The Washington Informer - November 23, 2022

Parents Rally Behind DCPS Teachers in Demand for Better Conditions

Sam P.K. Collins WI Staff Writer

Contract negotiations between the Wash ington Teachers’ Union (WTU) and D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) have not only shed light on the issues of teacher pay and workload, but what parents and students have described as the dismal conditions of some District public schools.

In their advocacy for teachers, parent groups continue to take DC Public Schools (DCPS) and Department of General Ser vices to task for broken HVAC systems, flooding toilets, rodent infestation and other issues that complicate the learning

The Ascension of Hakeem Jeffries Finally Signals Democrats’ Willingness to Move on From the Old Guard

Stacy M. Brown WI Senior Writer

New York Rep. Hakeem Jeffries is probably precisely what Democrats need in America’s brutal political civil war, where most Repub licans behave as if it’s a North vs. South redux.

For starters, Jeffries is unapologetically Black.

During his campaign, he often wore tracksuits. When he presented argu ments for former President Donald Trump’s impeachment, Jefferies punctu ated his remarks by quoting none other than the late hip-hop icon the Notorious B.I.G.

“And if you don’t know, now you know,” Jeffries said in the quintessential mic drop moment.

But most importantly, Jeffries’s ascen sion into a leadership role as vets like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Major

Dozens of Guns Purchased at First Baptist 3rd Annual Gun Buyback Event

Richard D. Elliott WI Contributing Reporter

The First Baptist Church of Glenarden partnered with the Prince George’s County Police Depart ment and Zion Church to host their 3rd annual gun buyback Sat., November 19, at the Watkins Park Drive site.

“The church must play an active role to work with our local government to help to keep our communities safe,” said John K. Jenkins Sr., senior pastor of the First Baptist Church of Glenarden.

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

5 Guns collected at First Baptist Church of Glenarden on Nov. 18. (Courtesy photo/FBCOG Photo Ministry)

5 Mayor Muriel Bowser with Director of the Department of Small and Local Business Development kicks-off a Holly Jolly Holiday DC season at the opening of the Holiday Market in Northwest on Nov. 18. The market will run through December 23. (Robert R. Roberts/The Washington Informer)

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wi hot topics

Downtown Holiday Market Opens

Mayor Muriel Bowser kicked off the holiday season at the opening of the18th Annual Downtown Holiday Market, which is hosting more than 70 vendors, in cluding Black-owned and minority-owned businesses that are part of the DC Department of Small and Local Business Development’s (DSLBD) Made in DC pro gram.

“The Downtown Holiday Market is a winter favorite in DC – a great place to meet up with friends, pick up gifts, support local entrepreneurs, and then spend time enjoying downtown,” said Mayor Bowser. “DC is home to thousands of small businesses and we know that the holiday season is an important time of year for them. This holiday season, remember to shop small and shop local.”

The Downtown Holiday Market, which is operated by the DowntownDC Business Improvement District and Diverse Markets Management, opened today at noon. The market will be open daily at 8th and F Streets NW from noon until 8:00 p.m. until December 23 (the market will be closed on Thanksgiving Day and on Monday, December 5). WI

Good Food Market in Ward 8 Closes

Lawsuit Seeks Safer DC Bike Lanes

The D.C. Center for Independent Living, Inc. (DC CIL), announced in a press release on Monday that a lawsuit against the District was filed in federal court over its street redesign projects claiming they violate the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and related laws. The complaint states newly constructed bicycle lanes create barriers to safe, accessible on-street parking, curb ramps and pedestrian crossings for people with mobili ty disabilities, including those who use wheelchairs and walkers. It also alleges that the District does not have enough accessible on-street parking generally to comply with the ADA.

Good Food Markets on South Capital Streets in Southwest in Bellevue is closed for now according to an article in the Washington Business Journal. In an effort to address the area’s food dessert, the store opened last year on November 13, with a grand opening attended by Mayor Muriel Bowser, Ward 8 Council member Trayon White and local ANC commissioners and area residents. At the grand opening, Bowser said, “This is hugely important because we know too many Ward 8 residents have to travel too far to get to quality food options with only one full-service grocery store,” Bowser said. “So, we need many more good food options to come to this ward.”

The WBJ reported that Philip Sambol, executive director of tOasis Community Partners, the non profit owner of the market chain, explained there were not enough customers able and willing to pay higher prices for fresh produce, and “we could no longer sustain the waste in the produce depart ment.” The closure may be temporary, however, as Sambol he will be working with stakeholders to find a more sustainable model for the store. WI

“We aim to remedy this systemic discrimination by the District against residents as well as visitors with mo bility disabilities who are prohibited from moving about this beautiful city with the same freedom and ease as those without disabilities,” Richard A. Simms, Executive Director, wrote in the press release. It also stated that ap proximately 12 percent of District residents have mobili ty disabilities, according to the Centers for Disease Con trol and Prevention. About three-quarters of the disabled population in the District is African-American, and onethird is over the age of 65, according to a 2015 Census Bureau report.

“We are confident that this lawsuit will force the District to create new and bet ter bicycle lanes that do not discriminate against people with disabilities,” said An drew Bizer of Bizer & DeReus, co-coun sel for the plaintiff.

WI

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

ity Whip James Clyburn step aside signals a much-needed changing of the guard.

More pointedly, Washington in siders – and many outsiders – have argued that it’s time for the young er generation of leaders to take the helm.

Both Pelosi and Clyburn are 82. Along with Jeffries, 52, taking over for Pelosi, Rep. Katherine Clark, 59, of Massachusetts, is poised to replace Clyburn as whip. At the same time, Rep. Pete Aguilar, 43, of California, will likely ascend to the role of Democratic confer ence chair.

As one journalist pointed out, the “oldest member of the incoming Democratic leadership team is near ly a quarter-century younger than the youngest member of the current Democratic leadership team.”

“The thing about us is that while we can have some noisy conversa tions at times about how we can make progress for the American people, what we’ve seen is that under the leadership of Speaker Pelosi, Steny Hoyer, Jim Clyburn, we’ve constantly been able to come together,” Jeffries said during a na tionally televised interview this week.

Maxwell Frost, the 25-year-old from Florida, perhaps best summed up the changing of the guard in the Democratic party.

Frost won the election this month as the first member of Generation Z to win a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, where he’ll serve under Jeffries’ leadership.

“I think it’s important that we have a government that looks like the people,” Frost stated.

The change in Democratic lead ership comes at a time when their

Republican counterparts have seized control of the House, weaponized the U.S. Supreme Court, gerryman dered congressional maps through out the country, and have used their pulpits to spark and spread messag es of hate and division.

And, with the G.O.P.’s un checked and unquestioned leader, Donald Trump, announcing his 2024 White House bid, Democrats have finally read the room and rec ognized the need to get younger.

“Americans have tended to see younger candidates as less qualified to serve in office relative to a mid dle-aged or older candidate,” Da mon Roberts, a political scientist at the University of Colorado Boulder, told CBS News.

That view partly comes from age requirements.

To serve in the U.S. House, a candidate must be at least 25. A U.S. Senator must be at least 30, while a presidential hopeful can’t be younger than 35.

“People do seem to be pretty pos itive toward having a younger repre sentative,” Roberts asserted.

Stressed and sickened by thoughts of their rights and democracy slip ping away, young Americans across gender, racial, geographic and ed ucation lines banded together last week to help save the Democrats from what many foresaw as a sizable midterm defeat, John Della Volpe, the director of polling at the Har vard Kennedy School Institute of Politics, wrote in an editorial.

“In the eyes of many young vot ers, this is how America meets its destiny: when the passion of the grassroots melds with the power of institutions to forge progress,” Della Volpe asserted.

“As political analysts methodical ly review the numbers after an elec tion for the ages, anyone interested

AROUND THE REGION

in the winning formula for 2024 should closely examine those be tween the ages of 18 and 39.”

Gerald Warburg, a professor of practice of public policy at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy, noted that turn over in the youth-challenged lead ership of the Democratic House and Senate caucuses had frozen for decades.

Until now, all Democratic legis lative leaders were over 70 years of age.

Warburg contended that both parties might now welcome the op portunity to pass the torch to a new, post-baby boomer generation with fresh ideas.

Pelosi and Democrats, Warburg said, “had the courage to step back, making way for new leaders and new ideas.” WI

@StacyBrownMedia

5 New York Rep. Hakeem Jeffries will lead House Democrats in the coming new Congress.

facts AROUND THE REGION

machine.

NOV 24 - 30, 2022

SOURCE: BLACK AMERICA WEB

1942 – Rock legend and guitar virtuoso Jimi Hendrix is born in Seattle.

NOV. 28

1929 – Berry Gordy, record producer and songwriter best known as the founder of the Motown record label and its subsidiaries, is born in Detroit.

1960 – North African nation Mauritania gains its in dependence from France.

1960 – Author Richard Wright, whose best-known works include "Native Son" and "Black Boy," dies of a heart attack in Paris at 52.

1961 – Ernie Davis, a halfback at Syracuse University, becomes the first Black Heisman Trophy winner.

