confront Racial Bias

By James Wright WI Staff Writer

One of America’s most accomplished entertainers has joined a prestigious, District-based think tank to study and come up with strategies to confront the nation’s structural racism and examine the well-being of people of color.

“When we study the stories of people and places, we see that everyone can thrive if given the right tools and opportunities,” said artist and social activist John Legend at a forum sponsored by the District’s Brookings Institution (Brookings) on April 29.

“I’m proud to partner with Brookings to fight for sustained investment in our local communities and reframe the narrative around racial equity by focusing on solutions.”

Legend, 44, has been an entertainer for over two decades. He is the first Black man and second youngest person to have won all four of the major American entertainment awards: Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony. The celebrated artist founded HUMANLEVEL, a national initiative designed to uplift communities unevenly impacted by institutional racism.

Brookings, located in Northwest and founded in 1916, is a research group that specializes in subjects dealing with the social sciences and produces books, papers and workshops on its findings. The partnership is tasked with providing research and policy analysis, challenging current disparity-focused reporting on equity and racial justice issues, and promoting stories of local grassroots momentum for community leaders and policymakers focused on shutting down barriers causing racial and economic strife.

BENDING THE MORAL ARC TOWARD (RACIAL) JUSTICE

A panel discussion—Bending the Moral Arc Toward (Racial) Justice-- sponsored by Brookings and moderated by Legend consisted of Brookings scholars and leaders and executives with nonprofit organizations. The discussion took place at the Gallup Building in Northwest before an audience of 70.

Brookings senior fellow Dr. Andre Perry made a presentation primarily focusing on the well-being of minorities.

“We need to talk about well-being,” said Perry. “Why is it crucial to race?”

Perry revealed statistics showing the American people in general are happiest in southern states such as North Carolina and Georgia and the saddest in the Great Lakes and Appalachian states. In charts showing the country’s metropolitan areas where Americans regardless of race are happy, the Washington, D.C. area ranks in the top 10 for all groups except Latinos. The charts show that the Atlanta metropolitan area is tops for happiness for Blacks and Latinos while whites are the most satisfied in Hawaii’s urban areas. Additionally, Perry’s charts reveal Blacks in small and mid-sized southern cities, such as Greenville, South Carolina, are thriving.

“We need to change the narrative when it comes to our cities,” Perry said. “We focus on what is wrong with our cities, but we should also look at what is right.”

Bree Jones, who served on the panel, is the founder and chief executive officer of Parity, a nonprofit that purchases vacant buildings and homes in Baltimore and sells them to interested homebuyers. Jones said well-being financially often is the result of whether a person owns a home and builds wealth in that manner. She said Baltimore presently has 15,000 vacant building but has so far sold 40 of them to families.

Jones said it is common to view the term capital in strictly financial terms related to wealth.

“We need to broaden the definition of wealth,” she said. “There is political capital, social capital, and capital in the form of such things as clean water and clean air. We don’t have to define wealth solely by how much money one has.”

Legend said creating happiness and a positive well-being for people of color doesn’t start on the federal level, but locally.

“We have to start at the human level,” he said. “We start by improving our neighborhoods. From there, we can increase the well-being for all our citizens.” WI

@JamesWrightJr10

Legend said creating happiness and a positive well-being for people of color doesn’t start on the federal level, but locally.

5 Singer-songwriter John Legend moderated a discussion with panelists (L-R) Lorella Praeli, Ronnell Hampton, Bree Jones, Camille Busette, and Andre Perry on racial justice on April 29 hosted by the Brookings Institution in Northwest. (CourtesyTwitter photo/Brookings Institution)

for such products. This is not a commitment to lend.

AROUND THE REGION

CAPTURE THE MOMENT

– Nelson Mandela

“A winner is a dreamer who never gives up."

Rob Scheer, founder of Comfort Cases during a photo-opp with Brittany Hughes, deputy director of constituent services for Ward 7, and Amerigroup Plan President Adrian Jordan after packing care packages for children in foster care alongside volunteers at the Boys and Girls Club in Northwest on May 1. (Anthony Tilghman/The Washington Informer)

D.C. Home Rule Discussed at Bar Association Conference

By James Wright WI Staff Writer

This year, Washington, D.C. is celebrating 50 years of operating under the Home Rule Charter and the city’s Bar Association held a program recognizing the historic milestone and what further steps should be taken regarding residents seeking full citizenship in the Union.

The 2023 District of Columbia Judicial and Bar Conference, under the theme “Home Rule in D.C. at 50: Looking Back and Looking Forward,” occurred at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Northwest on April 28.

The program consisted of a plenary session of the District’s corporation counsels and attorneys general and afternoon sessions on topics related to Home Rule and other ancillary matters. The keynote luncheon served as the main attraction, with former D.C. Mayor Sharon Pratt and Washington Post columnist Colby King serving as panelists on “A Conversation with Local Legends.” Robert Fairfax Jr., dean of the American University Washington School of Law, moderated the discussion.

The conference took place as Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives have taken steps to undermine the District’s authority to govern itself by passing in one instance and proposing in another disapproval resolutions on matters of revising the criminal code and nixing police reform, respectively. Last month, Councilmember Charles Allen (D-Ward 6) and the leader of the D.C. police union joined D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson (D) to testify before the House Oversight Committee on the issues surrounding criminal code reform. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser is scheduled to address the same committee on May 16 on her governance of the District.

PRATT, KING TALK ABOUT HOME RULE

In 1991, Pratt was sworn in as mayor of the District, arguably becoming the first Black woman to

lead a major American city. Pratt, a District native, spoke of her awareness in early life of being a resident of the city and not having the rights that other American citizens had.

“I was born that way, but I won’t die that way,” Pratt, 79, said. “When Home Rule passed Congress in 1973 and we had our first elections in 1974, District residents had an avenue of participation in our democracy. We had been marginalized so much, we now had to deal with this extraordinary moment.”

From its inception in 1790, the District was largely ruled by the Congress based on the U.S. Constitution, with changes in structure taking place occasionally.

The District operated under direct congressional jurisdiction through the commissioner era (1874-1967) and the mayor-council-commissioner system from 1967-1973. Home Rule allowed the District to elect a mayor, city councilmembers at-large and in eight wards, continue to elect a board of education and authorized the creation of elected on-the-ground leaders known as

1991-1995. advisory neighborhood commissioners. However, Congress still reviews legislation passed by the D.C. Council and must approve the city budget, even portions generated by local revenue.

King, 83, said he worked in Congress when Home Rule was enacted.

“The head of the District committee in the House was a representative by the name of John McMillan,” he said. “Throughout the years, McMillan blocked every attempt for the city to have more autonomy. So, our newly elected delegate Walter Fauntroy, traveled with others to McMillian’s home district and managed to get him defeated in the primary. With McMillan gone and Detroit congressman Charles Diggs in charge of the District committee, we moved forward with Home Rule.”

Both Pratt and King said racist attitudes among whites in Congress and the strong population of Blacks in the city were the reasons Home Rule came into being and not a statehood-like governing structure.

WI @JamesWrightJr10

5 Sharon Pratt served as mayor of the District from

PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY

Returning Citizens Thank Braveboy, Staff for Efforts to Ease Transition

By Richard Elliott WI Contributing Reporter

On the 27th, a group of returning citizens gave their thanks to Prince George’s State’s Attorney Aisha Braveboy (D) at the Grove Restaurant in Upper Marlboro.

Alonzo Turner-Bey organized the event and was the first to speak among the group of 30, relaying his story and his plans to make a difference in Prince George’s. “Too often we are painted with a bad brush. I want to show the good we are all doing, to encourage her and her staff to continue

doing what they’re doing.” Braveboy ended the event with her story. “There was something in my heart in January 2019. Not only that victims deserve justice, but there were also people who were unfairly sentenced who needed a chance also. So I created the Sentenc-

ing Integrity Unit with Doyle Niemann, and I knew he would deliver the proper message to the community: that we are ultimately accountable to justice.”, she said. “I knew it was the right thing to do.”

Dquinta Uzzle served alongside Turner-Bey and particularly noted the importance of programs before young ones are caught up in the criminal Justice system. “We’re not just about re-entry, we’re trying to preventing people from entering the system.”, he said. Willie Hamilton was the first juvenile lifer to be paroled in Prince George’s County, and the first prisoner to be released after the Governor was removed from the parole process. “We were really trying to do better, and help others do well.” He was released 10 months ago, and has been

advocating for returning citizens ever since in court appearances and alongside the nonprofit organization Life After Release.

Of those who came up to tell their stories of how long they served in prison, many directly credited Braveboy and her staff for efforts to help them return home and transition. “They just need the opportunity to show who they are and what they’re becoming”, said one man. Braveboy was so moved by their words and their stories that Turner-Bey handed her a napkin to wipe back her joyful tears.

Turner-Bey was recently given an award at the Justice Symposium hosted by Braveboy at Bowie State University. He plans to continue efforts to assist returning citizens in a successful transition. WI

Ivey’s First Bill, Treasurer Davis Speaks Out, Municipal Elections

By Richard Elliott WI Contributing Reporter

Maryland’s District 4 Congressman Glenn Ivey (D) introduced his first bill earlier this week– HR2870, also known as The Raise the Age Act, which seeks to limit the access of long guns to Americans under the age of 21. As of April 26, he had 61 co-sponsors.

“I will be introducing my first bill in the 118th Congress. It will raise the age for young folks to buy center-fire cartridge semi-auto rifles from

age 18 to age 21. The tragedies in Uvalde, Buffalo and Newtown were all caused by recently turned 18-yearold shooters, imagine if they had to wait until they were 21; the number of lives which would have been saved. Immature brains have time to develop, and emotional ups and downs may be more manageable for people, especially young men, just three years later,” said Rep. Glenn Ivey.

Rep. Ivey was joined by Rep. Mike Thompson (California), chair of the IVEY Page 20

5 State’s Attorney Aisha Braveboy poses with those who shared their testimonies since receiving second chances thanks to her office.(Richard Elliott/ The Washington Informer)

James Wright / WI Staff Writer

BUSINESS briefs

MCDUFFIE FY 2024 BUDGET REPORT

D.C. Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie (I-At Large) announced on April 28 the 2024 fiscal year budget report for the Committee on Business and Economic Development, of which he serves as the chairman.

Proposals such as restoring $54 million in funding for the Child Wealth Building Act, known as Baby Bonds, were made a priority because D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser defunded the program in her proposed budget.

“The committee’s budget recommendations reflect how important it is for our city to be focused on community safety, economic security, and

giving our residents and visitors a world-class experience,” said McDuffie. “The restoration of funding to the Child Wealth Building Act was a priority of mine to ensure that our government fulfills our promise to create opportunities for our children to pay for higher education, start a business, buy a house and create wealth. I am also proud to advance investment in the District’s Downtown corridor to spur the development of mixed income housing, requiring more affordable housing and jobs for District of Columbia residents.”

In addition to funding the Child Wealth Building Act, the committee supported $1 million for the Strong Families, Strong Futures program, $268,000 to the DC State Athletic

Association and DC Combat Sports Commission to provide vital programming to our young people, increased funding to $6 million for the Commercial Property Acquisition Fund and $55 million over the next five years to fuel housing production in downtown Washington.

DC CHAMBER 2023 SMALL BUSINESS SUMMIT

The DC Chamber of Commerce 2023 Small Business Summit will convene on May 9 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Northwest from 7:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Leaders in the local and federal governments and the small business industry will go for a deep dive into the state of the District’s firms and the future vision, policy and programs for all businesses. There will be a dedicated retail track with educational content tailored to small retailers.

Program attendees will have access to the Makers Market, networking opportunities, the morning program, continental breakfast and the ability to attend featured workshops

DC Housing Authority

throughout the day. For more information, call the Chamber at 202347-7201 or email info@dcchamber. org.

ABRAMS, ROY JOIN NWBC

The National Women’s Business Council (NWBC) announced re-

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING AND COMMENT PERIOD FOR THE PROPOSED 2024 MOVING TO WORK PLAN

The District of Columbia Housing Authority (DCHA) is providing notice of a Public Hearing and Comment Period to solicit comments on the agency’s proposed 2024 Moving to Work (MTW) Plan.

MTW is a HUD program that allows select public housing authorities to design and implement innovative programs and policies with the intent to: 1) reduce costs and improve efficiencies; 2) encourage residents to obtain employment and become economically self-sufficient; and 3) increase housing choices for low-income families. The MTW Plan outlines operating plans for the fiscal year and requests and provides updates regarding MTW flexibilities.

To request a copy of the MTW plan, please call (202) 681-1487, send an email to MTW@dchousing.org, or download from the DCHA website at www. dchousing.org/mtw2.

The Public Hearing will take place online at 6 pm on Monday, May 8, 2023. To join the live event, please join at https://bit.ly/dchousing_mtw using webinar number 2303 565 6069 and webinar password aS36JyMpM5w. This event will also be live streamed at https://www.facebook.com/dchousing.

Comments

Written comments regarding the MTW Plan will be accepted through Tuesday, May 30, 2023. Email your comments to MTW@dchousing.org. Alternatively, you can mail comments to:

Hanna Koerner, c/o DCHA

1133 North Capitol Street NE, Suite 200 , Washington, DC 20002

Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation

DCHA strives to host inclusive, accessible events that enable all individuals, including individuals with disabilities, to engage fully. It is the policy of DCHA that all agency-sponsored public meetings and events are accessible to people with disabilities. DCHA is committed to providing equal access to events for all participants & residents with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation, or assistance in participating in a meeting or event due to a disability as defined under the Americans with Disabilities Act, please contact our ADA/504 Program Office at 202-535-1000 or at ADA504@dchousing.org with your complete request. Every reasonable effort will be made to meet your request.

If you need a sign language interpreter or foreign language interpretation or translation, please contact our Office of Customer Engagement at 202-535-1000 or go to www.dchousing.org/language. Please allow at least 5 business days to make the necessary arrangements.

cently that two new members have joined.

“We are over the moon to be joined by Samantha Abrams and Katica Roy,” said Tene Dolphin,executive director of NWBC. “Both are driven by a desire to create meaningful change, equity, and empowerment for women, especially women of color, through entrepreneurship. As they raise the voices of these women, we are excited to hear them raise their own voices on the council.”

Abrams is the CEO and managing director of Walker’s Legacy, which works to support the economic equality and entrepreneurial prosperity of Black and Brown women. Abrams also co-owns a selection of local restaurants.

Roy is the founder and CEO of Pipeline Equity Inc., an award-winning technology company with the mission of increasing financial performance of companies by closing the intersectional gender equity gap and achieving parity in workplaces.

PR. GEORGE’S GOLF TOURNAMENT

Calling all golf enthusiasts and business leaders! Get ready to tee off and swing into action at the Prince George’s County Chamber of Commerce Annual Golf Tournament and Fundraiser.

The fundraiser and tournament is a hole-in-one day filled with networking, friendly competition, and birdies.

The event will be held at the Oak Creek Golf Course in Upper Marlboro, Maryland.

For more information and to register, visit http://birdease.com/PGCOCGOLF. WI

@JamesWrightJr10

5 D.C. Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie released his committee’s fiscal year 2024 budget report.

Chase Bank Holds Business Pop-Up at Skyland Town Center

By James Wright WI Staff Writer

Five local small businesses showcased their products at a pop-up event at the JP Morgan Chase branch banking center located at the Skyland Town Center in Southeast on May 1.

The pop-up was part of the branch’s series of programs during National Small Business Week, which starts on May 2 and ends on May 5. Vendors offering free and discounted products at the pop-up include The Museum, an apparel and artwork store that recently took on the Washington Commanders as a client; Glowrx Skincare Company that offers products that deal with sensitive skin of African Americans; Colada Shop, a Cuban café and bar serving drinks; Irresistible Cupcakes and Union Kitchen.

Lorraine Beraho is the owner of Glowrx. She started her company four years ago to help women of color with their skin problems.

“I have eczema and I could not find products that treated it,” Beraho said.

“Glowrx products deal with skin that ranges from dull to dark and rich in tone.”

Beraho said she is doing well, with a location in the H Street-Union Station neighborhood. She mentioned that in 2022, she had her products in 400 Target stores nationally. Beraho credits Chase bank for assisting her in building Glowrx.

“I am a practicing pediatrician, so I knew very little about finance,” she said. “I love Chase’s small business education. They set up a personalized plan for me.”

Darla Harris, a business consultant for Chase, said helping small businesses to thrive is what she does.

“Two-thirds of the businesses we consult are on the right path,” she said. “We don’t have a one-size fits all approach to helping businesses. We encourage businesses to come to branches like the one at Skyland Town Center to set up an appointment and see what can be done.”

WI @JamesWrightJr10

GROW YOUR BUSINESS WITH UNITED BANK.

5 JP Morgan Chase held a small business pop-up on May 1 at its Skyland branch in Southeast. (Shedrick Pelt/The Washington Informer)

Biden Calls Black Press ‘Heroes’ During Funny WH Correspondents Dinner

By Stacy M. Brown WI Senior Writer

President Joe Biden proved likely as funny and prescient in his White House Correspondents

Dinner remarks as hired comedian and Daily Show correspondent Roy Wood Jr.

But the commander in chief struck a rather serious and forceful tone during his 22-minute speech when he declared how vital the Black Press remains after 196 years of speaking truth to power.

After hilariously railing on everyone from Fox News, Tucker Carlson, Donald Trump and Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, the president made fun of himself in a tour de force of hilariously self-deprecating jokes.

But, it was his proclamation calling the Black Press heroes that punctuated a 22-plus minute

speech that proved one for the ages.

“During Black History Month this year, I hosted the screening of the movie “Till,” the president stated, after such quips like “MSNBC is owned by NBC Universal and Fox News is owned by Dominion Voting Systems.”

“The story of Emmett Till and his mother is a story of a family’s promise and loss and a nation’s reckoning with hate, violence, and the abuse of power,” Biden recounted as he started his championing of the Black Press.

“It’s a story that was seared into our memory and our conscience – the nation’s conscience – when Mrs. Till insisted that an open casket for her murdered and maimed 14-year-old son be the means by which he was transported. She said, ‘Let the people see what I’ve seen.’”

TWO RIVERS PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS Playground Equipment

Two Rivers PCS is soliciting price quotes from a licensed vendor to install replacement playground equipment. To request a copy of the RFP, email Gail Williams at procurement@ tworiverspcs.org. Proposals are due by May 18, 2023.

The president continued:

“The reason the world saw what she saw was because of another hero in this story: the Black Press. That’s a fact. Jet Magazine, the Chicago Defender, and other Black radio and newspapers were unflinching and brave in making sure America saw what she saw. And I mean it.”

He quoted Ida B. Wells, who exclaimed that “The way to right wrongs is to turn the light of truth upon the wrongs.”

“That’s the sacred view, in my view,” Biden asserted. “That’s the sacred charge of a free press. And I mean that.”

Earlier the White House Correspondents Association honored fallen PBS star journalist Gwen Ifill, and Biden took notice.

“That’s what someone, we still miss so much, who you honored posthumously, stood for– Gwen Ifill,” he said.

“She moderated my first debate for vice president and was a trusted voice for millions of Americans. Gwen understood that the louder the noise, the more it’s on all of us to cut through the noise to the truth. The truth matters.”

Before giving way to Wood, the president reminisced about the 2022 dinner.

“As I said last year at this dinner, a poison is running through our democracy and parts of the

extreme press,” Biden reasserted. “The truth buried by lies, and lies living on as truth. Lies told for profit and power. Lies of conspiracy and malice repeated over and over again, designed to generate a cycle of anger, hate, and even violence.”

He concluded: “I’ve made clear that we know in our bones – and you know it too – our democracy remains at risk. But I’ve also made it clear, as I’ve seen throughout my life, it’s within our power, each and every one of us, to preserve our democracy. We can. We must. We will.”

National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) President and CEO Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr., who sat nearby as the president spoke, offered praise to Biden.

“The NNPA thanks President Joe Biden for highlighting the strategic importance and ongoing value of the Black Press of America,” Chavis stated.

“Biden’s speech to the 2023 White House Correspondents Dinner in Washington, D.C., was another historic tribute to the Black Press as the NNPA reaffirms being the trusted voice of Black America.”

Following the president’s speech, Wood jumped in.

“Real quick, Mr. President, I think you left some of your clas-

sified documents up here,” Woods quipped. “I’ll put them in a safe place, he don’t know where to keep them.”

While that led to hearty chuckles, Wood went on to deliver belly-aching laughter when he zeroed in on Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, former Fox host Tucker Carlson, former CNN host Don Lemon, and others.

“Ron, everybody knows how to do politics. This is America,” Wood said in addressing DeSantis. “We don’t pass laws. You make a promise to voters. And then you don’t do it. That’s what the great leaders in this room understand.”

“Ask any Republican [to] try to explain CRT, they sound like a Democrat trying to explain the charges against Trump.”

He continued: “You are trying to erase Black people and a lot of Black people wouldn’t mind some of that erasure as long as that Black person is Clarence Thomas.”

And while Trump, and so many others proved targets, Wood didn’t spare Biden. “When the retirement age went up two years to 64 [in France] they rioted because they didn’t want to work till 64,” Wood said.

“Meanwhile in America, we have an 80-year-old man begging us for four more years of work.” WI @StacyBrownMedia

5 (Courtesy photo/WHCA)

With a Civil Rape Case Going Awry, Donald Trump is Failing in Court

By Stacy M. Brown WI Senior Writer

Former President Donald Trump, already facing a historic 30-plus count criminal prosecution in New York, pending indictments in Georgia, and an ongoing investigation into the January 2021 uprising in the District of Columbia, appears headed toward the disgrace of losing a civil suit in a Manhattan rape case.

Brought by the writer, E. Jean Carroll, the case centers on Trump and Carroll’s encounter at a swanky New York department store in 1996.

Carroll said Trump coerced her into a dressing room and forcibly raped her.

The former president has denied the allegations.

His attorney, Joe Tacopina, at-

tempted to discredit Carroll on the witness stand, asking why she did not scream or seek assistance when Trump attacked her.

Carroll hit back, refuting the thought that rape victims should behave in a particular way.

She argued that the line of thinking has routinely discouraged women from coming forward.

Carroll, also well-known for her former advice columns, said that while she did not report the incident to law enforcement, she immediately shared the encounter with two of her closest friends.

Tacopina argued that Carroll was stretching the bounds of credibility.

He claimed she only came forward in 2019 because she disdained Trump’s politics and wanted to sell copies of her book.

He labeled Carroll as not credible.

Experts, however, disagreed.

Many familiar with the law and advocates for sexual assault victims noted that most victims do not report the assault at the time it occurs, if ever.

Michigan attorney Jamie White, who is most known for his work with clients who experienced sexual assault, called Tacopina’s efforts “the most tone-deaf and shameless cross-examination I have ever seen.”

According to White, there is no way that Trump can win this rape case.

He believes that Trump’s chances of success are “out the window.”

White also said he anticipates that Carroll’s legal team will introduce the

infamous Hollywood Access audio into evidence.

Further, former United States Attorney Harry Litman told reporters that Tacopina’s cross-examination of Carroll was a “total blunder.”

Carroll’s team expects to call the writer Natasha Stoynoff, who has

accused Trump of forcibly kissing her in 2005, and the businesswoman Jessica Leeds, who has accused Trump of sexually assaulting her on a flight in the 1980s.

The jury should receive the case this week.

Dreaming of homeownership?

5 Former President Donald Trump appears headed toward losing a civil suit in a Manhattan rape case brough by writer E. Jean Carroll. (Courtesy Photo)

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5 Uganda's Defence Minister Vincent Bamulangaki Sempijja speaks at the event of the 29th Commemoration of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi held yesterday at Lambu Memorial Site in Masaka district. (Courtesy Photo)

COMPILED BY OSWALD T. BROWN, WI CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Rwanda’ Resilience Should be a Lesson for Everyone, Uganda’s Defence Minister Says

Uganda’s Defence Minister Vincent Bamulangaki Sempijja says that the determination and resilience shown by the Rwandan people after the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi should be emulated by the rest of the world if meaningful development is to be achieved, The New Times, Rwanda’s largest daily newspaper reported on Sunday, April 30.

Sempijja shared the message while speaking at the Lambu Memorial Site in Masaka district on Friday, as the Rwandan community in Uganda and friends of Rwanda commemorated the 29th commemoration of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.

Every year in the month of April, the Rwandan community in Uganda and friends of Rwanda visit one of the three Memorial Sites along Lake Victoria in Uganda where several victims’ bodies were thrown into rivers in a genocide that claimed a million innocent lives lost within just 100 days.

“I commend the people of Rwanda for the spirit of reconciliation and nation building exhibited in the aftermath of the genocide, and take this opportunity to ask the rest of the world to learn from Rwanda. Uganda will forever remain committed to the spirit of brotherhood with Rwanda in this and other areas of mutual concern,” the Minister said, mentioning the recently held Joint Permanent Commission (JPC) in Kigali as a major step taken aimed at building a solid bilateral relationship between the two countries.

“I want to assure you that all the ministries concerned are working very fast to make sure that all we agreed in Kigali is put into practice,” he said.

The event was attended by Mohammed Sulieman Ahmed, who is the Dean of the Diplomatic Corp in Uganda, and Eritrea’s Ambassador to Uganda, as well as several heads of Diplomatic missions accredited to Uganda, and a big delegation of students from different Universities in Uganda.

Rwanda’s High Commissioner to Uganda Col. Joseph Rutabana said the government of Rwanda is committed to raising awareness and advocate for U.N. member countries to arrest and prosecute identified and confirmed Genocide fugitives residing or hiding in foreign countries.

JTB Appoints New Deputy Director Tourism for the Americas

The Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) has appointed Philip Rose to serve as its Deputy Director of Tourism (Acting) for the Americas, with responsibility for the United States (US), Caribbean and Latin America. The appointment took effect on April 1, 2023.

Commenting on the appointment, Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, said that Mr. Rose has a long history working in tourism to promote brand Jamaica.

“Throughout the years, he has proven himself to be a visionary leader whose numerous successes have helped to elevate and maintain Jamaica’s status as one of the world’s top tourism destinations, particularly from North America. It was, therefore, a natural fit for him to step into this key role,” Minister Bartlett.said.

5 Newly appointed Deputy Director of Tourism (Acting), Jamaica Tourist Board, Philip Rose. (Courtesy Photo)

For his part, Director of Tourism at the JTB, Donovan White, welcomed Mr. Rose to the new post, noting that he is a champion of Jamaica’s tourism, with outstanding qualifications and a well-established track record of excellence.

“The strategic direction, proficiency and foresight he provides have been invaluable to growing arrivals and we are fully confident that he will continue to be a driving force for tourism to Jamaica in his new position,” he said.

Prior to his appointment, Mr. Rose served as Regional Director for the JTB in the US, responsible for overseeing sales and marketing in the Northeast, the region that delivers the largest share of visitors to the island.

Diabetes and Healthy Living

Submitted by AmeriHealth Caritas District of Columbia

In 1991, the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and the World Health Organization (WHO) established November 14 as World Diabetes Day (WDD) to raise awareness about the growing health threat posed by diabetes.1 Currently, one in 10 people worldwide are affected by diabetes.2 Luckily, there are resources available to help manage the condition.

WHAT IS DIABETES?

Diabetes is a chronic health condition that affects the body’s ability to turn food into energy — a process that requires the hormone insulin.3 There are three main types of diabetes:

• Type 1 diabetes is characterized by a lack of insulin production. Of those with diabetes, approximately 5% – 10% have type 1.3,4

• Type 2 diabetes is caused by the body being unable to effectively use insulin. Symptoms of type 2 can be hard to recognize, so if you are at high risk, it’s important to get

your blood sugar tested regularly.3,4

• Gestational diabetes is diabetes that develops in pregnant women. Having gestational diabetes increases your risk of type 2 diabetes.3

SYMPTOMS OF DIABETES

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), common symptoms of diabetes include:5

• Urinating (peeing) often

• Feeling very thirsty

• Losing weight without trying

• Having blurry vision

• Having numb or tingling hands or feet

• Feeling very tired

• Having very dry skin

• Having more infections than usual

If you’re experiencing one or more of these symptoms, see your primary care provider (PCP) about getting tested.

People with type 1 diabetes usually develop symptoms as a child, teen, or young adult. Their symptoms can develop in a few weeks or months. Those with type 2 diabetes usually develop symptoms when they’re adults and

symptoms can take years to appear.5

LIVING WITH DIABETES

As people with diabetes get older, they have a higher risk of complications, such as heart disease, kidney disease, and vision loss.3 However, managing diabetes can help prevent or delay potential health problems. Try to focus on:6

• Eating nutritious foods that are high in fiber and low in fat and calories, such as fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and whole grains.

• Getting regular exercise. Any physical activity — whether it’s a workout class, a walk, or cleaning the house — helps lower blood sugar.

• Working with your PCP. They can help you create a diabetes treatment plan, which may involve diet, exercise, and/or medication.

The information in this article is to help you learn more about this topic. It is not to take the place of your healthcare

provider. If you have questions, talk with your healthcare provider.

Sources:

1. “About World Diabetes Day,” World Diabetes Day, https://worlddiabetesday.org/about/

2. “Understanding Diabetes,” World Diabetes Day, https://worlddiabetesday. org/about/understandingdiabetes/

3. “What is Diabetes?” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, https:// www.cdc.gov/diabetes/basics/diabetes. html

4. “World Diabetes Day,” The United

Stop By the New Enrollee Wellness and Opportunity Center

The AmeriHealth Caritas District of Columbia (DC) Enrollee Wellness and Opportunity Center has officially opened!

Services offered include:

• Fitness classes such as Zumba®, yoga, and aerobics

• Advice on healthy eating

• Healthy cooking classes

• Résumé assistance

Nations, https://www.un.org/en/observances/diabetes-day

5. “Diabetes Symptoms,” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/basics/ symptoms.html

6. Diabetes,” Mayo Clinic, https:// www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/diabetes/diagnosis-treatment/ drc-20371451

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

#BestMe

• Finance classes

AmeriHealth Caritas DC enrollees also can walk in without an appointment to get help with care management and other benefits. For more information, visit https:// www.amerihealthcaritasdc.com/ member/eng/healthy-living/wellness-center.

Visit the new Enrollee Wellness and Opportunity Center at: 1209 Good Hope Road SE Washington, DC 20020

D.C. Crisis Coalition Pushes For Improved Mental Health Crisis Response

By Lindiwe Vilakazi WI Staff Writer

Finan Berhe, Frances Garrett and Angelo Quinto are just a few among the numerous people who were killed during an interaction with law enforcement while undergoing a mental

IVEY from Page 12

Gun Violence Prevention Task Force and Ms. Adzi Vokhiwa, Federal Affairs Director of GIFFORDS, to announce the legislation. It was the 10th anniversary of the founding of GIFFORDS, a nonprofit gun violence prevention advocacy group founded by former Rep. Gabby Giffords, on the day he introduced the legislation.

Treasurer Dereck Davis (D) has pledged that he will speak out as the state of Maryland makes payments, sometimes in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, to settle lawsuits against state employees. Many of these cases involve law enforcement and corrections officials.

“I would like to say to our attorneys and so forth when they’re negotiating settlements in the future: If me being quiet is contingent upon those agreements, then you might well forget it. That’s not going to happen,” Davis said at a Board of Public Works meeting earlier this month. During this same meeting, 2 payouts in excess of $100,000 were authorized to settle state lawsuits.

As Davis is not bound by any form of confidentiality agreements nor is the Board of Works a court of law, he has free reign to criticize outsized spending on state misconduct. He previously estimated that at least $750,000 every

health crisis at the time of their death.

Across the District, the D.C. Crisis Coalition is fighting for the revamping of mental health crisis response services to prevent the killings, and mishandling of a vulnerable population.

According to the report, “Overlooked in the Undercounted,” from

year is spent on lawsuits, amounting to a large slush fund for “agency misbehavior.” Davis was formerly the Chair of the Economic Matters Committee and was an ardent voice to eliminate the death penalty in Maryland.

Davis was recently given control of the troubled 529 college savings program, where hundreds of parents reported issues with applying their savings to urgent college payments.

MUNICIPAL ELECTION DATES AND CANDIDATES

New Carrollton, Brentwood and Mount Rainier are all holding their elections on May 1. All of the municipal elections are non-partisan, meaning that voters can participate regardless of partisan affiliation.

In New Carrollton, Mayor Phelecia Nembhard (D) is facing a challenge from Councilmember Katrina Dodro. There are 11 candidates for five positions on the City Council, with incumbent Councilmembers Cynthia D.B. Mills, Allyne Hooks, Brian Urbina and Lincoln Lashley seeking re-election. Lashley is running on a ticket alongside Councilmember Urbina (D) and new candidates Duane Rosenberg, David Lai and Ryan Hussey.

WI

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the Treatment Advocacy Center, people who are left with untreated severe mental illness are 16 times more likely to be killed during a police encounter in comparison to other civilians stopped or approached by law enforcement.  Within the District, during the fiscal year 2022, 911 dispatched over 36,000 mental health calls to MPD, but only 327 calls to mental health service call centers.  The gap in available services to address the issue runs wide.

Mental health professionals find that relying on police as the standard, or “de facto” crisis responders is an often unsafe route, as just a quick presence of officers is generally enough to agitate people facing a crisis.  ACLU-D.C. Staff Attorney Michael Perloff, working in conjunction with the D.C. Crisis Coalition to facilitate change in the District’s mental health crisis response system, highlights the fundamentally unsuitable procedure of relying on law enforcement as the first line of defense for residents facing mental health issues.

“This is not just a training problem, because no matter how well trained an officer is, they still have a gun, they still have a badge, and they still have all the badges of history that cause people who see them to say, “this is someone coming to involve me in the criminal justice system.”  And indeed in many cases, we see people who are having crises getting arrested improperly,” explained Perloff.  “In the District, we’ve had practitioners tell us that before the police officer begins to engage, people

taking me to United Medical.”

The lack of training and protocol exercised on behalf of law enforcement made the incident a jarring, traumatizing experience for Chaney, adding to her severe anxiety intensifying after such a volatile domestic incident.   “It’s not just a training issue, it’s that police officers are not the right people for this challenge.  We don’t send letter carriers to put out fires, and the same thing is here.  We need to have the right government employee handling the right type of problem, and in the context of mental health, that’s just not police officers,” Perloff explains.

A REFORMED APPROACH TO ADDRESSING MENTAL HEALTH CRISES

in crisis will sometimes just run away, and that means that person is not getting the services they need.”

A CALL FOR HELP GONE WRONG

Charnal Chaney, founder of BOLD Yoga LLC, and staunch advocate for the treatment, and protection of residents suffering from mental health illnesses, recalls herself once in the grips of a frightening experience of being met with contentious law enforcement practices during a domestic violence incident.

A heated argument quickly turned violent, as Chaney found herself strangled to the point of losing consciousness, thankfully regaining her awareness to call local emergency services for help to remove the abuser from her home.  Unfortunately, the visit took a sharp turn upon arrival, as police officers took immediate action in questioning Chaney in front of her abuser, a protocol that should have been handled after the abuser was removed from her space, and became further angered when she did not reveal what her significant other had done in hopes to prevent creating a greater issue.

“They [decided] they were going to take me to the Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency Program (CPEP), and immediately my anxiety started going off. They grabbed me by my hands and my feet, dragged me to the car, threw me in the backseat, never really took me to CPAP, they wound up

The overwhelming dangers of mishandling residents facing mental health illness has become the steam behind advocacy geared toward creating an effective District mental health crisis response system, and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSAH).

The suggested crisis response to mental health outbreaks across the city includes: having someone to talk to, primarily being a crisis call center, to identify calls for someone to be dispatched to the scene, and provide in-person services.  Similarly, there’s a  need for someone to respond, such as mental health professionals who can go to the scene and provide care.  Lastly, people suffering from mental health illness often need a place to go where they can have a calm and quiet space to recover, especially for those who are displaced.

Despite the District having crisis call centers, the problem lies in these services being grossly underfunded and understaffed with limited services, sometimes having several hour-long wait times for professionals to show up to the scene.  Oftentimes, residents call 911 as a first call for help, however, emergency dispatch centers do not have the proper training or even the authority to dispatch many calls to the centers that do exist.

“[Overall], the police shouldn’t be handling mental health issues.  We need mental health professionals, domestic violence professionals, and people who are experts in those fields to show up in those situations and will know how to handle them.  The police have a different job,” said Chaney.

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5 Researchers concluded that investments in behavioral health data systems could lay the foundation for early solid warnings systems to identify crises and target responses across all levels of the behavioral health system/ Damilareadeyemi via Wikimedia commons

Rising Preterm Birth Disparities Across The District

By Lindiwe Vilakazi WI Staff Writer

Maternal health complications are affecting mothers nationwide, as D.C. is seeing an increase in preterm birth rates, particularly among Black women. DSM America has teamed together with March of Dimes to encourage policy change in bringing vital prenatal vitamins to every mother in need.

“Every Day Counts,” is an initiative fueled by DSM America and March of Dimes in efforts to inspire policymakers to mandate improved prenatal vitamins while providing them at no cost for women in federal and state assistance programs. Last week, the collective met with Congressional leaders to address solutions to the preterm birth crisis, advocating for the fundamental benefits, and need of accessible DHA Omega-3 supplementation in expecting mothers.

“There are a lot of challenges with maternal health in economically

challenged communities, particularly amongst Black expecting mothers, much of that is influenced by lack of access to health care, access to prenatal treatment and advice, access to proper nutrition, but scientifically, historically low DHA Omega-3 levels, in the general population, but, particularly, in the African American population,” said Hugh Welsh, president and general counsel of DSM America.

According to the 2022 March of Dimes Report Card, D.C. holds a 10.1% preterm birth rate, while the preterm birth rate is 77% higher for Black women than among their women counterparts. Black non-Hispanic women lead in the highest rates of preterm births, averaging 14.8z5 of babies being born before 37 weeks among other women.

Omega-3 fatty acids are best retained within our diets, primarily through eating fatty fish including sardines and anchovies, but also higher quality fish including salmon,

swordfish, or tuna, which although expecting mothers may want to eat, many have either a lack of available retail sources within their communities or a limited financial bandwidth to afford those options.

Research shows preterm birth as the number one cause of infant mortality, and numerous birth defects that carry lifelong challenges such as learning disabilities, visual hearing problems, cerebral palsy, asthma, autism, and more that could be avoidable with the solution of proper nutrient levels in their system.

Welsh highlighted the immense benefits that can come with every expecting mother across the country having the DHA levels that they require, which could substantially cut preterm births in half. The projected decline in preemie and neonatal care is estimated to save, not only roughly $8 billion in annual healthcare costs, but also countless lives that have been lost from the tragedy of preterm birth complications. DSM America and the March of Dimes

have received positive feedback from congressional leaders in hopes of turning their mission into legislation.

“If [expecting mothers] are not going to get it through their diet, then we need to find a way to increase levels in prenatal vitamins, offer an additional supplement, but also find ways for folks in economically challenged communities, who are relying on WIC programs, or other moms who use flexible spending accounts

to buy these kinds of products, to get it through these programs,Welsh said.

“I’ve never had a response like this before. I’ve been coming up to capitol hill for 20 years, but whether I’m in a Democratic office, a Republican office, whether I’m on the House side or the Senate side, every office I’ve ever visited, [the response] is like, this makes so much sense, what do we do to help?” WI

5 Congresswoman Alma Adams (D-NC) speaks during the Congressional hearing on Preterm Births and Racial Disparities hosted by DSM, and March of Dimes on April 26, 2023.

Kennedy Center Hosts ‘Green Nobel’ Awards Honoring Global Activists Unexpected Hecklers Make Appearance

By Kayla Benjamin and Brenda C. Siler WI Climate & Environment Writer and WI Contributing Writer

Six grassroots activists, each with a unique David-and-Goliath story about fighting environmental destruction around the world, received recognition at an April 26 Kennedy Center ceremony for the Goldman Environmental Prize. Speaker of the House Nancy

Pelosi (D-California) spoke at the award ceremony, noting her connection to the prize’s creators, the San Francisco-based Goldman family, and praising the 2023 winners.

“The courage it takes to fight the powers that be and the opposition that awardees face in speaking truth to power—we're all in awe of all of you,” Pelosi said. “[You are] Indigenous and indomitable catalysts for change, rescuing our planet one community at a time. Thank you.”

The initial Goldman Prize ceremony was held on April 24 in San Francisco, where the awardees were officially announced. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, this year marked the first time since 2019 that the dual ceremonies were held in person.

WHAT IS THE “GREEN NOBEL”?

The Goldman Prize honors achievements by grassroots environmental organizers around the globe. As one of the most prestigious awards for environmental work, the prize is sometimes re-

ferred to as the “Green Nobel.” Each year, six activists—one from each of the world’s six continental regions—receive the award and a cash prize of $200,000. This is the 34th year for the prize.