NOV. 29

1908 – Politician Adam Clayton Powell Jr., New York's first Black congressman, is born in New Haven, Connecticut.

1919 – Pearl Primus, noted 20th-century choreog rapher, dancer and anthropologist, is born in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago.

NOV. 30

1875 – Alexander P. Ashbourne patents an improved biscuit cutter.

NOV. 24

1775 – The Continental Congress of the United States issues the order to bar Blacks from the Army.

1868 – Famed composer and pianist Scott Joplin, the "King of Ragtime," is born in Northeast Texas. 1870 – Robert Sengstacke Abbott, founder of the Blackowned Chicago Defender newspaper, is born in Chicago.

NOV. 25

1949 – Famed tap dancer Bill "Bojangles" Robinson dies of heart failure in New York City at 71. 1955 – The Interstate Commerce Commission bans racial segregation on interstate buses, train lines and in waiting rooms.

1975 – South American nation Suriname gains its inde pendence from the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

NOV. 26

1883 – Famed abolitionist, author and human rights ac tivist Sojourner Truth dies in her Battle Creek, Michigan, home at age 86.

1895 – The National Negro Medical Association is founded.

1907 – Rudolph Dunbar, the first Black man to conduct the London Philharmonic Orchestra, is born in Nabaca lis, British Guiana.

1939 – Music icon Tina Turner is born in Nutbush, Ten nessee.

NOV. 27

1928 – Marjorie Joyner is issued a patent for a hair wave

1897 – Inventor J.A. Sweeting patents a cigarette-roll ing device.

CAB CALLOWAY

1912 – Famed photographer and film director Gordon Parks is born in Fort Scott, Kansas.

1924 – Shirley Chisholm, the first African American woman elected to the U.S. Congress and the first Black major-party candidate for president, is born in New York City.

1966 – The Caribbean nation of Barbados gains its in dependence from the United Kingdom.

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JIMI HENDRIX

SHIRLEY CHISHOLM

AROUND THE REGION

view

BY SARAFINA WRIGHT

AMBER W. / PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA

Let’s talk about all the tax breaks the wealthy get, the PPP loans that were forgiven, etc. This is absolutely ridiculous!

DARRELL WILLIAMS / BALTIMORE, MARYLAND

We sure do like to keep people in crippling debt. Why would we charge outrageous fees to people trying to better themselves through education? Also, isn’t the country short on qualified peo ple for positions like doctors, nurses, and teachers? Why would we charge people a high entry fee to get the education required to fill positions we are desperately in need of. It seems a bit shortsighted to me.

DAWN PALSER / TROY, OHIO

It just amazes me how many people are, first of all, jealous of some one getting loan forgiveness and, secondly, ignorant to the fact that millions of people in America everyday file bankruptcy on every other bill they have! I would rather see student loan debt forgiveness than people running up their credit cards on things that weren’t necessary and then filing bankruptcy and not having to pay for those expenditures.

HARKHAF ATUM /

WASHINGTON, DC

The first set of people who got student loan forgiveness will likely be the last for a long time to come.

VALERIE JACKSON / GALVESTON, TEXAS

Any and everything to help people of color is being shot down. The same people will still pull that Republican lever, though. Most people in need are located in a red state. It’s like being in a hell pot begging for more fire.

President Joe Biden has asked the US Supreme Court to decide whether he has the authority to forgive student loan debt for millions after a federal appeals court ruled the effort unconstitutional – leaving the initiative’s fate up to a legal ruling. What are your thoughts?

D.C. Statehood Advocates Plan Next Steps Leaders Undeterred by GOP Rule in the House

James Wright WI Staff Writer

D.C. statehood supporters under stand they face a new divided U.S. Congress with a Democratic-led Sen ate and a slim Republican majority in the House in the new congressional session that will begin in January, but they are determined to continue their push for the District to become the 51st state.

“The Democrats managed to hold on to the Senate and it looks like Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell will have a lot less pow er for the next two years,” said Anise Jenkins, executive director of Stand Up! for Democracy in DC Coalition, a pro-statehood organization. “The Republicans have won the House but it could have been far worse. We need to make it clear that D.C. statehood is not about politics. This is a civil rights issue. The people who live in D.C. are entitled to full citizenship and full representation in the Congress.”

D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D) and Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) have introduced a District statehood bill in their respective chambers in recent years. Norton’s bill was passed by the House in June 2020 and April 2021, while Carper’s companion legislation received a hearing in the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs in June 2021. Carper’s bill has a record 45 co-sponsors. President Biden has

indicated he will sign a D.C. state hood bill if it reaches his desk.

D.C. leaders look to the new ses sion

When it became clear that Repub licans had a strong chance to retake the House on Nov. 8, Norton said she has found a way to work with Re publicans in the past.

“I have spent most of my time in Congress in the minority,” she said at a District Democratic Party celebra tion. “We have been able to get things done with Republicans in charge.”

Norton, who has represented the District in the House since 1991, said she will continue to block the efforts of Republican representatives and senators to impose their will on the city through legislative meddling. Congress has the power to impose laws on the District because the city lacks statehood, Norton said.

“That is why we need statehood so the Congress can leave the District alone and manage itself,” she said.

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser agrees with Norton about congressional meddling. However, she said the new GOP majority in the House doesn’t concern her.

“It doesn’t matter what they think, it matters what D.C. residents think,” Bowser said on Nov. 9 at a news con ference, WTOP reported. “We will do with them what we’ve always done. Tell them who we are. We take care of ourselves; we create our own laws; and we need them to stay out of our business.”

Bowser said she has worked with three different presidents and control of the Congress by both Democrats and Republicans. The mayor said it is her hope that the Congress can move forward on some pro-District priori ties before the new congressional ses sion starts.

“There’s still time for our friends in Congress to advance D.C. priorities right now,” Bowser said. “We know there’s judges at stake. There are fed eral lands at stake. And of course, a vote on statehood could still happen in the Senate. We will continue that push during this period; and should things change, we will approach working with the Congress the way we always have.”

D.C. Shadow Rep. Oye Owolewa (D) said he will continue to work to build grassroots support for D.C. statehood among the states when the new Congress takes power next year.

“I am well aware that a D.C. state hood bill won’t pass in the House with the Republicans in control,” Owolewa said. “My team and I will visit states like Georgia and West Virginia to build support. We will also seek to get the support of young people across the nation. They have voting power and we want to make sure they know what the statehood cause is about and why they should support it.”

Jenkins said it doesn’t matter which party controls the chambers in Con gress, the statehood movement will continue its advocacy until District residents are full citizens of the U.S.

“That means full representation in the Congress with a voting member of the House and two senators be cause we pay federal taxes and have all of the obligations of citizenships,” she said. “I think it is a crime that we pay taxes and cannot control our own destiny.”

WI

5 D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton will represent in the new GOP-ran House in January. (WI File Photo)

Bowser Releases Infrastructure Task Force Report, Street Smart Campaign

James Wright WI Staff Writer

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser an nounced on Nov. 17 the release of a report created by a task force detailing how the $3 billion in federal infrastructure will be spent in the District and a construction campaign by the District’s Depart ment of Transportation to improve pedestrian safety and decrease traf fic accidents on Ward 8 corridors.

The billions of dollars allocated to the District are from President Biden’s infrastructure law. Addi tionally, the report provides up dates on the task force’s work in cluding 17 project proposals. The purpose of the recommendations contained in the report will guide District officials in the planning of projects.

“When I convened the task force earlier this year, I asked members to think big so that we can contin ue building a more connected, re silient, and inclusive city,” Bowser said. “Through President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we have an opportunity to transform our city and ensure D.C. is pre pared for whatever comes at us in the future.

“Of course, in neighborhoods across D.C., we are already getting dollars out the door, and I want to thank all the people who are work ing with us—locally, regionally, and at the federal level—to build a safer, stronger and greener D.C.” Recommendations of the task force report include transforming the North Capitol Street corridor

into an urban boulevard welcom ing to bikers and walkers; rede signing the DC295/I-295 corri dor to reconnect neighborhoods isolated by the divided line of the highway and nearby railroads; en suring a clean, healthy, and resil ient environment by mandating District buildings go “net zero” and expanding recreational activ ities along the Anacostia River; expanding broadband access in Wards 5, 7 and 8; creating new job training programs like the Green Jobs Academy; and making sure the procurement process works ef ficiently to aid District businesses to work on infrastructure projects.

In addition to the release of the task force report, Bowser and District and regional officials launched the yearly Street Smart campaign on Wheeler Road in Ward 8. The campaign’s goal is to build safer streets and sidewalks, enforce traffic safety laws and train better drivers, bicyclists and pedes trians particularly during the win ter months.