This year’s awardees included Alessandra Korap Munduruku, from Brazil, and Delima Silalahi, from Indonesia. Both Indigenous activists led successful years-long campaigns to protect and reclaim their communities’ forested lands. Finland’s Tero Mustonen and Turkey’s Zafer Kizilkaya each spearheaded projects that brought acres of wild habitat back to life after severe degradation caused by big industry. Victories in court against major corporate polluters led American Diane Wilson and Zambian Chilekwa Mumba to take home the prize.

Actress Sigourney Weaver narrated individual videos telling the stories behind each winners’ accomplishments. The videos, each just under five minutes, played during the ceremonies in San Francisco and here in D.C.

“If we protect our environment, we’re protecting our future,” Mumba says in his video. “We’ve been given a responsibility.”

Mumba’s sense of responsibility for the environment led him to challenge a metal mining company that had left his community in Chingola, Zambia, with water so

5 Goldman Prize winner Chilekwa Mumba and his wife, Helen Mosha Mumba, stand in San Francisco with the award. (The Goldman Environmental Prize)

Spots Still Open in D.C.’s RecentlyLaunched Free Curbside Composting Pilot

By Kayla Benjamin WI Climate & Environment Reporter

Imagine enough banana peels, chicken bones and moldy bread slices to equal the weight of an elephant. Now multiply that by 70—enough for an entire herd of African elephants. That’s about how much food waste single-family homes in the District will produce this year: 419 tons, or over 900,000 pounds, according to a report commissioned by the Department of Public Works.

The hundreds of tons of food waste, doesn't even count the amount from the majority of D.C. residents, who live in apartments and other multi-family buildings.

And when left to sit in landfills, all that food waste and other organic matter produces huge amounts of methane, a greenhouse gas that warms up our planet with alarming potency.

To address that problem, DPW launched a pilot program on April 22—Earth Day—that will offer free curbside food waste pickup to 1,500 single-family homes in each D.C. ward. The city will take it to be composted, turning it into useful soil fertilizer and preventing climate change-causing emissions.

HOW IT WORKS

Any single-family home that receives city trash and recycling services can sign up for the program. Interested households can go to zerowaste.dc.gov/curbsidecomposting and fill out some basic information: the form consists of just ten questions, and that includes “First” and “Last” separately. Participation is free, and the pilot program will run for one year.

The first 1,500 eligible people to sign up from each ward will get a spot in the program. Along with a welcome packet of instructions, participating households will receive a small compost bin for inside the house, and a larger one for outside.

DPW Zero Waste Program Analyst Rachel Manning said the agency aims to begin pickups this summer, though it has yet to choose a contractor for the compost collection or processing. Pickups will take place once a week.

BUT WHAT ABOUT…?

Many people in D.C. already compost, taking their food waste to drop off points that DPW operates at ten Farmer’s Market sites on weekends. Each ward has at least one drop off point.

Still, for people new to composting, the idea of separating food scraps can raise some concerns.

“One thing we get a lot of questions about is if you're going to put food waste out, if you're going to attract rodents to the neighborhood,” said DPW Recycling Program Officer Bill Easley. “Well, we're not asking anybody to do anything other than what they're already doing. They're already putting food waste out in the trash.”

The same is true for another common concern—smells. Food waste in a compost bin won’t smell any worse than it would in any kitchen trash can. Manning said some people keep the two-gallon indoor bin inside their fridge or freezer to further cut down on smells.

Najwa Womack, founder of a compost education company based in Ward 7 called SiStained8, said she reduces odors by including materials like old leaves, paper or straw in her compost bin. Those organic “brown materials” speed up the breakdown process and mitigate scents from smellier organic materials like food scraps.

SIGNUPS FILLING UP FASTER IN SOME WARDS THAN OTHERS

Within twelve hours of the pilot program’s launch, all 1,500 spots for Ward 4 had filled up, Manning said. A week later, Wards 3 and 6 had maxed out as well.

While DPW did not share specific numbers, Manning said that wards 5, 7 and 8 still had many spots left as of April 26.

“There's a lot of opportunity for folks to hop in there and get their name in for selection,” Manning said. She went on to mention that the agency plans to do more “targeted outreach” to encourage sign ups across the city.

Through SiStained8, Womack has been working on compost education in Ward 7 for more than five years. When asked, she said DPW hadn’t reached out to her just yet about outreach or the curbside pilot program in general.

“I encourage people to sign up,” Womack said. “But if the education piece doesn't come prior to the actual activity, the ability to sustain a person's interest and their active role in it may dissipate…I feel like there's work that needs to be done prior to just getting numbers up, and people into it.”

In addition to leading workshops and classes, creating online educational content on the company’s Instagram (@sistained8) and selling specialty compost containers, SiStained8 hosts its own regular food waste drop offs at Ward 7’s Lederer Gardens (4801 Nannie Helen Burroughs Ave NE). Last year, Womack said the company kept over 1,600 pounds of food waste out of landfills.

Still, while waste drop offs offer a great alternative, curbside pickup makes composting “as easy as possible,” Womack said, which is important to grow the practice more widely.

“Composting is the future,” Womack said. “Whether you get into it now or not, you're going to hear more and more about it as time goes along. Your children will know about it in school. So get on board now.” WI

5 Photo by allispossible.org.uk via Flickr.

polluted it was described as a “river of acid.”

UNEXPECTED INTERRUPTION AT INVITATION-ONLY EVENT

In the middle of her speech, the California legislator found herself interrupted by hecklers, who appeared to be affiliated with the anti-war protest group Code Pink. One person got up onto the stage with a canvas sign reading “War is Not Green.” The disturbance took the audience by surprise at the invitation-only event.

“You’ve made your point,” Pelosi told the protesters. “As a courtesy to the awardees and the Goldman family—and we hear you, we respect you— please take your place.”

A Kennedy Center staff member escorted the sign-bearer off the stage and out of the theater, but at least one other protester remained in the audience, who continued to shout over Pelosi on and off. It took several minutes for security to locate and remove the other activist.

Beyond that moment of excitement, the evening went smoothly, mirroring the San Francisco ceremony earlier in the week.

Environmental Pollution Horribly Affects Zambian Villages

As the recognition event continued, the audience heard how the land in several communities in Zambia slowly deteriorated.

The country is one of the largest producers and exporters of copper in Africa. The Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) is one of the largest mining operations in Zambia and the country’s single largest employer. That operation is 11

square miles along the Kafue River. In 2004, Vedanta Resources, a company headquartered in the U.K., acquired KCM. Gradually, residents of four local villages close to the Kafue River, Shimulala, Kakosa, Hippo Pool and Hellen, noticed contamination of the river and its tributaries.

“People’s lives were disturbed by the pollution from the mine,” Mumba said. “It was absolutely shocking to me. Something had to be done about it.”

Communities relied on the river for drinking, fishing, bathing and agriculture. From the pollution, the river emitted foul odors, fish were dying in large numbers along the banks, crops and livestock were decimated, and local villages suffered from major health issues. Mumba was compelled to do something, but it was tough rallying people who were affected by the pollution.

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The biggest challenge was to get everybody to believe that something could be done about what was going on,” Mumba said. “These were typical villages prone to rumors.”

HOW A ZAMBIAN ACTIVIST BROUGHT DOWN A POLLUTER IN U.K. COURTS

Mumba is an admitted accidental environmental activist. His sense of responsibility for the environment led him to challenge Vendanta. The company had left his community in Chingola, Zambia, with water so polluted it was described as a “river of acid.” When Mumba learned how farming communities were being harmed by pollution from the mines, he began researching environmental law firms and wrote to nearly a hundred firms. Leigh Day, a UK-based law firm responded, and meetings were scheduled with community members in the villages. Also, water samples were gathered, and blood samples were taken from residents. In 2017 while deliberations were underway, Mumba and an attorney from Leigh Day were arrested while meeting with community members.

“I just had this drive in me that we won’t fail. It got my heart and became personal for me,” Mumba said. “Justice will somehow, some

way be attained for these communities.“

In April 2019, the UK Supreme Court found that Vedanta, as the parent company of KCM, owed villagers near the mine a duty of care. Further, Vedanta could be held accountable in a UK court for environmental damage from the Nchanga copper mine’s operations. This ruling meant the company could not escape liability for environmental damage caused by a subsidiary. In 2021, Vedanta settled with nearly 2,000 people from the four villages near KCM; villagers received undisclosed financial compensation from Vedanta for the pollution that devastated their lives and environment. The Vedanta case is now being applied in UK courts as a legal precedent.

“It brightened up the whole community,” Mumba said about the ruling. “For me, the most important part of the settlement is how it is going to end up educating a whole generation of kids who have an even greater impact in the future.”

Mumba’s overview of environmental lawsuit success in Zambia can be viewed on YouTube at https://youtu.be/8TG_1ILhxcU. Learn more about the Goldman Prize at https://www.goldmanprize.org

5 Code Pink members at the Kennedy Center for the Goldman Environmental Prize took to the stage to speak out when Nancy Pelosi addressed the crowd. (Courtesy photo/codepink.org)

Office of the People’s Counsel Hosts Youth Climate Summit

By Kayla Benjamin WI Climate & Environment Reporter

The Office of the People’s Counsel sent out invitations for D.C. residents to attend a full day’s worth of panel discussions about climate change on a beautiful spring Saturday. More than 550 people RSVP’d yes.

“I couldn’t believe it,” D.C.’s People’s Counsel Sandra Mattavous-Frye said of the turnout. “I was so excited.”

The Office of the People’s Counsel’s climate change summit, entitled “Our Planet, Our Future,” focused primarily on engaging young people, ages 16 to 26, though any District resident could come to the April 29 event on the Catholic University of America campus. Speakers included experts, activists and entrepreneurs working in varied sectors of the climate space.

Mattavous-Frye said that the summit—which is the second climate forum OPC has hosted—is a natural extension of her office’s long-time focus on climate issues. The OPC exists to advocate for consumers on issues having to do with utilities, and D.C. legislators have required the agency to consider climate change throughout their work.

“It's hard to start—where do you even begin, to tackle climate change,” questioned Michael Choi, founder of an Atlanta-based hydroponic farming company called Ponix, Inc. “These conferences are good to just start thinking about how to do that. And getting into fields of STEM, especially with youth, is important because we need scientists, we need engineers, we need thinkers.”

Most of the day’s panelists, like Choi, were adults. Notable names on the lineup included Uwe Brandes, chair of D.C.’s independent Climate Commission, and WUSA Channel 9 meteorologist Chester Lampkin. But the event’s two keynote speakers, Elson Bankoff and Erfan Nabizada, both hailed from area high schools.

“We have to push, we have to take action,” Nabizada, a sophomore at Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School, said in an interview. “Young people, activists—for example, Greta Thunberg. She's always protesting, and she's always saying that there are a lot of other activists who are demanding change on a global scale, or a national scale or even a local scale. And I think they have heard our frustration, but it's time to make something happen."

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5 Sandra Mattavous-Frye, D.C.’s People’s Counsel, speaks at the summit. (Robert R. Roberts / The Washington Informer)

5 Erfan Nabizada, a climate activist and sophomore at Chevy Chase-Bethesda High School, gives a keynote speech at the conference. His involvement in activism began when he was eight years old and growing up in Kabul, Afghanistan. (Robert R. Roberts / The Washington Informer)

5 Chester Lampkin, WUSA Channel 9 meteorologist, leads a morning discussion on the basics of climate change at the Office of People’s Counsel’s Youth Climate Summit, held at Catholic University of America on April 29. (Robert R. Roberts / The Washington Informer)

EDUCATION

D.C. Council Considers Peer Educator Program to Address School Clinician Shortage

By Sam P.K. Collins WI Staff Writer

Over the last couple of months, China Jones-Burgess has embraced the homeschool experience, mainly out of frustration with what she described as the lack of empathy and value placed on her as a student at the two District schools

she’s attended over the last year. Even though she’s away from the traditional education setting, China said she’s been able to depend on her close-knit network of friends to serve as a sounding board for her grievances. She said that’s especially been the case since the pandemic, when mental wellness came to the forefront as a

major issue for students in District public and public charter schools.

As the D.C. Council prepares to vote on legislation that launches peer educator programs, China, who’s searching for a District school to enroll in next fall,

said she relishes the possibility of speaking intimately with other young people in a safe space.

“Sometimes we feel like we’re all we got. We build bonds and friendships with youth who want to have someone they can confide in regarding mental health issues they face in the community, school and at home,” said China, a student representative on the D.C. State Board of Education.

“Everyone doesn’t give the best advice therefore my peers turn to one another to seek answers to critical issues they face. During the pandemic, we were leaning on each other to figure out how to do our work together. It was harder to understand things, so we depended on each other to get our work done.”

In its committee markup, the D.C. Council’s Committee on Health included legislation titled the School-Based Behavioral Health Student Peer Educator Pilot Amendment Act. The legislation launches a pilot program through which the Department of Behavioral Health (DBH) allocates funds to two community-based organizations that will recruit, train and supervise at least 100 peer educators.

Once they complete their training, these peer educators, who attend schools in Wards 5, 7 and 8, will be responsible for making classroom presentations, distributing educational materials, conducting one-on-one sessions with their peers, and sharing information to connect students with school-based

behavioral health staff.

The Committee on Health recommended $325,000 in one-time funds to be used for this endeavor.

The report compiled by the Committee on Health cited a study conducted by students at the Young Women’s Project that found that many of their peers didn’t know the name of the mental health service provider at their school. D.C. Councilmember Christina Henderson (I-At large), chair of the Committee on Health, told the Informer that students who testified at council hearings often spoke about relying on friends for information about on-campus services.

In explaining the legislation, Henderson stressed that peer educators wouldn’t replace behavioral health professionals. Instead, they would serve as a bridge between their friends and on-campus service providers, if it ever gets to that point that students need such resources.

“The peer-to-peer model is [for students] to provide resources when they are needed [and] educate others about strategies and walk them to professionals,” Henderson said. “The grantees would be organizations that do this work to provide training around what students would talk about. Needs vary among students, like triage and prevention. [The question is]: How do we prevent a major episode?”

Due to workforce shortages, the 2022-2023 school year is anticipated to end with more than 90 clinician vacancies at more than 70 District public and public charter schools that have established partnerships with DBH and community-based organizations. Those closely familiar with the trend say that private practice has become more attractive to clinicians.

For Laura Maestas, executive director at DC Prep Public Charter School, the situation has become even more daunting since half of the six campuses under her purview have clinician vacancies.

Earlier this year, Maestas pleaded with the D.C. Council to increase funding for community-based organization clinician grants. She said that, without more clinicians, the few who are on site, via compensation directly from DC Prep, have an even bigger caseload that makes it harder to reach students

PEER PROGRAM Page 27

5 As the D.C. Council prepares to vote on legislation that launches peer educator programs. China Jones-Burgess, a homeschool student who’s searching for a District school to enroll in next fall, said she relishes the possibility of speaking intimately with other young people in a safe space. (Courtesy Photo)

5 The GenOUT Youth Chorus performed in a concert at THEARC Theater in Southeast on April 29. Voices included the DC area’s only LGBTQ+ and allied youth chorus along with special guests, Chords of Glory, an ensemble of 5th to 12th grade Washington area students. (Cleveland Nelson/The Washington Informer)

GenOUT Youth Chorus performs!

Garveyites Pay Homage to Nationalist Who Attended HU

By Sam P.K. Collins WI Staff Writer

What started out as an attempt to rebuff a notion that Marcus Garvey didn’t wield influence among a significant portion of college-educated Black people has turned into an endeavor to memorialize a 20th century Nigerian nationalist who attended Howard University (HU).

On May 4, a group of Garveyites are scheduled to honor Hogan Edem Ani-Okokon during a ceremony at Lincoln Cemetery on Suitland Road in Hillcrest Heights, Maryland.

Ani-Okokon was a Nigerian man who, upon embracing Garveyism as a youngster, aspired to visit the United States to learn how the Americans gained their independence from the British empire. In 1925, Ani-Okokon matriculated to HU’s School of Law. He later assisted Nnamdi Azikwe, known to many as the father of Nigerian nationalism, in making the same journey to the United States.

In 1928, Ani-Okokon died from a lung infection, not long after Azikwe and others won a spring semester debate in HU’s political science department about the viability of Garveyism. Today Ani-Okokon is interred at Lincoln Cemetery in an unmarked grave.

Mwariama Kamau, a historian in Division No. 183 of the Uni-

PEER PROGRAM from Page 26

who don't have a 504 plan or individualized education plan (IEP), but require just as much attention.

To solve that problem, DC Prep has partnered with the WISE Center, a program out of MedStar Georgetown University Hospital that supports schools with comprehensive mental wellness approaches. When it comes to a peer educator program, Maestas espouses support for it at the middle school level, as long as it works in tandem with on-site clinicians.

“We have a number of students

versal Negro Improvement Assocation - African Communities League (UNIA-ACL), has answered that call. He said the May 4 event will launch a campaign to purchase a headstone for AniOkokon.

“Ani-Okokon was one of the earliest pioneering Nigerian nationalists who attended HU. It was rare because the British government made it almost criminal and discouraged people [in their colonies] from attending American universities,” Kamau said.

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@SamPKCollins

who need a lot more support than we are able to provide. We think about where it’s appropriate to have students receive services in groups rather than individual counseling,” Maestas said.

“What I’m hearing [from counselors] is that they have an obligation to make sure students are taken care of, and they need to figure out how to do more,” she added. “It makes me nervous that we’re burning out clinicians. There’s an overwhelming need to go above and beyond.”

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@SamPKCollins

5 On May 4, Mwariama Kamau and other members of UNIA-ACL Division No. 183 are scheduled to honor Hogan Edem Ani-Okokon during a ceremony at Lincoln Cemetery on Suitland Road in Hillcrest Heights, Maryland.

(Courtesy Photo)

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Celebrating Biden’s Stance on the Black Press

Working for the Black press is an honor that comes with the responsibility of understanding and maintaining the strong legacy of the ancestors who bravely began producing Black-owned news 196 years ago.

However, in some high-falutin journalism, media and mainstream circles, the Black press can sometimes be treated as less valuable— not to be confused with trustworthy, might I add– sources. For instance, while I know you, our loyal reader doesn’t think this way, there are some who might contend The Washington Post carries more journalistic value than The Washington Informer.

Depending on the event, individual and surrounding circumstances publicists and stars alike will choose to overlook smaller, Black-owned outlets, while prioritizing more notable and widely-known media organizations.

That’s why when President Joe Biden shouted out the Black Press during the White House Correspondents Dinner, it was a big deal.

“The reason the world saw what [Mamie Till] saw [of her son Emmett Till’s maimed corpse] was because of another hero in this story: the Black Press. That’s a fact. Jet Magazine, the Chicago Defender, and other Black radio and newspapers were unflinching and brave in making sure America saw what she saw. And I mean it.”

No, this is not an editorial thanking the white man for finally recognizing the hard and barrier-breaking work of Black people. It’s a moment to acknowledge the incredible strength, savvy, success and significance of the Black press.

Further the speech’s celebration of Black media had a particular focus on the strength of Black women.

In mentioning he grief-stricken turned justice fighting Till (Mobley), to the ground-breaking Ida B. Wells, and the late Gwen Ifill, Biden highlighted the fortitude that is Black women and their contributions to society.

“‘The way to right wrongs is to turn the light of truth upon the wrongs,’” Biden said, quoting Wells.

“That’s the sacred charge of a free press. And I mean that,” he emphasized.

To be a truly free and equitable press, media professionals must continue to uplift the Black press as Biden did during the White House Correspondents Dinner on April 28, an exhortation which garnered a standing ovation.

The Black press is not only valuable, it’s necessary in relaying, revealing and archiving narratives, as well as providing a platform to highlight conversations showcasing and uplifting the fight for equity and justice. WI

Why to be Intentional About Supporting Small Black Businesses

Since 1963, the President of the United States has issued a proclamation acknowledging National Small Business Week and the contributions small businesses make to the American economy and fabric.

Sixty years later, President Biden continued the legacy of uplifting the importance of small businesses when he spoke from the White House Press briefing room on May 1.

“Small businesses are the engine of our economy, the glue — they really are — the glue, the heart and soul of communities,” Biden said. “And most citizens don’t know it — is that you small-business owners, you account for 40%— let me say it again — 40% of the gross domestic product of America. Small businesses. Not mega corporations. Small businesses.”

In May 2022 Forbes reported small businesses “drive the American economy.” Pulling from U.S. Small Business Association (SBA) statistics, the article reports that small businesses of 500 employees or fewer make up 99.9% of all American businesses. Further a 2019 SBA study reported that small businesses made up for 44% of U.S. economic activity.

Thus, if small businesses are so important, supporting small Black-owned businesses is key.

According to recent Census statistics, Black-owned businesses account for 9.75% of U.S. small businesses. Per 2018 Census data, the SBA reports Black business owners owned 3,239,531 businesses, and Black-owned businesses employed 1,188,819 employees.

Business DIT reports that minority-owned businesses account for one-fifth of U.S. employer businesses, a statistic that diversity business ownership advocates are working

I can’t say that I’m excited about Biden’s reelection. However, I think that’s most Americans’ general disposition in the current political climate. Many lawmakers are not about the people and seem to be all about raising their profile and personal brand. That said, me not being “excited” about Biden is how it should be. He is an elected official with a serious job, not my childhood hero, Michael Jackson.

Lloyd Rivens Washington, DC

to combat.

According to research, supporting Black businesses helps create jobs and improves overall local economies and communities. Thus, it’s important to support Blackowned businesses in order to improve minority-owned employer statistics and can further increase the number of Black entrepreneurs.

Moreover, supporting Black-owned businesses is said to help improve racial wealth disparities.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis reported white Americans account for

I appreciate the story about the Ivory Coast restaurant coming to U Street. I love trying and eating new things, especially food from the diaspora. I wouldn’t have known if it weren’t for the Washington Informer. Thanks for your work!

Beverly Cooper Washington, DC

60% of the population, but make up 84% of U.S. wealth, while Black Americans make up 13% of U.S. citizens and only 4% of wealth.

Supporting Black businesses is important in helping to close the wealth gap and bring equity to African American communities nationwide.

So this Small Business Week, as you work to support your local small business, be intentional about spending money with Black-owned businesses. It’s important to our communities.

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OPINIONS/EDITORIALS

Guest Columnist

Julianne Malveaux

Will Debt Ceiling Talks Have Deadly Results?

Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) had a tumultuous election to his post as House speaker in January. It took him 15 votes and innumerable compromises to secure his position tenuously. The deal he agreed to allows any House member to call his leadership into question, voting him out at the drop of a hat. As the House grapples with budget

and debt ceiling issues, McCarthy is walking a tightrope that puts our nation's international credit standing at risk and may also have killing results for poor people, seniors and veterans.

The debt ceiling and the budget are two separate things that McCarthy and his extremist colleagues have managed to twin. The debt ceiling addresses the money we owe and has already spent. Raising the debt ceiling will pay the bills that we have racked up in the past. The budget deals with current spending on de-

Guest Columnist

Harry Belafonte

"I've always looked at the world and thought, what can I do next? Where do we go from here? How can we fix it? And that's still how I look at the world, because there is so much to be done." —

Harry Belafonte

When Harry Belafonte died on April 25, many people were quick to honor him not only as a luminous, barrier-breaking singer and actor but

as an outspoken lifelong crusader for civil and human rights. I am especially grateful for his enduring legacy as a champion for children in the United States and across the world. He was a wonderful friend and a longtime supporter of the Children's Defense Fund's mission and work, especially lifting up young people who have beaten the odds. He overcame long odds himself as a poor Black boy growing up in Harlem and Jamaica, and he later said he was an activist from birth — determined to do everything he could to help

fense, social programs, health care and other issues. There is, of course, a relationship between the two. When the budget is imbalanced, we add to our deficit and push the need to raise the debt ceiling. But one issue can be dealt tackled without dealing with the other. The debt ceiling is an immediate issue. The current budget and the debt it may incur is a longer-term issues.

President Biden would like to raise the debt ceiling with no conditions. McCarthy and his cronies want to cut the budget before they raise the

debt ceiling. They would, of course, maintain defense spending at its current level or higher. If they have their way, domestic spending will drop by 22%, affecting everything from veteran medical care to school funding for low-income students and those with disabilities. Shalanda Young, Director of the Office of Management and Budget, says as many as 108,000 teachers and aides may lose their jobs because of these potential cuts. We spread over 50 states; those cuts may seem modest – eliminating about 2100 jobs per state. There are

Marian Wright Edelman

change the odds for others. His starring role as a warrior for social justice was clear early on in the civil rights movement. By the early 1960s Harry Belafonte had already been a leading man in films like "Carmen Jones" and "Island in the Sun," won a Tony, an Emmy and a Grammy, and become the first artist in the U.S. to sell a million copies of a record in a year with 1956's "Calypso." This made him one of the most recognizable Black men in the country as he (along with his dear friend and rare peer Sidney Poitier)

tirelessly raised money and awareness for the movement, traveling to the South at great personal risk, working closely with leaders like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and encouraging other Hollywood celebrities to support the cause. When he looked back later at one specific assignment, coordinating fellow artists to participate in the March on Washington, he said: "We had to seize this opportunity and make our voices heard. Make those who are comfortable with our oppression — make them uncomfortable — Dr. King said that was the

already teacher shortages. Will the McCarthy plan make these shortages worse?

The McCarthy proposal hits poor people especially hard. It would eliminate preschool and child care for hundreds of thousands of students. It would reduce nutrition assistance for millions and cut the Meals on Wheels program, which provides more than a million seniors with food assistance. These reductions are just the tip of the iceberg

MALVEAUX Page 53

purpose of this mission . . . To mobilize the cultural force behind the cause — Dr. King saw that as hugely strategic. We use celebrity to the advantage of everything. Why not to the advantage of those who need to be liberated?"

In every cause he engaged in throughout his life, from organizing the "We Are the World" fundraiser to speaking out against apartheid to serving for decades as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, that is how

EDELMAN Page 53

Thirty years ago, my university suspended me for leading a protest against a research lab that the school wanted to put in the Audubon Ballroom where Malcolm X was assassinated. The plans ignored both that history and the neighbors in Harlem who would be exposed to risks from biomedical and environmental waste. I spent months crisscrossing the

country speaking out against the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) for the Student Environmental Action Coalition. Our message was simple — killing jobs and the environment were far too high a price to pay to boost regional trade. They called us Chicken Little for saying that the deal would make the U.S. weaker and would poison the Earth quicker.

Since January, I've been to many of the same places — Alabama, Illinois, New York, Washington, and Wisconsin among them. In all those states,

I've felt the pain of being proven right. Everything we warned in 1993 would happen has. And worse.

Tens of thousands of plants here were shuttered while plants spring up overseas. Too often, those new plants opened where there was the least environmental regulation and outside North America. We saw the impact of this loss of manufacturing capacity two years ago when we couldn't produce ventilators and protective equipment at the start of COVID-19.

NAFTA created legal backdoors that allowed polluters to challenge

environmental policies outside of our courts. It tied Canada's hands in regulating fossil fuel. In Mexico, it prompted export-driven farming that relies heavily on dangerous pesticides, and destructive mining as well. The incentives pointed in the wrong direction.

Despite those troubling results, I've left every place I've been this year hopeful. I'm seeing that we have an antidote now to NAFTA's poison.

First, science and technology now can free us from an extraction economy that pretends to give us energy independence and low costs. In real-

ity, electric vehicles need a quarter of the power or less (and their sticker price is dropping with demand) than gas-powered equivalents. All but one coal fired power plant in the country is more expensive per kilowatt hour of electricity produced than solar and wind power. And we won't run out of sun and wind.

Second, the United States investing in a cleaner, healthier planet through historic federal spending on everything from homeowners buying so-

E. Faye Williams

Issues of Health (Part 2)

• Black men's risk of stroke is 2x that of white men.

• Black men experience 40% higher cancer deaths than white men.

2023 US News and World Report article, Black women who are exposed to certain forms of racism may be more likely to develop heart disease.

If I have not been clear, I believe that the best possible health for everyone should be the aim of a just and responsible society. Last week's article ended with the following statistics from an NAACP Crisis article:

• Four in 10 Black men aged 20 or older have high blood pressure — 30% higher than white men.

• Black Americans are 80% more likely to be diagnosed with diabetes and nearly twice as likely to be hospitalized than whites.

The negative health impact of racism is not gender specific. Societal expectations of "the strong Black woman" create circumstances whereby the health impact of racism upon Black women is underestimated or ignored. According to a March

Guest Columnist

Researchers tracked more than 48,000 women enrolled in the Black Women's Health Study from 1997 to 2019. None had heart disease in 1997. During 22 years of follow-up, 1,947 women developed heart disease. Heart disease risk wasn't tied to experiences of racism in everyday life, but women who reported experiencing racism in employment, housing and in their interaction

with police were at higher risk of heart disease compared with those women who answered no to all three questions on structural racism. Black women who said they faced discrimination in employment, housing and in their interactions with the police were 26% more likely to develop heart disease than their counterparts who had not experienced such structural racism. (Structural — or institutional — racism refers to the ways that a society fosters racial discrimination through housing, education, employment, health

Rev. Jesse L. Jackson Sr.

Republicans Offer Posturing, Not Policy

America pays its debts. It is a basic pledge. Millions of Americans who hold savings bonds or put their hardearned money into federal treasury bonds need not worry. The bonds are good; the interest will be paid. The reason the dollar is the currency used by countries across the world is that America pays its debts.

Now Republicans are holding that

pledge hostage, demanding savage cuts in spending or they will default on America's debts by refusing to raise the debt ceiling. The threat is nuclear: failing to pay our debts will sink the value of the dollar, shake the global financial system, drive interest rates higher, and blow up the economy here and most likely across the world. Millions will be thrown out of work.

The threat is also stunningly irresponsible. The tantrum of a child or a mad person. Give us what we demand or we will blow up the econ-

Guest Columnist

omy.

The threat is about paying debts that the Congress has already accumulated. Over one-third of this debt — a staggering $8.3 trillion of it — was racked up in the four years under Republican President Donald Trump — largely from massive topend tax cuts and for massive emergency spending in the pandemic. Now Republicans are saying that they will renege on the debts that they helped accumulate if they don't get their way. So what do they want? Amazingly, they refuse to say.

Time to Fight Back Against Censorship

Blue" by George M. Johnson, and other titles dealing with race, gender identity, sexuality and coming of age — in other words, real life.

They have said what they won't do: they won't raise taxes, even on billionaires and corporations that pay literally nothing. They claim they won't cut Social Security and Medicare. They insist on deep cuts — freezing spending at 2022 levels for a decade — but they won't say what will get cut.

It is unlikely that they will cut the military budget or support for veterans. If they decided simply to freeze spending on the military and veterans, that would require cutting all domestic spending by nearly a fourth.

care and criminal justice systems.)

"Chronic psychosocial stressors such as racism increase levels of inflammation, blood pressure and other risks for heart disease," said study author Shanshan Sheehy, an assistant professor of medicine at Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine.

Many Black adults are already at higher risk of developing heart disease due to high blood pressure or type 2 diabetes, so it's important that they do all that they can to im-

WILLIAMS Page 54

That would mean slashing investment in public health, in roads and bridges, in air traffic control, in food safety, in education and job training, in science and technology programs, in affordable housing, in food and income support for impoverished mothers and children.

Traveling would get more dangerous. Our food and water would be less safe. We would lose the competition for the jobs of the future. Housing would get more expensive.

Every year, the American Library Association unveils its list of the top ten most-challenged books for the previous year. And this year, Number One is the same as last year's Number One: the book "Gender Queer," by Maia Kobabe. Other books that achieved this distinction were Toni Morrison's classic "The Bluest Eye," "All Boys Aren't

This year's list also follows the Association's announcement that demands to censor library books reached 1,269 last year — nearly doubling demands from the previous year. That's a record high in all the years since ALA began compiling data more than 20 years ago. And because censorship demands now often include numerous books, a record-high number

of individual titles made the list of targeted books last year: 2,571. The ALA says of those, the vast majority were written by or about people of color or the LGBTQ community.

This is a tragedy for students, and not just students who come from the communities the censors want to silence. Those students lose the sometimes life-saving experience of seeing themselves in a story and knowing they are neither abnormal nor alone. Meanwhile all students grow up knowing less about the world. Censorship stunts

their intellectual growth.

Art Spiegelman is the creator of "Maus," a Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel that depicts his family's experience of the Holocaust — and is frequently targeted by censors. His experience as a target of censors has made him a leading activist against book banning, and he believes the answer to the book-banning craze is to get involved in local politics — including school board elections, where the battles over censorship are waged. Spiegelman made it clear in a recent

CBS News interview that he recognizes the right of a parent to say their own child can or can't read a book, but to make that decision for other parents' kids is "suppression and authoritarianism."

Spiegelman's position seems entirely reasonable to me. We can honor the rights of individual parents to make decisions about their kids' exposure to books, art and other cultural materials without mandating decisions for every-

MYRICK Page 54

Svante Myrick

JACKSON Page 54

LIFESTYLE

Grammys Meet with Key Lawmakers on Behalf of Artists’ Rights

By Brenda C. Siler WI Contributing Writer

The Recording Academy hosted its 21st “Grammys on the Hill Advocacy Day,” known as the largest and most important legislative event for music creatives on Capitol Hill, on April 26-27. Grammy winners and nominees, along with industry leaders, met with members of Congress to discuss legislation that included the Help Independent Tracks Succeed (HITS), the American Music Fairness Act (AMFA), live event ticketing marketplace reform, and the Restoring Artistic Protections (RAP) Act. Push for the RAP Act has taken place for the past several sessions of Congress. Leaders and artists from

the Grammys and other industry organizations gathered on the steps of the U.S. Capitol, giving voice to Reps. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.) and Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) to re-introduce the RAP Act. The act aims to protect artists from the wrongful use of their lyrics against them in criminal and civil proceedings.

“The Recording Academy is here representing the collective voice of thousands of performers,” said Grammy CEO Harvey Mason, Jr. “Our mission and responsibility are to protect creator’s rights and advance their interests on important music and artistic creation policies.”

POWER IN NUMBERS

A collection of industry leaders

and associations joining the Grammys to advocate for creative rights included Rico Love, two-time GRAMMY® nominee and chair of the Recording Academy's Black Music Collective; Willie "Prophet” Stiggers, founder and co-chair of the Black Music Action Coalition; Fran Drescher, actress and president of the Screen Actors Guild –American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG–AFTRA); Kevin Liles, chairman & CEO of

300 Elektra Entertainment; and Tyler Coward of Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE).

All advocates joined forces emphasizing that the RAP Act is not just about hip-hop lyrics, but its all words and voices written and spoken by any individual.

“Our creativity brings people together from diverse experiences and backgrounds that educate and inspire the next generation of leaders,” Rep. Bowman said to supporters. “Our creativity is our humanity and our art is our air.”

SAG-AFTRA ADVOCATES FOR RAP ACT

Dresher indicated that SAG-AFTRA is the union and association for actors and voice artists. The association represents many of the artists that participated and spoke out for GRAMMYs on the Hill.

She said rap music is comparable to folk music because it is the music of the people.

“It’s important that everyone comes together on this,” Drescher said. “We’re talking about First Amendment rights, and we have to be highly attuned to this.”

In addition to speaking loudly about the RAP Act and other issues affecting creatives, the Recording Academy honored 13time GRAMMY® winner Pharrell Williams, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY),

and Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), for their commitment to music makers and their dedication to the fight for creators’ rights.

When Williams spoke of his recognition, he questioned his worthiness for the accolades.

“There are so many others who are much more worthy than I am,” Williams said. “I am honored to be here and to have the government participate and acknowledge all the artists that are here. It’s amazing.”

A recap of statements made by the leaders and artists in support of the 21st GRAMMYs on the Hill Advocacy Day is available on Instagram @recordingacademy.

WI @bscomm

“The Recording Academy is here representing the collective voice of thousands of performers,” said Grammy CEO Harvey Mason, Jr.

5 Harvey Mason Jr., CEO of the Recording Academy, speaks at a press conference hosted by Reps. Hank Johnson (D-Georgia) and Jamaal Bowman (D-New York) to reintroduce the Restoring Artistic Protections (RAP) Act in Congress during Grammys on the Hill Advocacy Day on April 27. (Courtesy Photo, Recording Academy/ Leigh Vogel for Getty Images)

5 (L-R) Thirteen-time Grammy winner Pharrell Williams, Harvey Mason Jr., CEO of the Recording Academy, and Sen. Cory Booker (D-New Jersey) met during Grammys on the Hill Advocacy Day on April 27. (Courtesy Photo, Recording Academy/Paul Morigi for Getty Images)

theGrio Gala Honors Gayle King, Diana Ross Headlines Celebration

By Micha Green WI Managing Editor

With delectable hors d'oeuvres and drinks flowing throughout the event, storytellers and newsmakers alike celebrated truth-telling and Black brilliance at theGrio’s second annual “Washington, D.C. Gala,” presented by Byron Allen on April 28. Held at the National Museum for African American History and Culture (NMAAHC), the star-studded event featured a dynamic performance from legendary singer Diana Ross, honored CBS journalist Gayle King and highlighted the beauty that is Black excellence.

“I had to be here this evening,” King said, accepting her award. “When we talk about Black excellence, if you didn’t see the show tonight,” she added, referring to the 2023 White House Correspondents Dinner, “please Google what Roy Wood Jr. did this evening. That is the definition of Black excellence.”

DIANA ROSS WOWS WITH HIT-FILLED SET

Entering on stage accompanied by background singers, a band and a screen filled with images of her likeness, Ross started her hitfilled set with her game-changing song “I’m Coming Out,” (a tune she sang as she was leaving her relationship with the record label Motown under her longtime business– and at times romantic– partner Barry Gordy).

She sang tunes by her girl-group The Supremes such as “Stop in the Name of Love,” and “You Can’t Hurry Love,” and other classic solo pieces such as “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” and “Love Hangover.” The celebrated songstress and actress also sang songs such as “Ease on Down the Road,” from “The Wiz" and tunes from “Lady Sings the Blues,” and “Mahogany.”

In a bright colored, orange, sparkly dress, equipped with a glamorous, poofy detachable skirt, Ross, 79, performed a captivating and entertaining set that heightened the overall vibe of celebrating Black excellence.

TRUTH-TELLING TODAY

Allen noted guests such as Reps. Maxine Waters (D- California), Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) and Bobby Rush (D- Illinois).

Allen emphasized Rush’s background, sharing his involvement as a co-founder of Chicago’s Black Panther Party. Rush was supposed to be with Fred Hampton, 21, the chairman of Chicago’s Black Panther Party, the night he and fellow member Spurgeon Winter Jr., 19, were assassinated in 1969.

After telling stories of his own and highlighting the work of theGrio’s journalists, Allen honored King.

“We want to give you theGrio Journalist Icon Award and everybody on this stage owes you a huge debt of gratitude,” he said, noting the media professionals behind him, who he had just recognized.

“So thank you.”

The co-host of CBS Mornings reflected on the meaning of the Journalist Icon Award at this stage of her career.

“Honest to God, I don’t feel like an icon,” she said. “I still feel that

I’m growing, that I’m still learning, that there’s still so much to do.”

King said she is fortunate to still work as a “storyteller.”

“I really do see myself as a storyteller and I stand before you at 68 years old. Walter Conchrite had to retire from CBS at 65,” King said. “He didn’t have a choice. I’m not even kind of thinking about retiring.”

“I’m looking for more work, Bryon,” she added, before noting the connection between her job and the word and work of a “griot.”

“You know the word ‘griot,’ means storyteller,” King said, referencing the traditional West African tribal storyteller and oral historian.

She explained that receiving theGrio’s Journalist Icon Award in a place like NMAAHC is special.

“So when you think of ‘griot’ and’ icon,’ and being in this place, it’s a perfect place to receive an award tonight, because that’s all this building is. It’s about storytelling and truth. And so many stories, as we know,

are told here,” King said. The award-winner stressed the importance of truth-telling today. “We’re living in a world… where mass shootings are multiplying, the world is struggling, racism is on the rise and civility is on a downfall,” King emphasized. “So my colleagues and I try to do everything we can to tell the truth–not my truth, not your truth, but the truth.”

WI

Read the full story on washingtoninformer.com.

TCHAIKOVSKY PIANO CONCERTO

THU, MAY 4 AT 8 PM

THE MUSIC CENTER AT STRATHMORE

SAT, MAY 6 AT 8 PM JOSEPH MEYERHOFF SYMPHONY HALL

SUN, MAY 7 AT 3 PM MEYERHOFF

Jonathon Heyward, conductor

Behzod Abduraimov, piano

The BSO’s Rachmaninoff 150 Festival is made possible by the major support of Judy and Scott Phares. The appearance of Behzod Abduraimov is made possible through the major support of the Bozzuto Family Distinguished Guest Pianist Fund.