“In 2021, there were 732 crash es involving pedestrians and 413 crashes involving bicyclists in the District,” said D.C. Department of Transportation (DDOT) Director Everett C. Lott. “Those numbers are far too great, especially with more people walking, biking and scooting in the region than ever before. At DDOT, we are commit ted to building safer streets for all, and we stand in support with our regional transportation leaders in reminding all roadway users of the human toll that comes when traf

fic laws are now followed.” Wheeler Road in Southeast has been identified by DDOT officials as a high-risk corridor that has a number of accidents due to speed ing cars. As a result, DDOT has initiated lane reductions, pedestri an-friendly construction changes such as curb extensions, islands and a flashing beacon and paint ings of medians and murals at curb extensions defining walker-only areas, to curtail the number of ac cidents. Southern and Mississippi Avenues in Southeast will also re ceive construction changes similar to Wheeler Avenue.

WI

@JamesWrightJr10

FITS YOUR life

5 Mayor Muriel Bowser speaks about the infrastructure task force during a press conference on Nov. 17 in Southeast. (Ja’Mon Jackson/The Washington Informer)

Former NFL corner back Fred Smoot reads the Washington Informer. (Roy Lewis/The Washington Informer)

– Maya Angelou

TD Bank Regional President of Mid-South Metro, Hugh Allen presents a $20,000 donation to the Dean of Howard University Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts, Phylicia Rashad on Nov. 17. (Marckell Williams/The Washington Informer)

Lindiwe Vilakazi WI Staff Member

Warm welcomes are for a dy namic jewel of the Washington In former (WI) family. WI monthly supplement editor, Dr. Shantella Sherman, has accomplished tre mendous feats throughout her journey as a consummate journal ist and editor, to a PhD historian, and author focusing on the impact of eugenics as it intersects with so ciety, from our education to hous ing, popular culture, and beyond. Her tireless efforts in research and educating the masses have led her to be this year’s proud recipient of the Association for The Study of African American Life and History (ASALH) Freedom Scholar Award for 2022.

Every year the historic organi zation, founded in 1915 by Carter G. Woodson, searches for devout, early-year academics whose schol arship, and contributions highlight, “the empowerment of the African American community.” This year, ASALH chose the innovative his torian to be honored for her ded ication to supporting the mission of preserving, interpreting, and ed ucating people with consequential information that emphasizes the existence, ascension, exploitation, culture, and history of Black people before a global audience.

“It was overwhelming quite frankly because I have always been a long-time supporter of ASALH as a public historian, meaning I don’t associate necessarily with any one university,” Dr. Sherman explained. “I always felt I didn’t have a chance to win an award with an established organization like this. The fact that they took me seriously and my work, kind of preceded all of these other things. It was overwhelming and it is an amazing honor.”

Birthed from sharecropping roots planted from the soils of Mississip pi, her rich familial history and ex posure to the diverse facets of Black life as it exists in southern culture and American society, influenced her unique shift into eugenic stud ies. Being one of few voices in the

region holding such conversation from a Black American voice and perspective, Dr. Sherman's focus of research highlights scientific racism predating the Hitler era, its origins in the United States of America, and its impact today on systems including housing, education, and pop culture as it blends its way into the state of our current society.

“I think everything past is pro logue, so when you hear Clarence Thomas decide with Roe v Wade that he is going to talk about eu genics, there is a whole conversa tion about hereditarianism that the average person doesn’t necessarily understand. These are laws that impact us every day in education, housing, employment - anything that you can think of, pop culture, it’s all there but we don’t necessarily know it, and we don’t understand it,” Dr. Sherman told [the Wash ington Informer]. “So folks are

having conversations, they are writ ing bills, they are giving sermons in our faces that as African Americans, we don’t understand the language of what is being said, and so we are in some instances signing off on policies as leaders - not under standing this has a very tragic and terrible history for us.”

An author in the academic, and literary space, Dr. Sherman’s re search spawned the publishing of two major works entitled, In Search of Purity: Eugenics and Racial Up lift among New Negros, a disserta tion examining the reinterpretation of eugenic theories by Black schol ars, Pop-Eu: Popular Eugenics In Television & Film, and a recurring quarterly released print publication, entitled ACUMEN Magazine. She gleams at the profound nobility she finds in preserving the voices and stories of those who selflessly fought for ineradicable freedom, equity, and quality of life, for Black Americans far and wide.

“The people who are often for gotten. We talk about, for instance, Dr. King, and not to put a drag on that, but we don’t talk about the Fannie Lou Hammers and some of the everyday, average people who lost their lives, their homes, their livelihoods fighting this same fight. And so I wanted to try to bring those voices to the forefront,” said Dr. Sherman.

And bolstering the voices of those before her, she indeed has. The Washington Informer wishes Dr. Sherman our loudest applause, praise, and cheer for your stellar scholarship, leadership, and generos ity as you continue to show others along your path. Job well Done. WI

5 Dr. Shantella Sherman

PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY

Maryland Black Caucus Celebrates Historic Election

Richard D. Elliott

WI Contributing Reporter

Maryland’s Legislative Black Caucus has more members than any other state-level Black Caucus in the country. The 60-member organization’s mission described on its website is to “serve as a uni fied public voice for the advance ment of African Americans views, issues, and concerns by developing a pipeline of legislative leaders, in fluencing progressive policy, and educating underserved communi ties.”

Major policy pillars the legisla

GUNS from Page 1

Gun buyback programs allow residents to turn in weapons and receive cash or other incentives. Programs like this aim to reduce the proliferation of weapons on the street. Participants receive a gift card with amounts that are based on the type of gun to be bought. Shotguns and rifles can be traded-in for $75, hand guns for $125, and automatic or semi-automatic firearms for $175. In addition to a gift card, individuals are offered anonym ity.

Sergeant Rodney Gause of the Prince George’s County Police Department said he has partic ipated in the gun buyback for the past three years. “You have so many families that inherit guns and things of that nature, and they don’t necessarily want them lying around,” Gause said.

“Unfortunately, if someone

tive body targets include economic justice, education, healthcare, and environmental issues.

Following the November 8 elec tion, members met last Saturday for their annual legislative week end at the Live Casino in Arundel Mills .

Many of the attendees had his tory on their minds. Delegate Kym Taylor (D-District 23) and Senator Antonio Hayes (D-Dis trict 40) were proud to celebrate Black excellence and make history with the upcoming Governor Wes Moore. Newly elected delegates attended, as well, including Adri

breaks in, they can steal those guns that are really not used and permitted in the home. So, it’s good we can partner with First Baptist of Glenarden and Zion Ministries to give this oppor tunity to folks who want to get rid of guns that they really don’t want so they don’t ultimately end up on the streets.”

When asked what happens to the weapons turned in, he said, “We keep a record of them. Then we process them in our ware house, and they are ultimately taken away to be destroyed.”

On Saturday, a total of 131 guns were bought – 40 shot guns or rifles, 40 handguns, and 51 automatic or semi-automat ic weapons. Officials said they could not determine how many of them were ghost guns.

5 Attorney General Anthony Brown was a member of the Black Caucus while a Delegate from Prince George’s. (Anthony Tilghman/ Washington Informer)

an Boafo (D-District 23) and Ale thia McCaskill (D-District 44B), along with lobbyists Darrell Car rington and Stanley Tucker, and several political staffers.

Chairman Darryl Barnes and Vice Chair Ben Brooks were the main hosts and for both of them, this will be their last event in lead ership. Brooks was elected to the Senate in western Baltimore Coun ty, the first Black man to hold the position following the retirement of Senator Delores Kelley.

5

“As the Chairman, tonight is special for me because it is my last as Chairman,” Barnes said. “This event has significant meaning for what we have accomplished over the years, and is a great way for us to go out. We sold over 450 seats, and our business breakfast had over 300 attendees.”

Shaneka Henson (D-District 30A), the first Black woman elect ed to the House of Delegates from her district, was honored as Del egate of the Year. The Annapolis

Informer)

delegate passed a bill to provide full-ride scholarships, mentoring, and job placements for HBCU students who attend law school in state, which she said was her proudest accomplishment. “It’s important for Black communities to have additional advocates who can fight for equity, including in the law,” she said.

Carl Snowden was honored with a Community Service Award for his decades of service in Anne Arundel and around the state, including as an Alderman in An napolis. He was seen with Coun cilman Pete Smith, who is return ing to the Anne Arundel County Council.

“It’s always good to support or ganizations that have an agenda and a plan to improve conditions for people of color in Maryland,” Councilman Smith said. Both were also proud to have elected Everett Sesker and Erica Griswold, the first Black Sheriff and Register of Wills in Anne Arundel County’s history.

Delegate Stephanie Smith (D-District 45), chair of the Balti more House Delegation, serves on the Executive Board of the Black Caucus and was ab early endors er of Wes Moore. She said she was honored to celebrate the accom plishments of the Caucus in the face of adversity.

Jessica Hale, the Communi cations and Marketing Manager at First Baptist Church of Gle narden, helped to organize the event and spread the word to community partners. Another

5 These are some of the shotguns and rifles that were purchased. Approximately 40 long guns were purchased. (Photo courtesy First Baptist Church of Glenarden)

gun buyback program may be held again next year. WI

New leadership will be elected in advance of the upcoming legis lative session.

WI

Darryl Barnes attended his last major event as Chair of the Maryland Legislative Black Caucus, the largest state-level Black caucus in the country. (Anthony Tilghman/Washington

process.

Such has been the case at Whit tier Elementary School in North west, where community members recently congregated on the front steps in demand of a fair teachers’ contract.

For some parents like Angela Anderson, this fight has also be come a matter of teachers’ holistic health and wellness.

Anderson, president of Whitti er’s parent-teacher organization, recounted learning about a leaky roof that dripped water into the school radiator and caused teach ers to develop respiratory infec tions.

In years past, she and other par ents also complained about a bro ken restroom shared by two Pre-K classrooms. Anderson said feces leaked from that restroom into students’ closets.

As temperatures dropped in re cent weeks, students and teachers at Whittier also have had to walk through a cold hallway in the af termath of a boiler malfunction.

Anderson said this has hap pened in an old building that’s wearing on the patience of over worked staff members.

“A lot of our teachers live in the District and we know the cost is high,” Anderson said.

“They’re struggling a bit to get to school and do what they need without the burden of liv

ing. Whittier doesn’t have a lot of teacher turnover. Our teachers have been committed but it’s hard to keep that commitment when you’re not getting paid. They try not to have that spill into the class room.”

On November 17, parents and elected officials joined teachers on the front steps of public schools across the District as part of a “Day of Action.” This mass move ment counted among the latest of attempts to raise awareness about ongoing contract negotiations and garner grassroots support for the teachers’ union.

At Whittier, D.C. Coun cilmember Janeese Lewis George (D-Ward 4) advocated for teach ers. Meanwhile, State Board of Education Ward 3 Representative Ruth Wattenberg, joined by her successor Eric Goulet, gave teach ers at Jackson-Reed High School words of affirmation.

It has been more than three years since District public school teachers had a contract with the city. Negotiations have been at a standstill for several weeks with most of the contention centered on pay and benefits, classroom conditions and planning time.

Teachers on the frontlines point to an ongoing teacher shortage as indication that more needs to be done to attract and retain educa tors.

Earlier in the month, when WTU members visited the John

PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY

A. Wilson Building, Bowser dou bled down on her assertion that she presented a contract that ben efits District teachers. Throughout much of this year, WTU President Jacqueline Pogue Lyons countered that narrative, saying that teachers need a cost-of-living wage increase and a guarantee that they wouldn’t lose their planning time.

Other concerns centered on school conditions that have per turbed parents. For instance, par ents at Langley Elementary School in Northeast often take to Twitter or make phone calls to elected officials in droves to demand the completion of urgent work orders.

Langley parent Dorie Turner Nolt said she and other parents execute this strategy once their principals' attempt to get DGS on campus proves unsuccessful. Over the years, parents have also be come a united front during D.C. Council hearings where they tes tify about the conditions that stu dents and teachers often navigate.

While the school community awaits capital improvement proj ects slated to start in 2028, par ents organize for upgrades to the school bathroom, repairs to a bro ken front door and, as of last week, HVAC repairs.

“Our principal can only make so much noise. It then falls on the parents to make the noise," said Nolt, parent-teacher advocacy cochair at Langley.

"This is a pattern that’s

5 Parents and teachers at Whittier Education Campus walked-out on Nov. 17. (Courtesy photo/WTU)

D.C. ‘Strike Force’ Makes Homeownership Achievable

By Jamila Bey WI Staff Writer

Just in time for the holidays, D.C. native Brittany Freeman closed on her very own home in the District. In celebration of the milestone, she received a gift bas ket from Mayor Muriel Bowser to commemorate her journey as part of Bowser’s Black Homeownership Strike Force (BHSF), dedicated to creating 20,000 new Black home owners by 2030.

Describing how she felt along her journey from interested poten tial homebuyer to the closing date as, “excited,” Freeman’s achieve ment is one she says other resi dents can also attain. She admits, though, deciding to find a house and go through a process toward signing a 30-year mortgage is not without some apprehension. “It’s the financial trauma that most

Black people in the community have,” she explained, “and under standing that poverty is not just a long-term thing. You can eventu ally grow out of poverty if you take the education route. And that’s what I had to understand, that getting an education would be my legacy and home ownership.”

DON’T DREAM TOO BIG

Relaxing at her front door with well-wishers, Freeman shared that even some of those closest to her warned her against dreaming “too big.”

Deputy Mayor John Falcicchio joined the conversation and point ed out how owning a home is far less risky than paying rent in per petuity. He added that homeown ership “makes your finances actu ally more known! Other people have said they don’t want to face

[their financial situation], but you actually know you’re going to pay for the next 30 years. How many people can tell you how much their rent is going to be for that long?” he said.

While Freeman was able to take advantage of programs, including a D.C. Employee Purchase As sistance Program and the Home ownership Purchase Assistance Program, Falcicchio listed several additional programs that the may or will be advancing in the 2023 budget. One program is a $10 mil lion Black homeownership fund that will assist buyers with some costs associated with down pay ments, closing costs, and the like. Another new program is a $1 mil lion Heirs Legal Services Fund to educate folks on estate planning.

While these programs can cer tainly support low-income res idents and help steer folks into affordable housing, the goal does not require that the 20,000 new Black homeowners meet any in come requirement.

BUYING A HOME TAKES KNOW-HOW

Local Realtor Tawnya Brown of Mcwilliams/Ballard, Inc. also attended the closing celebration. She explained that the purchasing prospects for working-class folks can be good, but she admits that

buying an affordable home in the District requires some know-how. She said, “It’s always been my goal to help teachers, firemen, and po licemen to live where they work. But not everybody can have a place because the prices are getting so high.” She laments that time is working against a number of buy ers. “It’s getting to the point that if you don’t buy now, you won’t be able to afford to stay in the city,” she warned.

The mission of Bowser’s Strike Force, according to Falcicchio, works almost in tandem with oth er already established District pro grams for homeowners. One, in particular, has repaired about 100 homes to ensure they’re up to code. “There’s other programs that we have that support elder residents who own their home and need to make repairs. And it’s focused on particular items that need to be addressed. A lot of people need to get their roofs replaced. And so right now we’ve focused on the re pairs that we know we can do and do at scale.”

The Black Homeownership Strike Force met to deliver the mayor recommendations about reaching the 2030 goal, and it brought together experts from government, housing and financial counseling, lending/underwriting, and real estate development. In ad

Heart Of The City

5 Heart of the City Candles made by DB Bantino is featured on the corner of Third and Upshur Streets, N.W. and will be sold at Maya Market and Deli owned by Million Merga and Addis Meleku. The building art was created by the Tree House Collective. (Courtesy photo)

5 John Falcicchio, Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development presented Brittany Freeman with a congratulatory gift basket after she closed on her new home in Southeast. (Marckell Williams/The Washington Informer)

The Fall of FTX and Renewed Mistrust Signal Disaster for Cryptocurrencies

cally Black colleges and universi ties.

crypto space.

The fall of cryptocurrencies, the recent wave of the investment craze that includes NFTs and trading cards, has not only ruined bank accounts for some but has the federal government investigat ing its dramatic downfall.

FTX, the Bahamas-based cryp tocurrency exchange founded just before the pandemic paralyzed America and much of the world, landed in bankruptcy this month, leaving federal authorities per plexed over the fall of the $32 bil lion company.

Some have compared the fall of crypto to Bernie Madoff.

“And just as Madoff’s Ponzi scheme fell apart during the 2008 financial crisis, FTX’s collapse ar rives amid a broader pullback for the tech industry,” Erin Griffith, a tech writer, penned for the New York Times’s digital newsletter.

“Tech stocks have crashed. Ven ture capital funding is drying up. As a result, nearly 800 tech com panies have laid off more than 120,000 workers this year, with cuts hitting Meta, Amazon, and Twitter,” Griffith noted.

In a CBS News interview this week, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the fall of FTX should warn Americans about investing their money in “extremely risky” financial products traded in a space lacking “appropriate super vision and regulation.”

“I think this is a space where in vestors and consumers should re ally be very careful,” Yellen stated.

“We have very strong investor and consumer protection laws for most of our financial markets, but in some ways, the crypto space has inadequate regulation.”

Yet, the crypto space has lured financial bigwigs and heavy weights in entertainment like Snoop Dogg, Jay-Z, Russell Sim mons, and Ja Rule.

Along with friend and busi ness partner Herb Rice, Ja Rule co-founded The Painted House and launched the NFT collection Black Is Beautiful, with a charita ble component benefiting histori

Earlier this year, Ja Rule told the Black Press that he wanted to cre ate a space for people of color in the crypto world.

“That’s important. We need to be at that table,” Ja Rule said.

Simmons, the hip-hop architect and successful businessman, said he leaped into the NFT market be cause he wanted hip-hop pioneers to get their flowers and much-de served money while still alive.

In collaboration with NFT mar ketplace Tokau, Simmons’ NFT honored individuals like D.J. Hol lywood, Bizzy Bee Starski, and Grandmaster Caz.

Snoop Dogg agreed to curate the NFT collection.