THE PATHÉTIQUE SYMPHONY

FRI, MAY 19 AT 8 PM MEYERHOFF

SAT, MAY 20 AT 8 PM STRATHMORE

SUN, MAY 21 AT 3 PM MEYERHOFF

Jonathon Heyward, conductor

Xavier Foley, double bass

SUPPORTING SPONSOR:

5 Byron Allen presented the second annual “theGrio Washington, D.C. Gala” on April 28. (Rob Roberts/ The Washington Informer)

LIFESTYLE Staying in Love With Nat King Cole

By Brenda C. Siler WI Contributing Writer

“When I Fall in Love: The Music of Nat King Cole,” a National Philharmonic concert produced by the American Pops Orchestra (APO), reminded audiences the music by Nat King Cole will live on forever.

Luke Frazier, APO’s founder and music director, assembled a talented group of artists who performed recognizable Cole favorites with new arrangements. Broadway actors and vocalists Chris Jackson and Aisha Jackson (no relation) breezed through hits like “Mona Lisa,” “Papa Loves Mambo,” “When Sunny Gets Blue,” “It’s Only a Paper Moon,” and many others.

“I wanted to give a fresh spin on this music,” said Frazier, who has produced several APO specials on PBS. “I wanted to bring in artists I had worked with before and normally would not sing this repertoire. I knew they would knock it out of the park.”

Other featured artists for the concert were Guest Conductor Brittany Chanell Johnson, coordinator of the Musical Theatre BFA Program at Howard University. She was also a guest conductor on “Black Broadway: A Proud History, A Limitless Future,” an APO-produced program on PBS. Award-winning pianists Ray Wong and Steven Mann thrilled the audience with a technique called “four hands” piano. Sitting side-byside at the piano, they played an epic reimaging of Cole’s “Too Young.” Wong played the higher notes on the right side of the piano, and Mann played the lower notes on the left. At times, their playing was so powerful that it sounded like there were more than two pairs of hands on one piano.

EMBRACING NAT KING COLE’S STYLE

Between each song, Frazier shared how he began loving Cole’s singing. He was introduced to Cole through videos of his grandparents’ house par

ties from the 50s and early 60s. Frazier heard Cole’s songs in those home movies. As he grew older, moving to other cities until finally landing in Washington, D.C., Cole’s voice was a constant in Frazier’s soul.

“When my grandmother passed away, I got her record collection which was full of Nat King Cole records,” Frazier recalled.

Introducing Cole’s song “Route 66,” Frazier said that as a child, he remembered cities mentioned in the lyrics when reading a map or hearing a city name in a news story. Chicago, St. Louis, Oklahoma, and Amarillo were some of the cities in that classic Cole hit. The arrangement, sung by Chris Jackson for the performance, had the audience get in the groove as they snapped their fingers. In contrast to many of the tunes he’s performed in Broadway productions such as “In the Heights,” and “Hamilton, Jackson’s portrayal of the Cole hit was smooth and cool.

Aisha Jackson showcased a beau-

tiful voice and stage presence. Like Chris, the musical theater background of both vocalists was well used to keep the audience hanging onto every note. Aisha’s stage experience from “Frozen” and “Once Upon a One More Time” came into play when singing “Blame It on My Youth,” emoting naïve curiosity about falling in love.

Q&A BONUS SESSION

After the final song, with both Jacksons performing a duet of “L-OV-E,” Frazier treated the audience to a question-and-answer session with his performers. It was an open discussion with audience members, from teens

to long-time Cole fans, asking about technique, preparation and how each person in the ensemble felt about the program design.

Frazier was sincere about ensuring Cole’s music is brought to more audiences.

“I do believe Nat’s music is timeless,” Frazier said. “The only way it will remain timeless is to keep it alive.”

Learn more about the National Philharmonic at nationalphilharmonic.org Keep up with the American Pop Orchestra through the website at theamericanpops.org.

WI @bcscomm

5 (L-R) Broadway performers Chris Jackson and Aisha Jackson perform in “When I Fall in Love: The Music of Nat King Cole.” (Courtesy Photo/ Elman Studio)

5 Luke Frazier, American Pop Orchestra’s founder and music director, leads the tribute “When I Fall in Love: The Music of Nat King Cole.” (Courtesy Photo/ Elman Studio)

Offering the community more ways to go

We’re always looking for ways to support people’s choices in the communities we serve. That’s why Bank of America is adding charging stations for electric vehicles (EVs) to over 90 financial centers nationwide. We’re also supporting the choices our teammates make with employee rebates on EVs.

I am proud of the steps we’re taking in the DMV community to help people pursue what matters to them. The same goes for my teammates, as many have chosen to participate in My Environment,® one of our employee engagement initiatives.

Lawrence Di Rita President, Bank of America Greater Washington D.C.

MUSIC COMPOSITION RECORDING PRODUCTION SINGING

This unique and fun-filled summer program is designed for students wanting to improve their musicianship, seek careers in music, or for those who have an interest in exploring music composition, recording, production and/or singing.

Local Historian Takes Group on Till Journey

By Beverly Hunt WI Contributing Writer

Just two weeks ago I embarked on a week-long Civil Rights Tour led by Washington, D.C. historian Dr. Bernard Demczuk, where he took the group on his annual pilgrimage to Mississippi.

Demczuk shared that doing a deep dive of exploring all of the places related to Till's journey in Mississippi would help us come to terms with the issues of race in this country. So, the all-day trip to track Till's last days, when he made that fateful trip from Chicago to visit Mississippi, stayed on the calendar.

We walked the bridge over the river and drove to the Tallahatchie River, the site where Emmett's decomposed, swollen and disfigured body was found. We spent time in Money, Mississippi, the site of Emmett's kidnapping. We stood on the ground where the store of the alleged incident was in rubles, soon to be rebuilt as a replica of the original store.

The whole day was surreal. When I think back, there were two comforting visions. One was meeting a local Black man peacefully walking to the river to fish for catfish. The other was the knowledge that all the men in our group reported that they had urinated on the site of the store where Donham told the lie about Till.

Going to the Mississippi Delta and spending the day with the spirit of Emmett Till inspired me to more acutely challenge the rise of the same white supremacy today that murdered the teenager in 1955. White

supremacy today continues economic instability and injustice, keeping poor people struggling, and Black people targets of trigger-happy Ameriguns. Say his name, again and again. Emmett Till - Ashe. WI

Read the full story on washingtoninformer.com.

5 Beverly Hunt at the Black Bottom Bayou, where Emmett Till’s broken body was dumped. His body was later recovered at the Tallahatchie River with a heavy fan tied on his neck with barbed-wire. (Courtesy Photo)

bring

We know there are families in our community who can use a helping hand, especially in tough times. That’s why we created our EnergyShare program. For those who qualify, we provide free home energy assessments and weatherization to help save energy and money. And we also offer bill pay assistance, a little help when it’s needed most. Because we’re more than a reliable energy company. We’re also a reliable neighbor.

Find out more at DominionEnergy.com/EnergyShare.

When you need a hand, we’ll

several.

Inaugural Young Women’s Entrepreneurship Program Wraps with Expo Seton Students Showcase Small Businesses

By Micha Green WI Managing Editor

Just a few days before the start of National Small Business Week (April 30- May 6) students at Elizabeth Seton High School showcased their budding entrepreneurial skills in the Young Women’s Entrepreneurship Program (YWEP) Small Business Expo on April 27.

Held at the Bladensburg, Maryland school, the expo served as a fun, challenging and engaging culmination project for the first year of the YWEP.

“This is our inaugural year. It is a two-year program. ‘Innovation to

Entrepreneurship’ is the first year, and we learn all about business basics. So you’ll learn about organization, communication, how to set up a business, which type of business, and at the end of the year, the expo happens,” said Joy Lawson, YWEP program director and a 2011 alumna of the all-girls Catholic high school.

Students had the opportunity to interact and network with community members, share their business ideas and even sell wares.

Junior Sydney Arnold welcomed onlookers to check out some of the eye-catching hairdos featured with her business Sydney Renee Styles.

A Raffle to Win 300 SLK Mercedes Benz!

“I’m a hairstylist. I focus on heat styles such as ponies, quick weaves, half ups and half downs and also soft locs,” Arnold, whose target audience is ages 15 to 25, told the Informer.

“I can do people older or younger,” the 17-year-old hairstylist emphasized, before explaining the thinking behind her niche clientele. “I focus on my prices being $60 to $100 to focus on my target audience and their income.”

Arnold said she planned to launch her business the week of April 30, and hopes to offer “a very welcoming environment…so people can come back and feel safe.”

The young entrepreneur explained starting her business as part of the YWEP has sparked her creative juices.

“I think me going into this business, it leads me to being very creative. Being in hair, you have a lot of trendy things– hairstyles that go trendy– and I feel that I can contribute to that also,” she said.

Partial Proceeds Will Be Donated to HBC’S!!!!

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Other cohort members include Jada Armstrong (JT Realty); Jenipher Gracia (Cosmetic Haven); Netsanet Grimes (Lovely Styles by Netsanet); Valeria Guerrero (ARIS); Kori Guile (KH Real Estate); Christina Kelly and Jade McNeal (Deciré); Katherynn Moreno (DIVINA Jewelry); Abigail Prikockis (Polished); Lourdes Robinson (Melanated Soul); Audrey Stern (4 You) and Whitney Williams (Whit’s Boutique). Seton entrepreneurs outside of the YWEP also showcased their work, including: senior Julia Coley, an artist, and freshman Madolin Crim of Crim Creations.

Many of the young women started as simply students and have grown into business owners.

“I’m so proud of all the girls, knowing that only one of them had a business entering into this year, and 12 of them are brand new into this entrepreneurial journey,” said Lawson. “Watching them stand confident in what they created has been the biggest blessing for me, and they continue to pour into me.”

WHY ENTREPRENEURSHIP?

As a “fashionpreneur,” Lawson emphasized the importance of young women becoming business owners.

“Entrepreneurship is important because it is such a low rate for girls starting businesses under 18. The average age to start a business is 28, so when you have a program like this, it gives them such a large start into this industry,” Lawson told the Informer. “The skills that you learn as an entrepreneur go hand in hand with life skills.”

For the students going into their second year of the YWEP, there’s still so much more ahead.

“Over the summer, they will get matched with business mentors and have 100 hours for internships. Then into their senior year, it’s ‘Sustainability in Entrepreneurship,’ and at the end of the year, their capstone is for the pitching competition, where they’ll be able to pitch to get money,” Lawson explained.

Visual artist Melanie Royster, a 2011 alumna of the school and YWEP mentor, came to the expo in support of her Seton sisters and was impressed by the training the current students are receiving.

“They’re starting young and exploring creativity,” Royster said. “They’re exercising different parts of their minds that they usually wouldn’t exercise in high school.”

Royster told the Informer entrepreneurship allows for people to “build their own molds.”

“If you don’t feel like you fit somewhere, you build that for yourself,” the visual artist explained.

In addition to students in cohorts to come, Seton also hopes to ignite entrepreneurial fires in others.

“I hope [students and attendees] gain that innovation is key. You can start at any time and create what you’re passionate about, as long as you have your core values and you feel confident and empowered in what you’re creating and doing,” Lawson said.

The school will offer summer entrepreneurship programming beginning June 12.

“Entrepreneurship is not just during the school year, we want to make sure we’re opening up to the community,” Lawson said.

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Read the full story on washingtoninformer.com.

5 Young Women’s Entrepreneurship Program Director Joy Lawson poses at the inaugural Small Business Expo on April 27 at Elizabeth Seton High School in Bladensburg, Maryland. (Micha Green/ The Washington Informer)

Can you draw this design without crossing over or going back along any lines?

When companies want you to see something, they advertise their products. Their ads are carefully crafted to make you want to buy what is being advertised.

Look at the bike ad at right. Some things an advertiser claims to be true are facts and some are opinions Facts are statements that can be proven true or false. Such as:

The bike has three gears. The bike is available in red or blue. The price of the bike is $99.

Opinions, on the other hand, are true for some people, but may not be true for others.

For example:

This bike is the best.

This bike is more fun to ride. This bike will make you popular.

Look at these two ads. With a GREEN crayon, circle the FACTS. With a RED crayon, circle the OPINIONS.

The 2023 Cruise Star is more fun to ride than other bikes. That’s because it has an easy shift for 3 speeds, a softer saddle and cushion-grip rubber handgrips. And you get it all for just $99.

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The non-stop comedy hit for the whole family is now on DVD and Blu-Ray. Available for a limited time only at BigBox Mart.

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We’ve been making potato chips for 100 years. They’re the crispiest, most delicious chips in America. Try a bag today.

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Which would you rely on to decide whether or not to buy a product: Fact, opinion or both? Discuss this with your family this evening.

Watch a TV commercial. How many facts can you count? How many opinions can you count?

Ad Study

In the space at right, design an ad for a product you like. Include at least two facts but no more than two opinions. Have a friend circle the facts and opinons.

ADVERTISE COMPANIES

PRODUCTS OPINION CLAIMS DESIGN CREATE PROVEN CRUISE FALSE FACT TRUE KNOW BUY

Ad Funnies

Select an ad in today’s newspaper that has five or more adjectives. Replace each of the adjectives with one that means the opposite. Then read the ad aloud to a friend.

Identify adjectives and antonyms.

Just the Facts

Write three sentences describing your classroom. Only use facts. No opinions.

– Meghan Usher, Film Fans

in red or blue, the Cruise Star will make you the coolest kid on the block.

Available at Bike-O-Rama

2023 by Vicki Whiting, Editor Je Schinkel, Graphics Vol. 39, No. 23

review wi book

"In the Company of Grace: A Veterinarian's Memoir of Trauma and Healing" by Jody Lulich

c.2023, University of Minnesota Press

$19.95 / 232 pages

Terri Schlichenmeyer WI Contributing Writer

You are a product of what your parents do.

They nurtured you, and you learned to nurture. They yelled, and you discovered that shouting was the way to communicate. From them, you got your sense of humor, your earliest political beliefs, and your initial ideas of right and wrong. You're a product of what adults around you do — or, as in the new book "In the Company of Grace" by Jody Lulich, what they don't.

The suicide attempt on New Year's Eve of 1966 was not Jody Lulich's mother's first.

It was, however, the one that took her life, no matter how hard Lulich, who was 9 years old at the time, tried to save her. He'd been taking care of her every day after school by then, trying to keep his parents from fighting, trying to keep the violence and vitriol between them at bay, but they were alcoholics with anger issues and he was just a boy.

On the way to his mother's funeral, his father accidentally hit a stray dog with his car, and kept on driving. It was a kind of metaphor for Lulich's heartbreak, and he never forgot it.

Through the rest of his childhood, Lulich tried to find the love his father denied him, but it was almost always absent. At age eleven, Lulich moved out of his father's home, bouncing between a neighbor's welcoming house and back; as soon as he was able, he escaped, enrolled in college, and decided on veterinary school as a postgrad at Tuskeegee, an HBCU. There he excelled in his career, found support from a mother-figure who loved him, and he grew to accept that he was attracted to men.

But despite his success, the appreciation of his clients and patients, and the accolades that he gathered through the years, Lulich couldn't seem to shake the feeling that something was wrong in his life. How could he finally accept the love and compassion he deserved?

If you're the kind of reader who sees the word "veterinarian" in the subtitle of this book and make a beeline for it, there's one big thing you'll want to know: "In the Company of Grace" is not filled with animal tales. There are a few, but they take a big back seat to author Jody Lulich's story and that of his family, which come in wave after wave of sad memories and deep, lingering want. These are tales that, even when they're meant to be the slightest bit upbeat, feel like a smack-down, or a stomp on your soul. That makes this a hard read for a good long time — melancholy and hard, but compelling because the tales don't ever become what you think they'll be. Oddly enough, there's triumph here, and exactly what readers will want in the end.

"In the Company of Grace" — so-titled for the woman who accepted Lulich — is not the book to come to when you're feeling sad. Reach for it when you want something meaningful, though. That's what to do. WI

horoscopes

ARIES Your superhuman drive to get things done is in full effect as the week begins. On Monday and Tuesday, expect to make big progress forging ahead. On Wednesday and Thursday, you'll keep that engine of ambition revving into high gear, but you'll also find within yourself the insight (and charm!) to recruit the help of other like-minded people. Lucky Numbers: 17, 24, 26

TAURUS Stick to your guns as the week begins. You're feeling especially grounded and sure of yourself (and your plans) on Monday and Tuesday, and that self-assured outlook should translate into a deeper perspective on your current situation. On Wednesday and Thursday, you could find yourself wanting to butt heads with someone who's trying to get a rise out of you, but don't let them get what they want. Lucky Numbers: 29, 34, 53

GEMINI Who's in charge here? You might find yourself jockeying for the lead on Monday and Tuesday, but try not to take this competition too seriously. The point behind this struggle (and the motivations of your fellow strugglers) should become clear soon enough. On Wednesday and Thursday, expect your opinions to be swayed by someone charismatic. Lucky Numbers: 7, 22, 50

CANCER You might not feel like coming out as the week begins, but try to be brave. On Monday and Tuesday, you'll need to muster up some strength to make things right in a personal relationship. On Wednesday and Thursday, you'll pick up a trick or two from watching others interact. An intellectual appeal is sometimes better than an emotional one, and you've got the sensitivity to tell the difference.

Lucky Numbers: 11, 15, 32

LEO You know what you want and you're not afraid to go after it. Monday and Tuesday are both good days for realizing your adventurous ambitions, and you can expect others to be impressed by your enthusiastic attitude. On Wednesday and Thursday, that same can-do energy could lead you into conflict if you're not careful. Be sensitive to other people's egos and look for ways that everyone can win. Lucky Numbers: 5, 6, 36

VIRGO Your hard work and creativity are paying off as the week begins! Follow-through is its own reward, of course, but on Monday and Tuesday, you'll get more tangible results from your efforts. (And don't be surprised if others find that ambitious energy of yours attractive.) On Wednesday and Thursday, consider some experimentation to complement your already extraordinary organizational skills. Lucky Numbers: 16, 22, 58

LIBRA Try to break through old limits as the week begins. Monday and Tuesday might feel maudlin and moody, but you should take these as opportunities to get past any weird sentimentality that's been holding you back. On Wednesday and Thursday, people enjoy your company (as usual). Enjoy all the attention and try to connect with someone new. Lucky Numbers: 5, 31, 57

SCORPIO The beginning of this week is a great time to lock things down and make big decisions. Your determination and self-assurance are unmatched on Monday and Tuesday, and others will fall all over themselves to help you. On Wednesday and Thursday, your passions could lead to trouble on the home front. You'll have to find creative ways to keep the emotional peace. Lucky Numbers: 43, 52, 55

SAGITTARIUS You'll be unusually obsessed with money and material things as this week begins, but that doesn't mean you need to be a grumpy Scrooge. You'll have the originality on Monday and Tuesday to find creative ways to pinch pennies (like packing your own lunch). On Wednesday and Thursday, you're at your outgoing, confident best, and others will be smitten by your charms. Lucky Numbers: 6, 36, 45

CAPRICORN Your carefully premeditated strategies should pay off as the week begins. Others will take notice (and be impressed!) as your plans come together on Monday and Tuesday, and you should be proud of your results. On Wednesday and Thursday, progress gets a little more difficult, and things might not be quite what they seem. Consider changing the way you're approaching this problem. Lucky Numbers: 7, 8, 51

AQUARIUS Buckle down and get focused! You need to show some discipline as the week begins if you don't want to spend all of Monday and Tuesday flailing around. On Wednesday and Thursday though, your concentration will make a comeback, and you'll have plenty of energy to focus on your goals. Start a revolution! (Or at least start a conversation. People will hang on your every word.) Lucky Numbers: 2, 4, 43

PISCES As the week begins, expect some assistance from on high (like higher up the ladder). Aid will come on Monday or Tuesday. Be generous and share your good fortune. On Wednesday and Thursday, your ambitious compassion will start to stir (you know, that feeling you get when you want to help out everyone all at once). It's fine to pitch in, but go easy on yourself. Nobody expects you to save the world. On Friday and Saturday, though, a supercharged boost of energy might feel like you almost could. Put that superhero-style enthusiasm and creativity to good use. Lucky Numbers: 2, 9, 10

SPORTS

Capital Classic Celebrates Its 50th Anniversary

By Ed Hill WI Contributing Writer

It was the 50th Anniversary of the Capital Classic Basketball game, pitting the U.S. All-Star Team-- composed of the top seniors from across the country--- against the Capital All Star Team --- made up of the top se-

niors from the DMV area. It proved to be an entertaining contest for fans gathered on a Saturday afternoon at the Entertainment and Sports Arena in Southeast, D.C. In the end, it was the local group who pulled off the surprising 88-81 win over their counterparts.