“This is a multi-billion-dol lar industry, and so many of the younger generation don’t know the shoulders on whom they stand,” Simmons told the Black Press at his launch party.

“Some of these guys [founders] don’t even have bank accounts, but we have to consider, all of us have to consider. None of us would be here without them.”

Simmons insisted that Snoop Dogg “gets it.”

“He wants to be a part of this. That’s why I love him so much,” Simmons asserted. “Snoop has such a big heart; he cares about these guys.”

In June, Jay-Z announced that he teamed with Twitter Founder Jack Dorsey to launch a new “Bit coin Academy” for underserved residents – particularly those in Brooklyn, New York’s Marcy Houses.

The plan included adding other locations for the program designed in collaboration with Crypto Blockchain Plug and Black Bitcoin Billionaire.

Jay-Z and Dorsey said their mis sion included providing education and empowering the community with knowledge.

Program participants were promised MiFi devices, a oneyear limited data plan, and smart phones if needed.

Each of the artists has yet to speak on the current state of the

This week, a new study found that the District of Columbia topped the list of American states and places that have demonstrat ed the most interest in NFTs and cryptocurrency.

CRYPTO Page 23

4 Some have compared the fall of crypto to Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi scheme/ Jorge Franganillo via Wikimedia commons

Holiday Shopping and Scams Survey of Black consumers age 18-plus

The majority (78%) of Black consumers have experienced some type of fraud

Four in ten have experienced fraud when seeking to buy a product through an online ad

Over one in three have had a package stolen from outside their door. 32% say they received a donation request in the past 12 months that seemed fake or fraudulent.

31% of travelers experienced fraud when booking a trip. Shopping_fun

35% have received a noti cation from someone saying they are from USPS, FedEx, or UPS about a shipment issue, and it turned out to be fraudulent.

9 in 10 Black consumers age 18-plus failed a 9-question safe-shopping quiz, indicating they may be susceptible to scammers’ tactics.

75% incorrectly think (or aren’t sure) that online retailers will request their login information to provide customer support.

Shopping Quiz

Stacy M. Brown WI Senior Writer

Study Reveals ‘Crisis’ in New Recruit Police Training Across America

Stacy M. Brown WI Senior Writer

A comprehensive new report as serted that American authorities have traditionally trained police officers on the cheap, noting that more than 71% of agencies devote less than 5% of their total budget to recruit train ing.

Issued by the Police Executive Re search Forum (PERF), the report found that nearly half of the agencies responding to the survey agreed that spending on recruit training had in creased over the past five years.

However, that was before police budgets faced the dual challenges of cuts related to the COVID-19

pandemic and calls to “defund” the police.

The 84-page exposition noted that investments in training could be stalled or reduced at the very time they need to increase to bring about changes required in American polic ing.

Researchers found that in many jurisdictions, “the goal seems to be moving as many recruits as possible through academy training as fast as possible and at the lowest possible cost.”

They argued that this approach had been driven partly by the desire to quickly get more officers on the street – a challenge that became particularly acute as officer hirings declined and

retirements and resignations increased because of the COVID-19 pandemic and as homicides and other violent crimes surged.

“Besides recruiting and hiring, there is perhaps no activity that is more cru cial to the success of police departments and sheriffs’ offices than how they train recruits,” researchers wrote.

“Recruit training is where new offi cers acquire the basic knowledge and skills to do their jobs. It’s where they learn the right way to do things and have an opportunity to make mis takes and learn from them, without the serious consequences of making those mistakes in the field.”

They continued: “It is where new officers acquire the foundation of technical know-how that will stay with them throughout their careers. But recruit training is about more than just technical instruction.

“Recruit training is where prospec tive officers are introduced to the con cept of public safety and public ser vice. The training academy is where police agencies can articulate their philosophy and vision and begin to instill their core values.

“Finally, recruit training is where agencies build and reinforce their cul ture through the next group of front line employees.”

While policing has changed in many respects throughout the years, officers struggle with challenges on several fronts, including dealing with individuals in crisis.

The report contended that, far too often, police recruits are trained as warriors, not as guardians and part ners intended for civil communities.

To effect change, new officers

should receive new and adequate in struction sensitive to the communities they serve, researchers wrote.

“The current state of recruit train ing demands that we rethink – and remake – the system for how new po lice officers is trained,” the researchers argued.

“We need national consensus and national standards on what the train ing contains, how it is delivered, and by whom.

“This report may present a grim picture of the current state of recruit training, but it also puts forth a series of principles that can help guide the transformation of training to meet the challenges of policing for today and tomorrow.”

Chuck Wexler, the executive direc tor of the PERF, said one could as certain much about a police training academy from the moment an indi vidual walks in the door and encoun ter a group of recruits.

“If the recruits immediately back up against the nearest wall, look straight ahead, and bark out in unison, ‘Good morning, ma’am!” or “Good after noon, sir!” you pretty much know the culture and operating philosophy of that academy,” Wexler stated.

“If, on the other hand, the recruits pause, look you in the eye, and of fer a more conversational, “Good morning, sir” or “How are you today, ma’am,” that tells you something else.

“Academies have traditionally fol lowed a paramilitary, boot camp-like model that emphasizes discipline, deportment, following orders, and a strict hierarchy where recruits are of ten on the lowest rung.

Wexler continued:

“Discipline and following the chain of command are certainly important and necessary aspects of police train ing and operations. But when those elements become so pervasive that they overshadow almost everything else, it can undermine the academy’s mission, which is to prepare new po lice officers to serve and protect their communities with compassion and humanity.”

Researchers concluded the report by noting that American policing needs to re-imagine and retool recruit training.

They recommended that officials rethink how academies are operated and staffed, what the recruit curricu lum contains, and how the training is delivered and by whom.

They also suggested authorities rethink how to use reality-based scenario training more broadly and effectively and how recruit training integrates with field training once re cruits leave the academy.

“Re-imagining policing begins with tackling how police officers are taught. This report is a blueprint for fundamentally rethinking the current way we train new police officers – for dismantling the existing model and building a new approach,” Wexler asserted.

“The goals are ambitious and far-reaching. But we hope that if police agencies can attract those who possess the ‘right stuff,’ we can provide them with the kind of training that will take us into the future guided by a new way of thinking.”

WI

@StacyBrownMedia

5 There’s a crisis in new police recruit training across the country. (Photo courtesy MassDOT via Wikimedia commons)

Practitioners of “Liberation Medicine” Celebrate Dr. Mutulu Shakur’s Upcoming Prison Release

Sam P.K. Collins WI Staff Writer

The release of acupuncturist Dr. Mutulu Shakur from federal prison is scheduled for December 16. The Black liberation elder will leave Ken tucky and move to southern Califor nia, where he’ll live with family and receive medical attention for stage 3 bone marrow cancer.

In the 1970s, Shakur launched the Lincoln Hospital Detoxification Program, where heroin addicts in Bronx, New York, received acupunc ture-based drug treatment, or what eventually became known as the Lin coln Protocol.

Acupuncture, an ancient Chinese medical practice, is believed to heal phys ical, mental and emotional ailments by pricking the skin with a needle. Because of Mutulu, it increased in popularity as an alternative to methadone.

Shakur, a member of the Black Lib eration Army and Provisional Govern ment of the Republic of New Afrika, used the Lincoln Protocol to spread Black liberation ideology. Those who received the treatment at Lincoln Hos pital Detoxification Program often went on to study Shakur’s methods and become healers in their own right.

Amid recent efforts to secure Shak ur’s early compassionate release, a group of his colleagues reinstated the Black Acupuncture Advisory Association of North America (BAAANA). This group -- which includes Shakur, Dr.

Kokayi Patterson, Shifu Walter Bosque, Dr. Tatsuo Harano, Dr. Urayoana Trin idad, and Bilal Sunni Ali-- is known as the BAAANA Collective.

In the decade leading up to his ar rest and conviction, BAAANA estab lished new clinics and certified new acupuncturists. Patterson, a D.C.based acupuncturist and one of Shak ur’s oldest comrades and students, said Shakur’s work will continue in D.C., Los Angeles and Atlanta, along with other U.S. cities and worldwide.

“We’re [addressing] the need for institution building with clinics and places where this acupuncture can be applied on a mass level with the com munity,” Patterson said.

“We’re in Belize and Ghana, and we intend to move around the country and continue to develop collectives that promote the acupuncture.”

THE MOVEMENT TO FREE DR. MUTULU SHAKUR

In anticipation of Shakur’s release, the BAAANA Collective is raising funds for Shakur’s clothing, toiletries, wheelchair and aerial medical transport.

A three-time COVID-19 survivor, who also suffers from hypertension, Type 2 diabetes and glaucoma, he was confined to a wheelchair at a Lexing ton, Kentucky federal prison where he’s currently serving a 60-year prison sentence for his involvement in an ar

5 Dr. Mutulu Shakur (Courtesy photo)

EPA Funds Four New Air Quality Monitoring Projects Around the DMV

The District’s project will include three new neighborhood air quality monitors and a sto rytelling program aiming to record community members’ experiences with air pollution.

Kayla Benjamin WI Contributing Writer

New air quality monitoring projects aimed at promoting environmental justice will launch in D.C., Maryland, and Virginia in the coming months, thanks to grants announced by the Environmental Protection Agency November 3.

Over 130 projects across the coun

try received funding—more than $53 million in total—through the grants.

It’s part of a broader focus on environ mental justice by the Biden adminis tration’s EPA, which announced the creation of a 200-person Office of En vironmental Justice and External Civil Rights last month.

Across the country, people of color are 1.5 times more likely to live in ar eas with poor air quality, according to

D.C. Environmental Justice Advocates Joined Push for Global Climate Justice at COP27

Kayla Benjamin Environmental Writer

This year’s United Nations climate conference produced a historic agreement creating a fund to support developing countries facing climate disasters. How ever, it failed to make progress on com mitments to reduce emissions.

After marathon negotiations that ran more than 36 hours over the dead line, the United Nations climate con ference in Sharm el-Sheik, Egypt came out with a breakthrough deal creating a fund for “loss and damage.” That’s U.N.-speak for the irreversible harms caused by climate change, especially those felt in developing nations.

Rich countries have contributed to most of the world’s emissions while poor countries suffer most of the im pacts, so climate justice advocates can see the loss and damage deal as a win. On the other hand, the negotiations failed to produce much progress on another crucial goal: strengthening global commitments to reducing emissions.

As it stands, the world does not seem likely to limit warming to 1.5 Celsius above pre-Industrial Revolu tion levels—a point beyond which sci entists warn climate catastrophes will become far more drastic. This year’s official COP decision did little to ad

DC’s Department of Energy and Environment will use federal grant money to install three new air quality monitors around the city. They will likely look similar to this monitor, which DOEE currently operates at the National Zoo.

the American Lung Association.

“The environmental injustice is a result of policy decisions to put pol luting, unwanted, harmful things in these majority-Black communities and lower-income communities, and then to pretty much ignore and allow them to operate for decades,” Parisa Norouzi, executive director of Em power DC, said.

Empower DC, a justice group dedicated to building political pow er among the District’s low-income residents is one of 12 groups D.C.’s Department of Energy and Environ ment asked for input when applying for the EPA community air monitor ing grant.

The District received $500,000, some of which will go toward three new air quality monitors, said Han nah Ashenafi, the acting associate director for DOEE’s Air Quality Di vision.

“Doing monitoring in these com munities is something we have had on our wish list for a long time,” Ashenafi said. “We’ve been looking for funding to try to get monitors in neighbor hoods that don’t currently have them.”

AIR QUALITY MONITORING IN DC

Currently, the District has five monitors across the city that check common pollutants regulated by the federal Clean Air Act, such as ozone, lead, carbon monoxide, and particu late matter. Ward 7 hosts two existing monitors, one along the Anacostia Freeway and one in River Terrace. The others sit at McMillan Reservoir near

Howard University, King Greenleaf Recreation Center by Nationals Park, and Takoma Recreation Center.

To decide where to put the three new monitors, DOEE plans to create an air quality advisory board made of community representatives and technical experts. Ashenafi said she hopes to see at least one of them sited in Ward 5, where residents of major ity-Black neighborhoods like Brent wood and Ivy City face disproportion ate exposure to industrial polluters.

The new air quality monitoring devices will be built into park bench es and feature screens showing the real-time data that DOEE will collect over the course of the project.

But Ashenafi said the two-year initiative won’t only focus on the monitoring devices and the data they gather. Instead, storytelling and com munity involvement will also serve as central features. Community mem bers will be asked to share their per sonal experiences with air pollution in their neighborhoods. Those stories will be recorded and added to a map of the project’s findings.

“Oftentimes, when it comes to air quality, the experiences of people that live in communities that are overbur dened with air pollution are not in cluded,” Ashenafi said. “We tend to look at the raw data, but we know that the data that we collect can’t capture everyone’s experience.”

PARTNERSHIPS HELP MONITOR AIR QUALITY

The EPA’s grant application specif

ically encouraged those types of com munity partnerships, which DOEE built into the project’s plan. A spokes person for the EPA said the federal agency received 206 applications, of which 132 were funded.

The Maryland Department of the Environment also received a grant, which it plans to use to monitor three areas identified as having environmen tal justice concerns. These include the Prince George’s County town of Cheverly and the Baltimore neigh borhoods of Curtis Bay and Turner Station.

Other grant recipients throughout the DMV include the Upper Mat taponi Indian Tribe in Virginia and the national nonprofit Socially Re sponsible Agriculture Project, which plans to conduct monitoring efforts in Maryland and Delaware. Each proj ect received between $440,000 and $500,000.

The money comes from funds allo cated specifically for air quality mon itoring in the 2021 American Rescue Plan and a major climate change and health care law passed in August. But environmental justice advocates have pointed out that more monitoring doesn’t always lead to cleaner air.

“While DC is not known as an industrial city, the reality is that there are communities where the bulk of in dustry is located that have been treated as sacrifice zones,” Norouzi, with Em power DC, said. “I would just hope that the data does help to create more visibility and more understanding. But at the end of the day, we need the political will to shut down polluters.” WI

5

dress that problem.

“The fact that there was a fund set up that will ensure that countries im pacted by our fossil fuel energy econ omy will have resources to draw from is a big thing,” said Dana Johnson, Se nior Director of Strategy and Federal Policy at WE ACT for Environmental Justice.

“But getting to the emission reduc tions and having another year of not meeting our goals, is quite concerning because of how the climate crisis is centered in communities of color and areas of low income in the U.S. and around the world,” Johnson, who at tended the conference along with oth er leaders from WE ACT, continued.

This was the 27th annual Con ference of Parties, but it was the first time loss and damage even made it onto the official agenda. Outside the negotiating room, DMV-based envi ronmental justice advocates like John son joined activists from around the country and the globe in pushing for that shift in the international climate conversation.

“Folks are really getting focused and

saying basically, ‘you, the developed nations, played a big role in what's currently going on. And you broke it, so now it's time to fix it,’” said Mus tafa Santiago Ali, a D.C.-based envi ronmental justice leader and executive vice president for the National Wild life Federation.

At this year’s conference, Ali spent much of his time listening to conver sations held at the first-ever “Climate Justice Pavilion,” which was founded by three U.S. environmental justice organizations, including WE ACT.

Major political leaders, including U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and EPA Administrator Michael Re gan, made appearances there. The pa vilion hosted dozens of programs and created space for people from all over the globe to engage in climate justice conversations.

“These have been some of the most attended and better panels that we've seen because there's been such a panoply of excellent voices, not only from the United States, but also from Africa and indigenous people from around the world,” said Antho ny Rogers-Wright, a District resident and Director of Environmental Justice

with New York Lawyers for the Public Interest.

Importantly, the sponsoring or ganizations sited the pavilion in the conference’s “Blue Zone,” where the majority of diplomats, policymakers, business, and professional advocates convene— instead of the “Green Zone,” which is typically reserved for grassroots groups and activists.

“We're going to have to have a COP28, 29, and 30 unless these fenceline communities, the advocates that fly in from all over the world, get into the rooms with the policymakers that are closed off,” said Shamyra Levi gne, an activist with Rise St. James, an environmental justice organization based in Louisiana. “Delegates should have to sit here and listen to the peo ple that are being impacted by their choices.”

Despite the progress on loss and damage discussions, the final deal re mained vague. Nations committed to creating a new fund and established a “transitional committee” tasked with hammering out details for nations to discuss at next year’s COP28 in Dubai.

But no countries had to make actu al monetary commitments under the

deal. Further, no new commitments to phase out coal or other fossil fuels emerged from this year’s talks despite increasingly dire scientific reports about the consequences of continuing to warm up the planet. Heat waves, storms, droughts, floods, wildfires, and other climate impacts will contin

ue to hit developing nations and com munities of color hardest.

“The can was kicked down a road we have no time to pave,” Rog ers-Wright said in a text following the conference. “We simply aren’t being serious enough to dismantle the global crisis.” WI

Vacuum Leaf Collection Program

How to Prepare for Leaf Vacuum Collection:

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

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

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

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

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

5 Environmental justice leader Mustafa Santiago Ali, joined other advocates from around the world at the first-ever Climate Justice Pavilion at this year’s COP.(Photo by Kiara Worth, courtesy of UN Climate Change)

Africa Let Down as COP27 Closes

For developing countries, it has been yet another disap pointment. For others, there was still room for a credible agreement to tame the global climate crisis. The two scenar ios are the hallmarks of the 27th UN Climate Conference or COP27, which ended in Egypt on Friday, Nov. 18. The two-week gathering at the Red Sea resort provided a safety valve for the worsening climate calamities ravaging the world. But, as the high-profile event folded, there was every sign of dashed hopes to the chagrin of the develop ing countries. Activists say Africa is the most affected by climate change, given the severe drought that has added misery to millions of food-insecure communities.