Many in attendance came to see

Mikey Williams, the highly touted, five-star guard from California who is headed to the University of Memphis.

In the end, however, it was Tyler Perkins from The Landon School who stole the show. Perkins, who is headed for the University of Pennsylvania, poured in a game-high 23 points, on an eight of 12 shooting performance, including five of eight from beyond the stripe, which proved to be the difference.

"There were a lot of players here who have reputations as being some of the best in the country," said Perkins, who was named the MVP for the locals. "I felt some kind of way. I was motivated to show people that I could compete at this level. I admit that I did have a bit of a chip on my shoulder."

Added Capital All Star Coach, Calos Poindexter, "I could tell from our practice on Friday that he’s a special incentive for this game. I was very impressed with his overall ability, especially coming up with the big shots when we needed them."

The Capital All Stars took the early lead and once led by 12 early before the U.S. All-Stars made a strong push to take the lead at 51-50 at intermission.

It turned into a back-and-forth battle in the third quarter with Williams coming alive, displaying an array of skills that validate his status. The smooth 6’2 guard scored or set up teammates for baskets.

But Perkins refused to let it affect his play as he continued to stave off several U.S. All-Stars' rallies with timely shots as the shot clock would down.

Adrian Branch, the coach of the U.S. All-Stars is a former player in the game for the Capital All Stars after staring at DeMatha and the University of Maryland before a short stint in the NBA with the Los Angeles Lakers.

He offered his perspective on the experience.

"It was very interesting sitting in as a coach of these talented young men," said Branch, currently an analyst for college basketball on ESPN. "Obviously when you get this kind of talent together in such a short amount of time, there are challenges. But I was pleased with the effort to rally and make a game of it."

The game is working to go back

to the days like that of past participants, such stars as Magic Johnson, LeBron James, Michael Jordan, Moses Malone, Dominque Wilkins, Grant Hill, Doc Rivers and Klay Thompson. There were NBA scouts in attendance to evaluate some of the future pros.

"We are pleased with the overall success of the Capital Classic," said Ricky Goings, director of Players Engagement and Alumni Relations for the Classic.

"There are some things that we have to work on to improve,” Goings added, “but the most important thing is that we have something to build on for the future."

Branch said "Ricky and his team did a great job.”

“It was a great atmosphere, there was a tribute to the alums of the game and competition among some of the best in basketball,” Branch explained. "What I came away with is that there is still some outstanding basketball here in the DMV. The future is bright and I am honored and humbled that I had the chance to be a part of this 50th anniversary." WI

5 Tyler Perkins (12) scores two of his game-high 23 points to lead the Capital Stars to victory over the US Stars in 50th Annual Capital Classic (Jonae Guest/The Washington Informer)

"It was very interesting sitting in as a coach of these talented young men," said Branch, currently an analyst for college basketball on ESPN.

3 Adrian Branch gives instructions to US Stars MVP Mikey Williams in the 50th Annual Capital Classic (Jonae Guest/The Washington Informer)

CAPTURE the moment

5 Maryland State Governor Wes Moore and his wife Dawn on the red-carpet attending Byron Allen Presents theGrio gala at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture on April 29. (Robert R. Roberts/The Washington Informer)

(Above center) Congresswomen Sheila Jackson Lee and Maxine Waters enjoy watching Diana Ross perform during Byron Allen Presents theGrio gala at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture on April 29.

(Robert R. Roberts/The Washington Informer)

3 Actress and political activist Rosario Dawson on the red carpet at the White House Correspondents’ Garden Brunch with a guest at the historic Beall-Washington House in Georgetown on April 29. (Cleveland Nelson/The Washington Informer)

3 Jonathan Capehart, member of the Washington Post Editorial Board and host of the “Capehart” podcast, attend the White House Correspondents’ Garden Brunch with a guest at the historic Beall-Washington House in Georgetown on April 29. (Cleveland Nelson/The Washington Informer)

6 CBS Mornings co-host Gayle King arrives at the White House Correspondents’ Garden Brunch with a guest at the historic Beall-Washington House in Georgetown on April 29. (Cleveland Nelson/The Washington Informer)

Churches Offer Hope, Support After Devastating Mississippi Tornadoes

By Hamil R. Harris WI Contributing Writer

On March 24, a deadly tornado tore through the lower Mississippi Delta– including the town of Rolling Fork— gutted hundreds of homes, and left 26 people dead. Washington Informer photographer Roy Lewis, said the violent spree of storms was more than a news event. Lewis grew up 117 miles away, and he was concerned about his brothers and other family members living in his hometown.

“I grew up in Natchez,” Lewis said. “ I came down to check on my brother. I was on my way to Jackson, and once I got on the ground, it was devastating.”

The Rev. Mary Stewart, according to the Associated Press, clung

to a door in the hallway of her home In Rolling Fork. She shielded herself from the branches and debris flying through her shattered windows.

The EF-4 tornado destroyed homes that belonged to many residents of Rolling Fork, and in response, an army of faith leaders poured thousands of dollars in supplies and resources to help victims.

“We are a very religious community,” said Laura Allmon, a fourth-generation congregant of the United Methodist Church in Rolling Fork. “It just means a lot for us to be able to get together and pray and be thankful for what we have.”

The tornado killed 13 of Rolling Fork's roughly 1,700 residents and it destroyed about 300 homes

and businesses. Entire blocks were destroyed and many now wonder whether their small-town will be rebuilt.

Days after the storm, Gov. Tate Reeves (R) appeared alongside two top Biden Administration officials — Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Deanne Criswell — for a Sunday news conference.

“What we’ve seen over the last 36 hours in Mississippi, on the one hand, has been heartbreaking to see the loss and devastation of these communities,” Reeves said. “But on the other hand, has been inspiring and gives me great reason for optimism.”

“Rolling Fork will come back bigger and better,” said Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) who has held a series of town hall meetings to help victims of the tornado.

Storm survivors received upto-date information on federal recovery resources from representatives of the Federal Emergency

Management Agency, Mississippi Emergency Management Agency, Red Cross and Small Business Administration.

According to FEMA leaders, survivors can go online to disasterassistance.gov, use the FEMA mobile app or call 800-621-3362, 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Central Time seven days a week.

While Mississippi has been racially divided for decades, the emergency response has brought about an ecumenical sea of humanity.

“This tornado was devastating to the entire town,” said the Rev. Roderick Lewis, pastor of the New Beginnings Missionary Baptist Church in Natchez, who is also the nephew of our legendary Informer photographer.

“This is just not a Civil Rights problem, this is a human rïghts problem,” the pastor said. “When you have things like this to happen it affects people across the board.”

A number of Christian groups, including Samaritan’s Purse and

Convoy of Hope, also deployed disaster relief teams to help survivors after a violent storm system, spawning as many as 60 tornadoes. tore across the United States from March 31 to April 1, resulting in at least 26 deaths.

“In this situation everyone is working together,” said Roy Lewis, who during the 1960 didn't always feel good about coming back home to Mississippi. “When I come back to Mississippi “I think of danger,” Lewis said. “When I cross the border you go on alert. You tighten up.”

The photographer is one of eight brothers and today his nephew is part of a new generation that is reaching out to people in need regardless of color or political persuassiôn.

“We have been called out to be disciples,” said Pastor Lewis, whose church has about 350 members. “When things like this happen, it affects people across the board. It's about needs.” WI

3 Rev. Roderick Lewis, pastor of the New Beginning Missionary Baptist Church in Natchez Mississippi, and volunteers load items to ship to Rolling Fork. (Roy Lewis/The Washington Informer)

Death and life are in the power of the tongue. — Proverbs 18:21

This week, we are teaching the third principle called auto-suggestion/affirmation. This principle teaches how you speak to yourself and encourage yourself. When you repeat positive thoughts to influence your subconscious mind, you must speak in the present tense, and though you don't have it yet, the affirmation reprograms your thinking. If your goal is to build a successful small business, your affirmation would be: "I am building a successful small business." As your plan becomes clearer, you would say, "I own a successful small business." Mark 11:23 reminds us we must "speak to our mountains." In fact, it states, "For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. Therefore I say unto you what things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them."

See how these principles connect with the bible providing a plan to bring the principle of faith and auto suggestion/affirmation to life? This is your chance to test the truth of His Word. He is able to do exceedingly, and abundantly, above, all that you can ask or think!

This teaching will help you "Walk by faith, and not by sight!" It will teach you how to live a life so "your heart is not troubled." This system will reprogram you to understanding exactly how to trust God, and to live life by "praying without ceasing."

WITH LYNDIA GRANT

More importantly, it teaches you how to apply this third principle of affirmation, speaking to your mountain.

What should you say as you recite daily, as your way of reinforcing the Word? Well, for one thing, you can simply repeat: "I know that He will make me the head and not the tail."

You can say, "My God shall supply all of my needs, according to His riches in glory!" You can say, "The Word tells me that He will open up the windows of heaven and pour me out a blessing, I won't have room to receive."

There's more: As you continue to recite the Word of God, add your own personal goals to your recitations. Write them out, and say something like this: "There is greatness within me." Or say, "I am beautifully and wonderfully made, chosen to come forth to do a work for the Lord." The Lord is my shepherd.

When trouble comes, just say, "This is temporary," because worrying is used to create what you don't want. Reach for a feeling of relief. You are being cared for, because God loves you. Never leave yourself in a place where you're feeling bad. You've just got to tell a different story. Stop talking about those negative things that have shaped your life thus far. Let it go — that negativity is a curse. God has blessed you!

Shiloh Church of God 7th Day

The Bible tells us, "We are children of the light!" You are perfect in the eyes of God. It doesn't matter about your body size, nor your race, color or creed. God made you, and you are indeed perfect, women especially, whether you have long hair or short, whether your skin color is light or dark. God did not make any mistakes!

Make peace with who you are, and make peace with where you are. Live happy in the moment. All we have is today, tomorrow is not promised. But when you live happy in each day, you shape your future, and God can bless you. You will be showing Him that you are indeed walking in faith. During your affirmation time, you won't speak words that hurt you and hurt others. You will always remember that "Life and death are in the power of the tongue." Speak life; don't talk about those negative things that happened in your life, let it go. You made it through the storm, and you're still alive. You've got your right mind, and you're stronger because of the problems you've faced and have overcome.

Life is similar to downstream journey, just go with the flow. When you fight against the currents, trying to go upstream, it's hard, it feels bad, it is not the norm. Repeat daily, "I always go with the flow!" WI

RELIGION

The Miracle Center of Faith Missionary Baptist Church

Bishop Michael C. Turner, Sr. Senior Pastor

9161 Hampton Overlook Capitol Heights, MD 20743

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

Service and Times

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

Communion: 1st Sunday

Sunday School: 9:00 AM

Bible Study: Wednesday, 12 Noon

Bible Study in homes: Tuesday 7:00 PM

Website: www.themiraclecenterFMBC.com

Email: Miraclecenterfmbs@gmail.com

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

Blessed Word of Life Church

4001 14th Street, NW Washington, DC 20011

(202) 265-6147 Office 1-800 576-1047 Voicemail/Fax

Service and Times

Sunday School: 9:30 AM

Sunday Morning Worship Service: 11:00 AM

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

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

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

Services and Times

Sundays: 10:00am Worship Services

Bible Study: Wonderful Wednesdays in Worship and the Word Bible Study Wednesdays

12:00 Noon; 6:30 PM (dinner @ 5:30 PM)

Sunday School: 9:00 AM – Hour of Power

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

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

Worship Service: 11:00 AM Communion every Sunday: 11:00 AM

School: 10:00 AM

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

11:00 AM Bible Study: Wednesday 7:30 PM

Communion Service: First Sunday www.livingwatersmd.org

Allen Chapel A.M.E. Church

Street

Greater Mt. Calvary Holy Church

St Marks Baptist Come Worship with us...

Bishop

Sr. Senior Pastor 5757 Temple Hill Road, Temple Hills, MD 20748 Office 301-899-8885 – fax 301-899-2555 Services and Times

Sunday Early Morning Worship: 7:45 AM Church School: 9:30 AM

Sunday Morning Worship: 10:45 AM

Tuesday: 7:00pm/Kingdom Building Bible Institute

Wednesday , 12:30 PM Mid-Day Bible Study

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

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

Mt.

Zion

Baptist Church

Reverend John W. Davis Pastor

5101 14th Street, NW / Washington, DC 20011 Phone: 202-726-2220

Fax: 202-726-9089

Service and Times

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

Children’s Church - 11:00 a.m. (1st & 3rd Sundays) Communion 10 a.m. 4th Sunday

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

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

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

Th.D. Senior Pastor 1204 Third Street, NW Washington, DC 20001 202-347-5889 office / 202-638-1803 fax

Services and Times

Sunday School: 9:30 AM

Sunday Worship: 11:00 AM Sunday Community Worship Service: 8:30 AM

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

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

Bishop Alfred A. Owens, Jr.; Senior Bishop & Evangelist Susie C. Owens – Co-Pastor 610 Rhode Island Avenue, NE Washington, DC 20002

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

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

Sunday Youth Worship Services:

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

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

Prayer Services

Tuesday – Noon, Wednesday 6:00 AM & 6:30 PM Calvary Bible Institute: Year-Round

Contact Church Communion Every 3rd Sunday The Church in The Hood that will do you Good! www.gmchc.org emailus@gmchc.org

Dr. Raymond T. Matthews Pastor and First Lady Marcia Matthews St. Mark's Baptist Church 624 Underwood Street, NW Washington, dc 20011

Services and Times

Sunday School: 9:00 AM Worship Service: 10:00 AM Wed. Noon Day prayer service Thur. Prayer service: 6:45 PM Thur. Bible Study: 7:15 PM

Mount Olivet Lutheran Church

headline and photo for LIF - MALCOLMXDAY

John F. Johnson Reverend Dr. 1306 Vermont Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20005

Service and Times

Divine Worship, Sunday 10:00 a.m. Communion 1st and 3rd Sunday

“Friendliest Church in the City”

Website: mountolivetdc.org

Email: mtolivedc@gmail.com

Rev. Cheryl J. Sanders,

Third

Church of God

Lanier C. Twyman,

St. Stephen Baptist Church

Reverend William Young IV Pastor

Covenant Baptist United Church  of Christ

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

Zion Baptist Church

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

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

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

Pastor

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

Service and Times

Sunday Worship Service: 10:45 AM

Sunday School: 9:15 AM

Holy Communion1st Sunday: 10:45 AM

Prayer Service: Wednesday at 6:30 PM

Bible Study: Wednesday at 7:00 PM

Bible Study: Tuesday at 10:30 AM

Interim Pastor

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

Service and Times

Sunday Worship: 10:00 AM

Holy Communion: First Sunday 10:00 AM Sunday School: 9:00 AM

Bible Study: Wednesday @ 12 noon and 6:30 PM

Motto: "Faith On The Hill"

Emmanuel Baptist Church

Reverend Christopher L. Nichols Pastor

2409 Ainger Pl.,SE – WDC 20020 (202) 678-0884 – Office / (202) 678-0885 – Fax

“Moving Faith Forward” 0% Perfect . . 100% Forgiven!

Service and Times

Sunday Worship: 8:00 AM & 10:45 AM

Baptism/Holy Communion: 3rd Sunday

Family Bible Study Tuesdays – 6:30 PM

Prayer Service: Tuesdays – 8:00 PM

www.emmanuelbaptistchurchdc.org

Dr. Earl D. Trent Senior Pastor

623 Florida Ave.. NW - WDC. 20001 Church (202) 667-3409 / Study (202) 265-0836

Home Study (301) 464-8211 / Fax (202) 483-4009

Service and Times

Sunday Worship Services: 10:00 AM

Sunday Church School: 8:45 – 9:45 AM

Holy Communion: Every First Sunday Intercessory Prayer: Monday – 7:00-8:00 PM

Pastor’s Bible Study: Wednesday

Pastor

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

Service and Times

Sunday Apostolic Worship Services

11:00 A.M and 5:00 PM

Communion and Feet Wash 4th Sunday at 5:00 PM

Prayer/Seeking: Wednesday at 8:00 PM

Apostolic in Doctrine, Pentecostal in Experience, Holiness in Living, Uncompromised and Unchanged. The Apostolic Faith is still alive –Acts 2:42

New Commandment Baptist Church

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

Service and Times

Sunday Worship: 11 AM

Sunday School: 10 AM

Wednesday Mid-Week Worship, Prayer & Bible Study: Wed. 7 PM

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

St. Matthews Baptist Church

Reverend Peter R. Blue Sr. Pastor 2001 Brooks Drive  District Heights MD. 20744 240.838.7074

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"

Email: revprbstmbc@gmail.com

Website: www.stmatthewsbaptist.org

Rehoboth Baptist Church

Curtis l. Staley Pastor 621 Alabama Ave., S.E.- Washington, D.C. 20032

P: (202) 561-1111 - F: (202) 561-1112

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

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

“Real

Historic St. Mary’s Episcopal Church

Priest

Foggy Bottom Founded in 1867

728 23rd Street, NW Washington, DC 20037

Church office: 202-333-3985 - Fax : 202-338-4958

Service and Times

Sundays: 10 a.m. Holy Eucharist with Music and Hymns

Wednesdays: 12:10 p.m. - Holy Eucharist www.stmarysfoggybottom.org

Email: stmarysoffice@stmarysfoggybottom.org

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

Promised Land Baptist Church

Rev Kevin A. O'Bryant Pastor

401 Van Buren St., NW, Washington D.C. 20012 Office (202)-882-8331

Service and Times

Sunday Worship 10:30 am Zoom: zoom.us/;/2028828331

Bible Study: Wednesday 7:00pm Communion Every First Sunday "Serve, teach and Live by precept and example the saving grace of Jesus Christ."

Website: Theplbc.org Email: churchclerk@theplbc.org

Senior Pastor

2616 MLK Ave., SE - Washington, DC 20020 Office 202-889-3709 Fax 202-678-3304

Service and Times

Sunday Worship Service: 9:30 AM

Holy Communion: 1st Sunday 9:30 AM

Sunday School: 8:15 AM

Bible Study: Wednesdays at Noon

Baptism: 4th Sunday 9:30 AM

Website address: www.mmbcdc.org

“Where God is Praised, Christ is Obeyed, and People are Loved”

Peace Baptist Church

Rev. Dr. Michael T. Bell 712 18th Street, NE Washington, DC 20002

Phone 202-399-3450/ Fax 202-398-8836

Service and Times

Sunday Early Morning Prayer & Bible Study Class: 8:00 AM

Sunday School: 9:00 AM

Sunday Morning Worship Service: 10:00 AM

Wednesday Service: 12:00 PM

“The Loving Church of the living lord “

Email Address: admin@pbc712.org

First Rising Mt. Zion Baptist Church

Rev. Oran W. Young Pastor 602 N Street NW - Washington, D.C. 20001 Office:(202) 289-4480

Fax: (202) 289-4595

Service and Times

Sunday School for All Ages: 8:00 AM

Sunday Worship Services: 9:30 AM

Midday Prayer & Bible Study: Wednesday 11:30AM

Evening Prayer & Bible Study: Wednesday 7:00 PM

Laymen's League: Thursday 7:00 PM

Email: Froffice@firstrising.org

Website: www.firstrising.org

“Changing Lives On Purpose “

Kelechi Ajieren Coordinator 6839 Eastern Avenue, R1 Takoma Park, MD 20912 (202) 556-7065

Service and Times

Sunday Worship Service: 10:00 AM

Wednesday Bible Study: 7:00 PM

Friday Evening Service: 7:00 PM ; Last Friday

“…Giving Your Life a Meaning” www.Christembassydc.org Christ.embassy.dc@hotmail.com

Pennsylvania Ave. Baptist Church

Dr. Kendrick E. Curry Pastor 3000 Pennsylvania Ave.. S.E Washington, DC 20020 202 581-1500

Service and Times

Sunday Church School: 9:30 AM

Sunday Worship Service: 11:00 AM

Monday Adult Bible Study: 7:00 PM

Wednesday Youth & Adult Activities: 6:30 PM Prayer Service Bible Study

Mt. Horeb Baptist Church

Rev. Dr. H. B. Sampson, III Pastor 2914 Bladensburg Road, NE Wash., DC 20018

Email:mthoreb@mthoreb.org

Website:www.mthoreb.org

For further information, please contact me at (202) 529-3180.

Rev.

Rev. Lance Aubert Imterim

Elder Herman L. Simms

Rev. Richard B. Black

Sermon On The Mount Temple Of Joy Apostolic Faith

Lincoln Park United Methodist Church

Dr. Joseph D. Turner

Matthews Memorial Baptist Church

Christ Embassy DC

Rev.