“We came with high hopes. But unfortunately, the end of COP27 is an anti-climax,” said Mithika Mwenda. The executive director of the Nairobi-based Pan-African Climate Justice Alliance (Pacja) believed the meeting would materialize with concrete outcomes. But as he and scores of other activists from Africa and beyond prepared to exit Sharma el Sheikh, he said he felt betrayed. He is particularly pained by millions of people facing starvation in the eastern and Horn of Africa “because of climate-related droughts.”

Dr. Mwenda believes repeated promises made by developing countries, especially financing, to tame the crisis will never materialize. “This will continue to delay because decisions on loss and damage have been delayed, yet again, to 2024,” he said on Thursday in a statement to The Citizen. PACJA is one of dozens of civil society organizations (CSOs) from Africa present in Egypt to drum up support for climate justice for the suffering Africans.

The Alliance’s view is that this year’s UN Climate Conference ended with disappointment for the developing coun tries due to, among others, reluctance by the rich countries to remit the needed finances.

Augustine Njamnshi, another official from the organization, likened this year’s dashed hopes to COP26 held last year in Glasgow in the UK. “We (Africans) are leaving COP27 less assured of the goodwill of the global leaders, especially those in highly polluting industrialized countries,” he said.

Failure to admit Africa’s special needs contributed to the slow progress, delays, “and, in some cases, the lowering of ambition on issues pertinent to Africa.” In addition, deferred decisions on financing loss and damage to 2024 “with no guarantees of an outcome” downgraded the COP in the eyes of the Africans.

The lack of a clear trajectory for phasing out fossil fuels has seen some countries continue to use high-polluting fos sil fuels. The CSOs, nevertheless, demanded big polluters honor their engagement to deliver the resources needed to address the climate crisis in Africa. WI

Bahamas Ambassador Jones Moderates Forum

His Excellency Wendall Jones, Bahamas Ambassa dor to the United States, is continuing his search for investment and financing opportunities for Bahamians. He conveyed his message while moderating the annual SMART Caribbean Conference 2022 held in Washing ton, D.C. Friday, November 18. 2022.

Sponsored by the Institute of Caribbean Studies (ISC), the conference theme was “Resetting the Future: Toward a Flourishing Agribusiness Ecosystem, Blue Economy and Climate Resilience.”

This year’s conference culminated with the 29th an nual Caribbean American Heritage Awards Gala. Policy makers from the US. and the Caribbean, representatives from development assistance organizations, NGOs, and academics participated in the round table dialogue.

Invest SMART Caribbean explored the emerging in vestment opportunities that will drive the transforma tion of the agribusiness sector in the region. i

The conference also provided a trusted mechanism for both US and Caribbean businesses to access infor mation and resources from potential partners for their initiatives. WI

COMPILED BY OSWALD T. BROWN, WI CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Ways to Cope with Stress During the Holiday Season

AARP Staff Reports

With the holiday season right around the corner, chances are there's something about the run-up to the new year that may leave you feeling less than jolly, or possibly actively ignit ing anxiety and apprehension. There are many reasons why people may be feeling uneasy about the holiday season. You may not trust yourself around the punch bowl, or your wallet is feeling light. You may have had a disagreement with a fam ily member and fear an upcom ing gathering. Being alone may be getting you down. For some, their own expectations could derail the holiday spirit.

AARP DC recently hosted a virtual event called “A Con versation on Black Women’s Mental Health and Wellness: An Exploration of Effective Coping Strategies.” During the event, Black women discussed their shared experiences and learned about common signs and symptoms of mental health trauma. They were also provid ed resources in the District and given coping strategies to help manage stressful situations. These coping strategies can be used any time of year and in many different situations. Below are three strategies you can use:

SQUARE BREATHING

This simple technique is used to help calm your ner vous system when you’re feeling stressed, anxious, and overwhelmed. It has many benefits, such as reducing stress, improving your focus, lowering your blood pressure, and even helping you get to sleep! All you do is: in hale for four seconds; hold your breath for four seconds; exhale

for four seconds; hold your breath for four seconds. Repeat four times.

JOURNALING

Journaling helps you clearly un derstand your thoughts and feel ings, by writing them down on paper. Many people experience a range of different thoughts and emotions simultaneously, which can make it difficult to think clearly, make decisions, or even understand how you are really feel ing. Journaling forces you to slow down, be present with yourself, and focus on what you are experiencing in the moment. It helps you keep track of your feelings, behaviors, and patterns over time, which can help you reflect on past challenges and identify strategies that helped you get through those tough times and ultimately enhance your emo tional growth.

VISUAL IMAGERY

When you are feeling over whelmed and need to regroup and feel more grounded, visual imag ery helps to increase feelings of relaxation, decrease anxiety, and improve your ability to cope with stress. To get started, first, slow down your breathing and take a few deep breaths in and out until your heart rate begins to slow down. Next, think about something that makes you feel calm, relaxed, and at peace. The goal of this exercise is to transport yourself to this setting in your mind and focus solely on that image for a few minutes as you continue to take deep breaths. The more detailed you are, the better your experience will be! When you are ready, you can open your eyes and notice how calm and relaxed you feel.

The “Conversation on Black Women’s Mental Health and Well ness” event was part of AARP DC’s greater work on Disrupting Health Disparities in the District. To better advocate for the quality and acces

sible healthcare District residents need, AARP DC wants to hear from residents themselves.

AARP DC has developed a sur vey to gather information on the thoughts and experiences of Black men and women living in the Dis trict. The brief confidential survey is designed to collect information and guide advocacy and outreach. You can access the survey by scan ning the QR code on this page. It's important that we hear from you regarding the state of healthcare in the District of Columbia.

HEALTH

Tips For A DementiaFriendly Thanksgiving How To Help Our Loved Ones Manage The Holidays

Lindiwe Vilakazi WI Staff Writer

It’s that time of the year for Thanksgiving dinners and festivi ties, a commonly nurturing time for those persons with demen tia-related illnesses and their fam ily members. But while the holi days bring people together, events involving infrequent visitors can cause significant anxiety or confu sion for someone with a form of dementia.

Although results can vary bet ter for some than for others, here are a few tips, with the help of the Alzheimer’s Foundation of Amer ica, and the National Institute of Aging, to help families manage an even-tempered holiday season for a person with a dementia disorder, and their family members:

ASSESS YOUR PLANS BEFORE

THE BIG EVENT:

Create an easy-going travel experience. While individuals suffering from the early stages of dementia may be comfortable traveling, the process may become overwhelming as the illness pro gresses. It is important to consult their physician to ensure travel is advised depending on the stage of illness, or duration of their trip.

• Make sure the trip accom modates the person’s style of com fort. It will be key to ensure that the length of travel and mode of transportation chosen are specific to your loved one’s capability of stress management, and personal needs. These arrangements ad ditionally include the time of the

day while traveling, and unique re quests the person may have during their commute. If you are trav eling by car, bathroom and food breaks may be needed, and if trav eling by plane, consult your airline to communicate special needs or safety concerns.

• Honor the person’s routine. Routine is imperative to uphold for a person with dementia-relat ed diseases. To prevent high stress or anxiety, attempt to incorporate the person’s daily habits or routine into their travel itinerary. Meal times, for example, should be held as close to their regular schedule as possible.

• Pack Accordingly. Consider

all items of comfort for your fami ly member with a dementia-illness, whether it be water, snacks, blan kets, etc. Health insurance or any related information, medications, and doctor or physician contacts should always be with you.

PREPARING AND MANAGING THE PERSON WITH A DEMENTIA-ILLNESS:

Helping your loved one with de mentia to familiarize themselves with expected guests will be very helpful to prepare them for the big day. Addi tionally, tactics to help manage any level of stress during the event will be of great importance for the ease of both themselves, and their caretakers.

For example:

• Begin showing photos of the expected guests for the person with dementia-illness to see before the ac tual day of celebration. This will help to familiarize the person’s mind with who they will see during the actual event(s), and help curb any embar rassment or discomfort the person could feel without seeing faces prior to.

• Keep the mentally-impaired family member’s routine as close as possible before, during, and after the gathering(s).

• eded, or rest time for the person with dementia-illness.

• Prepare a few quiet distractions to use such as going for a brief walk, or looking at pictures to help balance their temperament if they become

anxious, overstimulated, or upset.

• If possible, coordinate a phone call with some of the guests who will be visiting your mentally-impaired family member to help familiar ize them as much as possible before meeting times.

PREPARING THE GUESTS FOR THE DEMENTIA-ILLNESS FAMILY MEMBER:

Helping your guests to under stand the levels of mental illness your family member may be experiencing will be very helpful in preventing any awkward or unexpecting moments that could occur during the festivities. Give your guests potential examples of behaviors they might see, helping to prepare them for what could hap pen in advance. For example:

• Explain that the symptoms of the memory loss is not intentional, nor personal, but rather due to the mental disease.

• Help those guests who may find the experience hard to grasp that the memories made in the present are more important to cherish, rather than harping over what the person with dementia-illness has forgotten (although it may be painful to expe rience).

Always remember that a strategic plan makes for a more enjoyable, and manageable holiday season, as early preparation can help derail any or deals for your family members with special care needs.