Mount

Rev.

Rev.

Rev. Aubrey C. Lewis

The Rev. E. Bernard Anderson

land to the community.

“Logically, the community did not have an entity to receive a piece of land, as no neighborhood would,” Epperson said.

To solve that problem, another entity—the Anacostia Economic Development Corporation, whose founder lived on Talbert Terrace at the time—held the land “in trust” for the neighborhood association. That was supposed to be a temporary measure, until the neighborhood organization could fill out the required paperwork.

Transportation (DDOT) Director Everett Lott and several others converged on Franklin Park in Northwest to demand that the D.C. Council reallocates funds to a multi-year construction project intended to set up dedicated bus lanes and bike lanes along the K Street corridor and portions of L Street.

dissatisfied with the current design due to what’s been described as a flagrant absence of bike lanes.

While the mark-ups unanimously approved by the council’s Committee on Transportation and the Environment-- which includes Allen and Councilmembers Christina Henderson (I-At large), Matthew Frumin (D-Ward 3), Janeese Lewis George (D-Ward 4), and Zachary Parker (D-Ward 5)--- defunds the K Street Transitway, it also allocate funds for a transit redesign.

5 Kids from the neighborhood help out with the

community cleanup, which doubled as a rally. (Kayla Benjamin / The Washington Informer)

“To have 60 homes and condos and no community space, no place where the kids can play, no gathering place outdoors? It seems like it would really hurt the community,” Hilliard said. “And it seems like they’re robbing us.”

“WE PLAYED THERE SUNUP TO SUNDOWN”

The story of Lot 1103 is complicated, involving a 1970s racial bias lawsuit, a controversial D.C. property tax law, and an allegedly unscrupulous developer (which we’ll get to later in this storytelling series). But outside of the real estate complexities, the spot has served a simple but profound role in the collective life of the Talbert Terrace neighborhood, which sits just slightly west of historic Anacostia.

“It’s sunny in the mornings, in the evenings it’s shady—so that's when we were playing kickball, baseball, softball,” Hilliard recalled.

“We played there, sunup to sundown. Even at sundown, we were over there, catching ladybugs.”

Even once bug-catching lost its childhood appeal, Hilliard continued to spend time in the Talbert Terrace green space, just sitting, enjoying the shade. The property includes a steep hill, with a dropoff behind a line of trees. Hilliard recalls looking out over the city during winter, when the branches lay bare.

The park sits on the same hill as nearby Talbert Street’s Grandview Estates. That condominium began crumbling due structural issues within months of its opening.

As a former president and current vice president of the Anacostia Homeowners and Residents Association,

whose members come from homes on Talbert Terrace, Dexter Terrace and Talbert Street, Hilliard also helps organize a block party in the space every year. The summertime tradition began as far back as the late ‘60s, she said.

The grassy clearing faces the street, surrounded by homes on one side and foliage on the other. Neighbors still keep the grass mowed, but the brush at the back edges of the lot has crept further into the space over time. For decades, the Anacostia Homeowners and Residents Association has taken charge of maintaining the space because the community itself owned the property.

That officially changed in 2019.

“IT'S JUST NOT FAIR HOW THE CITY TOOK IT BACK”

It’s nearly impossible to follow the legal journey of Lot 1103 without diving deep into the weeds of D.C. property law and the city tax code. Jeff Epperson, a D.C.-area real estate developer who describes himself as “semi-retired,” said that paperwork confusion plays a major role in Talbert Terrace’s situation.

Epperson, 61, owns a home in the neighborhood, which he’s rented out for decades. Over the years, he has lent his expertise to the residents’ fight to keep the green space over the years.

“I got involved here because I want to right a wrong,” Epperson said. “It just irritates me when people take advantage of others, and manipulate the process to do so.”

The Anacostia Homeowners and Residents Association first came to own the lot in 1977. The neighborhood won it from a developer in a successful racial discrimination suit, and the District required him to give the

Unfortunately, something—it’s unclear what—went wrong in that next step, Epperson said. For decades, the ownership issue went unnoticed, mostly because the property taxes stayed low enough that the neighborhood could collectively pay them.

But in the early 2000s, new laws enabled the city to charge much higher taxes on properties it designated “vacant” or “blighted.” Despite consistent use by the community, Lot 1103 received both designations, and annual taxes jumped from the low thousands to the hundreds of thousands. The neighborhood fell behind.

In 2016, the District sold the land in a “discount” tax sale to Rupsha 2011, LLC. A few years later, the company officially received the property’s deed from the city. Detailed plans for an 18-unit residential building have gotten approval, though the permitting process remains in the works.

For some communities, that would be the end of it. But in recent months, Talbert Terrace residents—longtime neighbors and newcomers alike— have poured hundreds of hours into research and mobilization. They’ve identified serious errors within the sale process and brought them to the attention of everyone they can think of.

“Historically, we’ve seen that when development doesn’t include community, development happens and community is no longer there,” Ward 8 Councilmember Trayon White said. “In a close knit community like Talbert Terrace, they are engaged and organized about what they want to see happen. And so I support them in that.”

Talbert Terrace residents have seen a lot of change in their neighborhood over the decades. But these neighbors know that their vision for the future includes this safe place for their children to play.

“It should remain a part of the community,” Hilliard said. “And it's just not fair how the city took it back.”

This article is the first in a series about this ongoing story.

During the committee write-up process last week, the D.C. Council’s Committee on Transportation and the Environment, chaired by D.C. Councilmember Charles Allen (D-Ward 6) moved more than $100 million in capital funds intended for the K Street Transitway to fund the Free Bus program that council members approved during the latter part of last year.

In another move that perturbed Bowser and others, the D.C. Council’s Committee on Public Works and Operations, chaired by D.C. Council Brianne Nadeau (D-Ward 1), approved a for-hire vehicle congestion management program that adds a $2 surcharge to rideshares heading downtown.

The funds collected from the surcharges would fund 24-hour bus service under the Free Bus program.

In her remarks about the budget changes, Bowser said that the Free Bus program wouldn’t be successful if buses are unable to navigate congested roads. The $2 rideshare surcharge, she added, further discourages District residents, especially those who travel Downtown to go to work, from hopping in Ubers and Lyfts.

“Forty percent of the people traveling east and west used K Street buses,” Bowser said. “People don’t like buses when they’re stuck in traffic -- even when it’s free. Wider sidewalks and dedicated sideways will make traveling safer. The transit model is the first of its kind in D.C. and it’s not an overstatement about how it will transform transportation.”

K STREET TRANSITWAY UNDER FIRE

Plans for the K Street Transitway gelled together during engagement with residents, community leaders, transportation officials and business owners. Before funds had been taken away, construction had been anticipated to be completed by 2027.

Features of the K Street Transitway, which will stretch between 12th Street and 21st Street in Northwest, include protected transit lanes, dedicated center bus lanes intended to prevent traffic-related delays, platform and median separation, two car lanes in each direction, and boarding stations for bus riders.

Bike riders counted among those

The transitway as it currently stands has a supporter in Pinto, who said she has spoken, met with or reached out to all of her council colleagues about finding other funding sources for the Free Bus program.

"It's imperative that downtown comes back,” Pinto said. “We need to take recovery seriously. Without dedicated investments in our budget, we will continue to face future budget cycles with hard decisions. We can't afford to stop thinking about tomorrow when it comes to downtown."

During its first vote on the full budget on May 16, the D.C. Council will decide whether to strike down or move forward with the mark-ups coming out of Allen and Nadeau’s committees.

Nadeau’s office confirmed that Nadeau and Pinto have been attempting to connect. A spokesperson told the Informer that Nadeau called Pinto before the release of her committee report, and left details about the adjustments in messages, but hadn’t been able to directly speak to the Ward 2 council member.

Allen said he and Pinto had also been playing phone tag over the last week. In defending his committee’s decision to defund the K Street Transitway, Allen said District residents have raised concerns.

“One of the things I’ve heard consistently from a lot of folks is that DDOT continued to make changes that move [the K Street Transitway] away from being a transitway,” Allen said. “It’s a freeway [with] seven lanes for cars and folks felt this is not what downtown needs. It’s not a transformative design. It’s my hope and goal to have DDOT come back with a design we can get around, but it’s got to be a design for the downtown of the future.”

COMPETING VISIONS FOR D.C.’S FUTURE

The Free Bus program became a hot-button budget season issue when the Office of the Chief Financial Officer (OCFO) released its revised revenue estimates that showed a projected loss in revenue for the next couple of

April 8

TALBERT from Page 1

HU PRESIDENT from Page 1 leadership roles at George Washington University and Johns Hopkins University.

In a statement, Vinson expressed gratitude for being able to take the mantle at such a critical juncture in HU’s development.

“Howard’s incredible legacy, its remarkable trajectory, combined with the fine talent of its faculty and staff, situate Howard at the uppermost echelons of higher education. Combined with the uniquely transformational power of a Howard education, the students, faculty, staff, and alumni constitute a positive force of change in our society,” Vinson said.

“Our world needs Howard at maximum strength,” Vinson continued. “I look forward to returning to the DMV, which I consider home, and working with the broader campus community to fortify Howard and help build upon its incredible tradition of delivering excellence, truth, and service to greater humanity.”

WHO IS DR. BEN VINSON III?

Vinson will start his new role at HU in September.

As provost and executive vice president at Case Western Reserve University, Vinson oversees academic and university research. He also led the university’s “Think Big” strategic planning initiative and helped facilitate the increase in underrepresented students over the course of four years. These feats align with Vinson’s role on the Association of American Universities’ Advisory Board for Racial Equity in Higher Education, and its subcommittee on faculty advancement and tenure.

Vinson, the son of U.S. military Air Force master sergeant, has also lived around the world and amassed a research catalog that reflects his interest in the Diasporic experience. His scholarship explores Black religious festivals in Venezuela, race and class dynamics in Mexico, and differences between Winston-Salem, N.C.’s African-American and Afro-Mexican immigrant populations.

HU’s Board of Trustees unanimously approved Vinson as the successor to Dr. Wayne A.I. Frederick, HU’s president of nine years who announced his retirement last spring. The announcement sparked calls among HU alumni for a Black female university president.

The search for Frederick’s replacement involved the launch of a board-appointed Presidential Search Committee and the consultation of

executive search firm Isaacson Miller. The search committee, composed of faculty, staff, alumni, students, and current and former trustees, developed criteria, engaged the university community, identified and interviewed candidates and submitted a recommendation to the board of trustees.

Jordyn Allen, president of the HU Student Association and presidential search committee member, said that Vinson fit the profile of a leader that could best represent her interests and that of her peers.

“It was of utmost importance to me to choose a president who was personable, eager to build relationships with students and able to meet students where they are,” Allen said. “I look forward to watching Dr. Vinson stroll the yard, sit in the cafe and attend athletic/academic events to create an intimate and memorable relationship between students and the University president.”

HOWARD UNIVERSITY, PAST AND PRESENT

Over the last year, HU has experienced a substantial increase in philanthropic giving, enrollment and student retention. The local HBCU has also inked a multi-million research deal with the Department of Defense and Air Force for the development of new-age defense technology.

Under Frederick’s tenure, HU entered long-term leases for Meridian Hall, Slowe Hall, Carver Hall and other campus buildings that Frederick, in response to criticism about the deals, said allowed the university to tap into outside funds for building upgrades. During the 2021-2022 academic year, HU administrators quelled conflicts with students about housing conditions, as well as faculty. .

Some students, like one who agreed to speak on the condition of anonymity, expressed their desire for Vinson, an administrator who’s dedicated to the African diaspora, to address students’ concerns about the impact of HU’s DOD contract on the global African community.

“Frederick engages people [like the Department of Defense] who contribute to the demise of African people,”the student said. “I hope Dr. Vinson doesn’t engage in those types of things but I have a feeling he might because he’s Frederick’s successor. He hasn’t had the opportunity to prove himself, so we’ll see.”

WI @SamPKCollins

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SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131

2023 ADM 383

Rolando Amedo Andrewn

Decedent

Theodora H. Brown

Law Office of Theodora H. Brown

3127 Cherry Road, NE Washington, DC 20018-1611

Attorney

NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE

TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

Shamelli I. Andrewn, whose address is 1470 Rue De Varsovie, Drummondville, Quebec, Canada J2C 8V7, was appointed

Personal Representative of the estate of Rolando Amedo Andrewn who died on 2/25/2023 without a Will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 10/20/2023. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 10/20/2023, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship.

Date of first publication:

4/20/2023

Shamelli I. Andrewn

Personal Representative

TRUE TEST COPY

Nicole Stevens Register of Wills

Washington Informer

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Probate Division

Washington, D.C. 20001-2131

2023 ADM 000371

Tina Brown Decedent

Edward G. Varrone, Esq.

1825 K Street, NW, Suite 1150

Washington, DC 20006

Attorney

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

Kima Carter, whose address is 503 42nd Street, NE, Washington, DC 20019, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Tina Brown who died on July 22, 2019 without a Will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 10/20/2023. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 10/20/2023, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship.

Date of first publication: 4/20/2023

Kima Carter Personal Representative

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131

2023 ADM 000448

Estate of Duke Wilson

NOTICE OF STANDARD PROBATE

Notice is hereby given that a petition has been filed in this Court by Jennifer Wilson for standard probate, including the appointment of one or more personal representatives. Unless a responsive pleading in the form of a complaint or an objection in accordance with Superior Court Probate Division Rule 407 is filed in this Court within 30 days from the date of first publication of this notice, the Court may take the action hereinafter set forth.

Admit to probate the will dated 9/28/2001 exhibited with the petition upon proof satisfactory to the Court of due execution by affidavit of the witnesses or otherwise

Date of first publication: 4/20/2023

Jennifer Wilson 4761 Fern Flat Rd Aptos, CA 95003 Petitioner/Attorney:

TRUE TEST COPY

Nicole Stevens Register of Wills Washington Informer

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Probate Division

Washington, D.C. 20001-2131

2023 ADM 000400

Dmitry Ilyich Karshtedt Decedent

Stephanie L. Royal, Esquire The Royal Legal Group, PLLC 5335 Wisconsin Ave., NW Ste. 440 Washington, DC 20015 Attorney

NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE

TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

Mikhail Karshtedt, whose address is 1407 Carriage Path Way, Sacramento, CA 95814, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Dmitry Ilyich Karshtedt who died on October 30, 2022 without a Will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 10/20/2023. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 10/20/2023, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship.

Date of first publication: 4/20/2023

Personal Representative

TRUE TEST COPY

Nicole Stevens Register of Wills

Washington Informer

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

PROBATE DIVISION Washington, D.C. 20001-2131

2023 FEP 000034

12/05/2022

Date of Death

Donald Eric Black

Name of Decedent

NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT OF FOREIGN PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE AND NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Sandra Delk whose address is 12784 Burning Tree Lane, E Jacksonville, FL 32223 was appointed personal representative of the estate of Donald Eric Black, deceased, by the Register of Wills Court for Prince Georges County, State of Maryland, on 1/9/2023.

Service of process may be made upon Mark Miller 109 4th Street NE, Washington, DC 20002 whose designation as District of Columbia agent has been filed with the Register of Wills, D.C.

The decedent owned the following District of Columbia real property:

560 N Street, SW #713 Washington, DC 20024; 429 N St. SW #N700 Washington DC 20024. Claims against the decedent may be presented to the undersigned and filed with the Register of Wills of the District of Columbia, 515 5th Street, NW, Third Floor, Washington, D.C. 20001 within 6 months from the date of first publication of this notice.

Date of first publication: 4/20/2023

Sandra Delk Personal Representative

Nicole Stevens Register of Wills Washington Informer

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Probate Division

Washington, D.C. 20001-2131

2023 ADM 000415

Leslie Ann Brettschneider Decedent

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

William L. Brettschneider, whose address is 1724 Lucerne Way, New Bern, NC 28560, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Leslie Ann Brettschneider who died on March 15, 2023 without a Will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 10/20/2023. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 10/20/2023, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship.

Date of first publication: 4/20/2023

William L. Brettschneider Personal Representative

TRUE TEST COPY

Nicole Stevens Register of Wills

Washington Informer

Nicole Stevens Register of Wills Washington Informer

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Probate Division

Washington, D.C. 20001-2131

2023 ADM 000372

Edgar Isaias Delcid

Decedent

Edward G. Varrone, Esq. 1825 K Street, NW, Suite 1150 Washington, DC 20006 Attorney

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

Moises A. Delcid, whose address is 922 Quincy Street, NW, Washington, DC 20011, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Edgar Isaias Delcid who died on April 29, 2021 without a Will, and will serve without Court supervision.

All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 10/20/2023. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 10/20/2023, or be forever barred.

Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship.

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

Notice of Special Appearance : am that I am: " Brezedek Peter Zander© ", in full life, in propria persona, sui juris, in solo proprio, Haqdar by natural issue, the beneficiary and heir of: “BREZEDEK PETER ZANDER", corp.sole Dba.: " Brezedek Peter Zander, styled BREZEDEK P ZANDER© ", BREZEDEK PETER ZANDER©, BREZEDEK ZANDER©, having reached the age of majority, being duly certified, hereby affirms to declare my intention to be as my pedigree subscribes, as a: Californian, but not a citizen of the United States. declare permanent, and unalienable, allegiance to The Constitution for the united States of America, Article III Section 2, The Lieber Code, Hague Conventions of 1899 & 1907, The Geneva Conventions, and all natural laws governing American Citizens, and hereby declare and proclaim my nationality in good faith as a: Californian. I am that I am: " Brezedek Peter Zander© ", from this day forward, in harmony with my Nationality / Status / Jurisdiction, shall be known as: " brezedek peter zander©". Notice of White Flag Surrender: as "hors de combat", pursuant to The Geneva Conventions, Article III, as a minister of yhwh's covenant, and Internationally Protected Person. Notice of: LAWS AND CUSTOMS OF WAR ON LAND ( HAGUE, IV), ARTICLE: 32, 45, 46, & 47. Notice of Claim pursuant to Public Law 87-846, TITLE II, SEC. 203. Notice of Bailment Merging of Legal Title with Equitable Title : This order is to preserve legal and equitable title, and to reserve all rights, title, and interest, in the property, Re: Office of Vital Records/California Department of Health : BIRTH RECORD: 104-77-343738: " BREZEDEK PETER ZANDER© ", is as a special deposit order, conveyed to " Khelt© ". All property of the same issue and amount, in like kind and specie, is to be returned fully intact, as a Special Deposit order of the Depositor / Beneficiary / Bailor / Donor / Principal Creditor: " brezedek peter zander© ", nom deguerre: " Brezedek Peter Zander© ", as a special deposit order in lawful money. This special deposit is to be used exclusively for the benefit of : " khelt© ", an Inter Vivos Unincorporated Divine Grantor Trust. This deposit is not to be commingled with general assets of any bank, nor depositary / trustee agent / bailee /donee / debtor. This deposit is not limited to, but including: discharge and set off, of any and all outstanding liabilities as accord and satisfaction. Inter alia enact fuit. All Rights Reserved. Deo volente.

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

2023 ADM 000369

Richard Hailey, Jr. Decedent

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

Sean Hailey and Deborah L. Stewart, whose addresses are 12010 Towanda Lane, Bowie, MD 20715 & 9910 Locust St., Glendale, MD 20769, were appointed Personal Representatives of the estate of Richard Hailey, Jr. who died on 1/24/2023 without a Will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 10/27/2023. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 10/27/2023, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship.

Date of first publication: 4/27/2023

Sean Hailey Deborah L. Stewart

Personal Representative

TRUE TEST COPY

Nicole Stevens Register of Wills

Washington Informer

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131

2023 ADM 000370

Lemuel Brown

Decedent

Edward G. Varrone, Esq. 1825 K Street, NW Suite 1150 Washington, DC 20006

Attorney

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

Erica I. Brown, whose address is 4618 Livingston Road, SE, Apartment 201, Washington, DC 20032, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Lemuel Brown who died on July 10, 2020 without a Will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 10/27/2023. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 10/27/2023, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship.

Date of first publication: 4/27/2023

Erica I. Brown Personal Representative

TRUE TEST COPY

Nicole Stevens Register of Wills

Washington Informer

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Probate Division

Washington, D.C. 20001-2131

2021 ADM 001026

Dwight Ferguson, Sr. Decedent

NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE

TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

Myra Hart, whose address is 3000 Walters Lane, District Heights, MD 20747, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Dwight Ferguson, Sr. who died on December 17, 2020 without a Will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 10/27/2023. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 10/27/2023, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship.

Date of first publication:

4/27/2023

Myra Hart 3000 Walters Lane District Heights, MD 20747

Personal Representative

TRUE TEST COPY

Nicole Stevens Register of Wills

Washington Informer

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

2023 ADM 000394

Eva Verdell O’Bryant Decedent

NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE

TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

Novella Walker, whose address is 5008 B McCullin Cout JB Andrews MD 20762, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Eva Verdell O’Bryant who died on 9/16/2022 without a Will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 10/27/2023. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 10/27/2023, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship.

Date of first publication: 4/27/2023

Novella Walker Personal Representative

TRUE TEST COPY

Nicole Stevens Register of Wills Washington Informer

LEGAL NOTICES

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131

2023 ADM 000453

Estate of Lucille F. Doxie aka Lucille Ferebee Doxie

NOTICE OF STANDARD PROBATE

Notice is hereby given that a petition has been filed in this Court by Kendra Annette Ramdat for standard probate, including the appointment of one or more personal representatives. Unless a responsive pleading in the form of a complaint or an objection in accordance with Superior Court Probate Division Rule 407 is filed in this Court within 30 days from the date of first publication of this notice, the Court may take the action hereinafter set forth.

Admit to probate the will dated May 9, 2022 exhibited with the petition upon proof satisfactory to the Court of due execution by affidavit of the witnesses or otherwise

Date of first publication: 4/27/2023

Kendra Annette Ramdat 8820 Rustburg Cir, Gaithersburg, MD 20886 Petitioner/Attorney:

TRUE TEST COPY

Nicole Stevens Register of Wills Washington Informer

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131

2023 ADM 000473

Carol Lynne Vance Decedent

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

Taylor Jeanne Vance, whose address is 1505 Largo Road #203, Henrico, Virginia 23238, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Carol Lynne Vance who died on September 12, 2022 without a Will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding.

Objections to such appointment shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 10/27/2023. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 10/27/2023, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship.

Date of first publication: 4/27/2023

Taylor Jeanne Vance Personal Representative TRUE

Nicole Stevens Register of Wills Washington Informer

LEGAL NOTICES

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Probate Division

Washington, D.C. 20001-2131

2023 ADM 460

Randolph Williams Decedent

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

Quanika Williams, whose address is 1323 5th St. NW #101 Washington DC 20001, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Randolph Williams who died on 1/11/2023 without a Will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 10/27/2023. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 10/27/2023, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship.

Date of first publication: 4/27/2023

Quanika Williams

Personal Representative

TRUE TEST COPY

Nicole Stevens Register of Wills

Washington Informer

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Probate Division

Washington, D.C. 20001-2131

2022 ADM 000935

Robert D. Walker aka Robert Devaughne Walker

Decedent

Angela D. Minor, Esq.

Bar No. 1006947

Minor & Willcox, LLC 9801 Apollo Drive, #7181

Upper Marlboro, MD 20792-7181

Attorney

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

Raheem Walker, whose address is 4709 Springmaid Lane Oxon Hill, MD 20745, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Robert D. Walker aka Robert Devaughne Walker who died on 11/17/2020 with a Will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment (or to the probate of decedent’s Will) shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 10/27/2023. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 10/27/2023, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship.

Date of first publication:

4/27/2023

Raheem Walker

Personal Representative

TRUE TEST COPY

Nicole Stevens Register of Wills

Washington Informer

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

2023 ADM 000318

Vincent Paul Basciano Decedent

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

Albert James Basciano, whose address is 494 Pilgrims Drive, Lititz, PA 17543, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Vincent Paul Basciano who died on December 7, 2022 without a Will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 10/27/2023. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 10/27/2023, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship.

Date of first publication: 4/27/2023

Albert James Basciano Personal Representative

TRUE TEST COPY

Nicole Stevens Register of Wills Washington Informer

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131 2023 ADM 000480

Dannie Green Decedent

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

Veronica Lee-Green, whose address is 4804 Hayes St., NE, Washington, DC 20019, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Dannie Green who died on October 8, 2022 without a Will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 10/27/2023. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 10/27/2023, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship.

Date of first publication: 4/27/2023

Veronica Lee-Green Personal Representative

TRUE TEST COPY

Nicole Stevens Register of Wills

Washington Informer

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Probate Division

Washington, D.C. 20001-2131

2023 ADM 462

Edward Franklin Johnson aka E. Franklin Johnson aka Edward F. Johnson aka E. F. Johnson Decedent

NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE

TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

Colette Johnson Mackell, whose address is 40 Channing Street, NW, Washington, DC 20001, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Edward Franklin Johnson aka E. Franklin Johnson aka Edward F. Johnson aka E. F. Johnson who died on 10/16/2022 with a Will, and will serve with Court supervision.

All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment (or to the probate of decedent’s Will) shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 10/27/2023. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 10/27/2023, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship.

Date of first publication: 4/27/2023

Colette Johnson Mackell Personal Representative

TRUE TEST COPY

Nicole Stevens Register of Wills

Washington Informer

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

2022 ADM 000270

Lorene Peterson Decedent

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

Laverne Evans, whose address is 5434 Macbeth Street, Hyattsville, MD 20784, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Laverne Evans who died on February 4, 2021 with a Will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment (or to the probate of decedent’s Will) shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 10/27/2023. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 10/27/2023, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship.

Date of first publication: 4/27/2023

Laverne Evans

Personal Representative

TRUE TEST COPY

Nicole Stevens

Register of Wills

Washington Informer

LEGAL NOTICES LEGAL NOTICES

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131

2023 ADM 000468

Effie R. Woody

Decedent

Edward G. Varrone, Esq.

1825 K Street, NW

Suite 1150

Washington, DC 20006

Attorney

NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE

TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

Tia Barnes, whose address is 8446 South Marquette Avenue, Apartment 1, Chicago, IL 60617, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Effie R. Woody who died on November 24, 2022 without a Will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 11/04/2023. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 11/04/2023, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship.

Date of first publication:

5/4/2023

Tia Barnes

Personal Representative

TRUE TEST COPY

Nicole Stevens

Register of Wills

Washington Informer

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131

2023 ADM 000475

Elizabeth Tart Finley aka Elizabeth T. Finley Decedent

NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO

UNKNOWN HEIRS

Lori Myers, whose address is 13112 Falling Water Court, Bowie, MD 20720, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Elizabeth

Tart Finley aka Elizabeth T. Finley who died on May 12, 2021 without a Will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 11/4/2023. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 11/4/2023, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship. Date of first publication:

LEGAL NOTICES

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

PROBATE DIVISION

Washington, D.C. 20001-2131

2023 FEP 38

8/4/2022

Date of Death

Lunita Slaughter-Stevens

Name of Decedent

NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT OF FOREIGN PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE AND NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Sherri Stevens and Wilmatine Slaughter whose addresses are 1409 Peartree Lane Bowie MD, 20721 and 601 Hudson Ave., Takoma Park, MD 20912 were appointed personal representatives of the estate of Lunita Slaughter-Stevens, deceased, by the Register of Wills Court for Prince Georges County, State of Maryland, on 9/5/2022.

Service of process may be made upon Kenneth Slaughter 4012 Illinois Ave., NW Washington, DC 20011 whose designation as District of Columbia agent has been filed with the Register of Wills, D.C.

The decedent owned the following District of Columbia real estate.

721 Olgethrope Street NE, Washington, DC 20011. Claims against the decedent may be presented to the undersigned and filed with the Register of Wills of the District of Columbia, 515 5th Street, NW, Third Floor, Washington, D.C. 20001 within 6 months from the date of first publication of this notice.

Date of first publication:

5/4/2023

Sherri Stevens Wilmatine Slaughter

Personal Representative

Nicole Stevens Register of Wills

Washington Informer

LEGAL NOTICES

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131

2022 ADM 001431

Elbert Whiting Decedent

Louvenia W. Williams, Esq. 9701 Apollo Drive, #301 Largo, MD 20774 Attorney

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

Joseph E. Whiting, whose address is 12474 Hatton Creek Road, Newburg, MD 20664, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Elbert Whiting who died on November 13, 2022 without a Will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 11/5/2023. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 11/5/2023, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship.

K STREET from Page 48 fiscal years.

To the chagrin of Allen and D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson, OCFO’s projection excluded the Free Bus Program. Initially scheduled to launch this summer, the program would’ve established fare-free Metrobus travel and the expansion of after-hour bus service.

Shortly before presenting her budget proposal, Bowser wrote a letter to CFO Glen Lee requesting that he also consider in his financial assessment of the Free Bus program free access to MetroAccess for paratransit riders. Other questions revolved around changes to reduced fares for SNAP recipients, and whether funds from the Kids RIde Free program would offset the cost of the free bus fare program.

On Monday, Bowser expressed doubt that the arrangement made by Allen and Mendelson to fund the Free Bus program could keep the K Street Transitway project alive, even with money set aside for a redesign. She described such a move as a threat to Downtown D.C.’s development -- and D.C.’s economic future.

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Probate Division

Washington, D.C. 20001-2131

2023 ADM 414

Arlene Mary Martin

Decedent

Colline Silvera

Robinson Kirlew and Associates, PC

7731 Belle Point Dr. Greenbelt. MD 20770

Attorney

NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE

TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

Jack Bernard Martin, whose address is 2822 27th St., NE, Washington, DC 20018, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Arlene Mary Martin who died on 4/28/2004 without a Will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 11/5/2023. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 11/5/2023, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship.

Date of first publication:

5/4/2023

Jack Bernard Martin

Personal Representative

Nicole Stevens Register of Wills

Washington Informer

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

2023 ADM 000482

Veronica S. Longstreth Decedent

Maria K. Day-Marshall 6329 Joslyn Place Cheverly, Maryland 20785 Attorney

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

Joy Bellamy Lofton, whose address is 3487 Hunters Hill Drive, Stonecrest, Dekalb County, GA 30038, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Veronica S. Longstreth who died on June 20, 2021 without a Will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 11/4/2023. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 11/4/2023, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship.

Date of first publication: 5/4/2023

Joy Bellamy Lofton

Personal Representative

TRUE TEST COPY

Nicole Stevens Register of Wills

Washington Informer

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131

2023 ADM 000272

Leo Randall Decedent

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

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

Johnnie D. Randall, whose address is 4546 Eads Street, NE, Washington, DC 20019, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Leo Randall who died on July 23, 2022 with a Will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment (or to the probate of decedent’s Will) shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 11/4/2023. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 11/4/2023, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship.

Date of first publication:

5/4/2023

Johnnie D. Randall Personal Representative

TRUE TEST COPY

Nicole Stevens Register of Wills

Washington Informer

D.C.’s Comeback Plan, as Bowser has called it, aims to bring 15,000 new residents -- and a bevy of amenities and businesses along with them -- Downtown within the next five years. It’s been framed as a response to the pandemic-era exodus of businesses from downtown, Shaw, Logan Circle and Georgetown.

Even as several businesses left downtown, April Richardson counted among those who set up shop. Richardson, the owner of D.C. Sweet Potato Cake, opened up her storefront along K Street in 2021, partially out of inspiration by the racial justice protests that erupted in the aftermath of George Floyd’s police-involved murder.

Richardson counted among those who stood in full support of the K Street Transitway, calling it a vehicle for economic development that will ensure her business, and others businesses downtown, can stay afloat.

"How can D.C. be on the comeback without innovation and forward thinking,” Richardson questioned. “It was always K Street that was out of reach for me and other microbusinesses but now it’s a reality. A movement is about making a decision to get things done and show people a vision. We rely on our leaders to guide us through shadows of doubt, and [Mayor Bowser] has earned our trust.”

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@SamPKCollins

if 22% cuts are implemented. McCarty's proposals would eliminate student debt relief, increase energy and housing costs, and reduce safety inspections. Already, Congress has debated reducing programs that offered relief during COVID, including the Child Tax Credit. Such reductions would push more families into poverty.

The attacks on poor people are recurrent. Extremist Republicans seem to have contempt and antipathy for those hard-working people who live with low wages and challenging working conditions. If these people disappeared tomorrow, would our society survive? At the same time, if the McCarthy proposals were implemented, would our nation's poor survive?

According to the Journal of the American Medical Association, "pov-

EDELMAN from Page 30

Harry Belafonte used his own celebrity. Years later he described another seminal lesson he learned from Dr. King: "I remember the last time we were together, at my home, shortly before he was murdered. He seemed quite agitated and preoccupied, and I asked him what the problem was. 'I've come upon something that disturbs me deeply,' he said. 'We have fought hard and long for integration, as I believe we should have, and I know that we will win. But I've come to believe we're integrating into a burning house.' That statement took me aback. It was the last thing I would have expected to hear, considering the nature of our struggle, and I asked him what he meant. 'I'm afraid that America may be losing what moral vision she may have had,' he answered. 'And I'm

JEALOUS from Page 30

lar panels to school districts replacing dirty diesel buses with electric ones to property owners electrifying buildings. Behind it all is funding and incentives to promote more clean technology. The result will be good jobs that don't take a college degree in industries that don't destroy the planet. The private sector is moving more slowly but is moving. Major banks no longer fund drilling the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Small groups of their shareholders are pushing for broader bans. The price for offshore leases to produce wind power have exceeded gas and

erty was linked to at least 183,000 deaths in the United States in 2019 among those aged 15 or over." That makes poverty the fourth-leading cause of death in this country, with death tolls only exceeded by heart disease, cancer and smoking. The McCarthy approach to the debt ceiling will exacerbate poverty and increase the number of deaths connected to poverty. Poverty is an economic drag, affecting productivity, health care costs and more. It also contributes to the falling life expectancy that the United States is now experiencing. Rev. William Barber, the co-chair of the Poor People's Campaign, describes inaction on poverty as a form of "policy murder." Others see rising poverty as a public health emergency.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and his extremist colleagues seem blissfully unaware of the impact of

afraid that even as we integrate, we are walking into a place that does not understand that this nation needs to be deeply concerned with the plight of the poor and disenfranchised. Until we commit ourselves to ensuring that the underclass is given justice and opportunity, we will continue to perpetuate the anger and violence that tears at the soul of this nation.'"

Harry Belafonte added: "Deep in my soul, I know there are more Rosa Parks, more Dr. Kings, and more Ella Bakers ready to emerge. Perhaps we are the firefighters who can save the burning house." He believed this, and he set the example.

In 2014, Harry Belafonte was presented with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, an honorary Oscar that solidified his rare "EGOT-winner" status and recognized his lifelong work for so-

oil leases in recent government sales.

Third, everywhere I go I've heard fear in the people I've met about the future of the Earth and frustration with an economy that seems to result in persistent downward mobility and poverty. At the same time, I've heard profound hope that it's not too late, that we can still preserve the planet and create good jobs for more Americans. I've heard a recognition that all of it is connected.

We need to make sure that the billions we're investing as a country through the infrastructure and clean energy packages gets spent well; those decisions will get made locally and we

their extreme budget-cutting actions. The debt ceiling has been raised or revised 78 times since 1960, 49 times under Republican presidents and 29 under Democrats. Democrats have typically agreed to increase the debt ceiling because of our international credit rating. Republicans are now using this situation to push an agenda that will increase poverty and kill people.

To be sure, McCarthy's extremist proposal isn't likely to pass the Democratic Senate. But time is running out to increase the debt ceiling, and this game of brinkmanship damages our international reputation and potentially hurts people experiencing poverty. McCarthy and his cronies prefer posturing to poverty reduction. Their stunning indifference to poverty is an alarming rejection of the income-challenged people who voted for them. WI

cial justice. In his acceptance speech he remembered how it felt to be an 8-year-old in a movie theater watching a blockbuster "Tarzan of the Apes" film on the big screen, with its racist, white supremacist stereotypes: "It was an early stimulus to the beginning of my rebellion, rebellion against injustice and human distortion, and hate. How fortunate for me that the performing arts became the catalyst that fueled my desire for social change. … It was [Paul] Robeson who said, 'Artists are the gatekeepers of truth. They are civilization's radical voice.' This Robeson environment sounded like a desired place to be, and given the opportunity to dwell there, has never disappointed me."

Harry Belafonte was a voice of radical truth his entire life, and I am deeply grateful he never stopped sharing his incomparable voice with the rest of the world. WI

need to be watchful locally as well. The desire so many of us share to turn toward a cleaner and healthier world creates demand. If we're loud enough and persistent enough, the markets will begin to shift. NAFTA, after all, was an economic agreement, so changing directions needs to happen in those kinds of economic terms as well.

I suspect my 20-year-old self would see this unprecedented opportunity in this intersection of innovation, investment, and interest. I'd be encouraging people to seize it because we won't have it again. That's what I see clearly through 50-year-old eyes WI

WILLIAMS from Page 31

prove their heart health.

"Keeping blood pressure in the normal range, not smoking, leading a physically active life, and sleeping well are good for your heart," Sheehy added.

Among our unresolved and disturbing aspects of "Black" health issues are maternal and infant mortality. According to the CDC: "Black, American Indian, and Alaska Native (AI/AN) women are two to three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women."

JACKSON from Page 31

Our schools would be poorer. Fewer would be able to afford training or college. More children would go hungry. No one likes to admit these things — but they are simply true.

In their 320-page bill, Republicans do identify some things that they want. They want to cut spending on Medicaid and food stamps by raising work requirements — although that doesn't save much money. They want to erase investment in renewable energy while opening more subsidies to big oil and coal. They want to cut the money that would enable the IRS to audit corporations and the wealthy who are not paying the taxes they owe. That according to the Congress' own budget office will end up costing a net of more than $100 billion in tax avoidance.

To justify this, they lie. They claim that the government has grown "bloated," appealing to popular prejudices. In reality — as they know — federal civilian employment is less than it was 60 years ago, even though the population has

MYRICK from Page 31

body else. That seems like rational ground we should all be able to occupy.

But rationality left the room a while ago when it comes to the Far Right's attacks on the freedom to learn. The main group leading the charge on banning books, Moms for Liberty, has become something akin to a terrorist organization. Reports now abound of group members carrying out harassment campaigns in their communities, calling for librarians to be shot and making unfounded public accusations of child abuse and pedophilia

The New York Times ran a recent article:

"Childbirth Is Deadlier for Black Families Even When They're Rich, Expansive Study Finds: The study … by the National Bureau of Economic Research, includes nearly all the infants born to first-time mothers from 2007 to 2016 in California, the state with the most annual births…it combines income tax data with birth, death and hospitalization records and demographic data."

It also states: "Black mothers and babies have the worst childbirth outcomes in the United States.

grown dramatically since then.

Why not lay out what they plan to cut? Because they can't agree among themselves. Because they don't want to admit to supporting cuts that would be very unpopular — and corporate subsidies and rip-offs that are indefensible.

The Republican "plan" is not a serious proposal. They won't even admit what it requires. They are offering a posture, not a policy. But our politics have become so partisan and so poisonous that few if any Republican moderates will offer a voice of reason.

President Biden has called on the Congress to honor our past debts

But this study is novel because it's the first of its size to show how the risks of childbirth vary by both race and parental income and how Black families, regardless of their socioeconomic status, are disproportionately affected. The richest Black mothers and their babies are twice as likely to die as the richest white mothers and their babies."

May is Mental Health Month. Next week, in Part 3, we'll discuss issues related to Black Mental Health and I will bring a layman's perspective to initiating resolution to health issues affecting Black people.

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and lift the debt ceiling — and then to negotiate seriously about our nation's priorities and how we pay for them. He has refused to pay ransom to those who threaten to blow up the economy. The question now is what happens if Republicans carry out their threat and refuse? In that case, the president will have no choice. He should use his authority under the laws and Constitution of the United States to honor our commitments and pay our debts. The politicians may rage and posture, but the full faith and credit of the United States must be honored.

against their perceived "enemies." The group has also become a significant force in Republican politics. And it's growing.

All of which makes it intimidating to think about getting involved in school board politics if you want to fight censorship. And that's exactly the point.

What we need now are not just brave and principled people on school boards, but also bigger, more powerful organizations that are willing to support them. The organization I lead, People For the American Way, has a cadre of school board members in our Young Elected Officials network.

We are engaged in outreach to these folks, especially in states that are hotbeds for book banning like Florida and Virginia. We're asking them what they need, including on the security front. We want to empower them to stay in their roles because we need them more than ever to stand up to the onslaught of groups like Moms for Liberty.

If the American Library Association's findings are any indication, this is just the start of a new struggle for the freedom to learn, one that hasn't yet reached its peak. We owe it to the next generation not to stand on the sidelines; please think about how you can help. WI

The Republican "plan" is not a serious proposal. They won't even admit what it requires. They are offering a posture, not a policy.