WI

dition, representatives and advo cates from the faith-based, senior, immigrant, and LGBTQ+ com munities who focus on addressing social and racial inequities were part of the process that led to the 30-page report on increasing the number of Black homeowners in the District.

WOES

The Strike Force was staffed by the Deputy Mayor’s Office of Planning and Economic Develop ment and supported by researchers and analysts at the Urban Institute and Howard University. Part of the work of the BHSF included conversations with residents who could use District homeownership programs to purchase their first home. The body also took advice from residents who have sought to buy a house and have not yet achieved that goal.

As for Brittany Freeman and her twins, she says she’s especially hap py that her children are in a better position in their lives than she was in her youth. “One less thing to worry about is my children going off to college and not having to ex

CRYPTO from Page 15

The study found that Bitcoin sold for a record $68,000 in No vember 2021, while NFT sales peaked at $12.6 billion in January 2022.

Both have since dropped precip itously.

“Never in my career have I seen such a complete failure of corpo rate controls and such a complete absence of trustworthy financial information as occurred here,” John Ray III, the new CEO of FTX, told MSN as he laid out “a damning description of FTX’s operations under its founder Sam Bankman-Fried, from a lack of se curity controls to business funds being used to buy employees homes and luxuries.”

“From compromised systems integrity and faulty regulatory oversight abroad to the concentra tion of control in the hands of a very small group of inexperienced,

perience what I did when I went to college and not having a home to go to,” Freeman said. She was nearly bursting with pride when she told everyone who could hear, “They’ll be able to have their col lege friends come to stay at their house. And I think that was the one last thing, and I didn’t have to worry about it, and I completed that journey.” WI

unsophisticated, and potential ly compromised individuals, this situation is unprecedented,” said Ray.

He performed cleanup work in the aftermath of the disastrous En ron scandal.

Griffin wrote in the New York Times newsletter that it would take time and multiple federal in vestigations to understand what happened behind the scenes at FTX.

However, the impact is already evident.

“Lawmakers are calling for more oversight,” Griffin wrote.

“Crypto die-hards are trying to distance themselves. Critics of this sector of finance are crowing. And for those of you who had, until now, managed to ignore the rise and rise and rise of crypto as a phenomenon? First of all, good for you. And second, you may want to watch this one play out.” WI

@StacyBrownMedia

“One less thing to worry about is my children going off to college and not having to experience what I did when I went to college and not having a home to go to,” Freeman said.

EDUCATION

Becoming a Man Program Continues to Establish Presence in District Public Schools

Sam P.K. Collins WI Staff Writer

Over the last few months, hun dreds of Black male students from across the District have received mentorship and enrichment as part of a collaborative effort that DC Public Schools (DCPS) entered with a nationally renowned pro gram.

Through their participation in the Becoming a Man (BAM) pro gram, these students have formed tight-knit bonds with one another

while learning tenets of manhood from positive male figures who are affiliated with JP Morgan Chase.

Meanwhile, these young men continue to explore college and ca reer opportunities and gain a deep er understanding of what it takes to achieve their goals.

“We got more mature. I've seen changes in my peers. They have better etiquette. They even stopped cursing,” said Joel Brown, a soph omore at Ron Brown College Pre paratory High School in Northeast.

Joel, a shooting guard and power

forward for Ron Brown’s basketball team, has dreams of entering the NBA. He said he joined BAM to have fun and be with his friends in a positive environment.

When he’s not on the court en hancing his ball-handling skills, Joel and nine other young people who’ve formed a BAM cohort glean nuggets of wisdom from an adult who checks in with them nearly every day and conducts activities based on their needs and interests.

Since joining the program, Joel said he’s become further embold ened to help his friends reject dis tractions that keep them away from the court and their academic obli gations.

“Not every young person has someone they can count on,” Joel said.

“A lot of young people got sin gle-parent homes. If they feel like they got someone with them, they would know they’re their brother’s keeper and we’re in this together.”

BAM, in conjunction with The Fellowship Initiative and JP Mor gan Chase, has conducted its pro gramming not only for students at Ron Brown, but at H.D. Woodson High School and Eastern High School, also in Northeast. Other participating District schools in clude Ballou High School in South east and Roosevelt High School in Northwest.

In total, 226 Black male DCPS students are enrolled in BAM. Next

year, BAM will recruit 130 fresh men. Within four years, as BAM expands to other District public schools, participation has been pro jected to reach beyond 400.

On Friday evening, Joel and other DCPS students enrolled in BAM - Joshua Hammond and Al lan Alston -- visited the JP Morgan Chase Innovative Branch at Sky land Town Center in Southeast.

The trio, all of whom are sopho mores, connected with older BAM students from New York City who visited D.C for a college tour.

All of these young people later met fourth-generation Washing tonian and well-renowned fashion designer Greg Harrison.

For more than an hour, Harrison reflected on his upbringing in the nation’s capital and talked about how he launched TheMuseumDC fashion brand. As he told his story, Harrison advised the more than 60 young New Yorkers and Washing tonians about networking, making difficult choices and expanding one’s knowledge.

These lessons bore a similarity to what BAM participants in D.C. get from their JP Morgan Chase men tors.

Joshua praised his mentor for fill ing a void in his life at a time when he’s navigating adolescence. Since joining BAM, Johsua has had his mind on making his mother proud and eventually having enough money to help his community.

“I joined this program to keep my mind off of negativity and not be in the streets,” said Joshua, a sophomore at H.D.Woodson, who plays guard and defensive tackle on the school football team.

“I will spend my last two years [in high school] still working out, play ing football and getting my grades,” Joshua said. “Students should join Becoming a Man because once you get in that circle, it’s another vibe. You will get support from everyone who’s around you.”

Allan, ever cognizant of the hur dles that Black teenagers face in the District, recounted learning what he described as an important lesson about his legal rights from a lawyer he encountered while participating in BAM.

He said that experience served as one of the numerous reminders about the amount of responsibility that comes with entering manhood.

Even while enjoying free meals and trips around the District with his fellow BAM participants, Allan said he has his eyes on the prize.

“I see myself going to college,” said Allan, a sophomore at H.D. Woodson, who plays strong safety and running back on the football team.

“There are a lot of distractions and young people who don’t have the right mind. You have to be cau tious. I shouldn’t be something I’m not.” WI

@SamPKCollins

5 Fashion designer Greg Harrison, founder of The Museum clothing store with students in the Becoming a Man program, part of the JP Morgan Chase Fellowship Initiative on Nov. 18 at the Chase Skyland branch in Southeast. (Marckell Williams/The Washington Informer)

New' State Board Representatives in Wards 3 and 5 Hit the Ground Running

Sam P.K. Collins WI Staff Writer

Since clinching victory in the DC State Board of Education (SBOE) race, Eric Goulet has set his sights on addressing school overcrowding, per-pupil funding, and expanding Pre-K3 options in Ward 3.

Goulet, a parent of two, criti cized the lack of universal Pre-K options west of Rock Creek Park. He said that Ward 3 parents have opted to secure private childcare instead of making long commutes to early childhood education cen ters in other parts of the city.

As it relates to school over crowding, Goulet has spent the last couple of weeks creating an advisory committee to tackle what he described as the curse of having quality schools. He centered his goal on expanding building space in Ward 3.

Solutions on the table include opening new schools on the sites of Georgetown Day School and Whittle School in Friendship Heights. To accomplish this goal, Goulet said he’ll work with the Ward 3 Education Network, as well as Ward 3 D.C. Councilmem ber-elect Matt Frumin (D).

He mentioned employing a sim ilar strategy to ensure that Hardy Middle School in Northwest gets proper per-pupil funding.

“We have to build coalitions to

accomplish these ideas,” Goulet said.

“We have to get data and get people behind it to push for the right results,” he added.

“That’s our challenge to make a persuasive case. My sole focus -and what I try to improve upon -is how everything we do improves the student experience.”

On November 8, Goulet secured 53.24% of the vote to defeat Mi chael Sriqui in the Ward 3 SBOE race. Goulet’s victory followed an unsuccessful campaign during the Ward 3 D.C. Council Democratic primary race earlier this year.

FOCUS ON EQUITY IN WARDS 1 AND 5

Other victors in the SBOE race include Ben Williams in Ward 1 and Brandon Best in Ward 6, both of whom The Informer highlight ed in a previous article. In Ward 5, Robert Henderson defeated Carisa Stanley Beatty and Nina O’Neill to win his SBOE seat.

Henderson, a parent and vice chair of the Ward 5 Education Eq uity Committee, centered his cam paign on equity, improving data collection for District schools, safe passage, boosting literacy, safe pas sage and teacher retention.

Since winning the SBOE race, Henderson has also expressed a desire to support parents who are involved in school affairs. Hen derson highlighted the need to

improve the conditions at Ward 5 schools, a significant amount of which are public charter schools.

As he works on strengthening the network of parents who will advocate for these issues, Hender son, in collaboration with Ward 5 D.C. Councilmember-elect Zach ary Parker (D) and others, contin ues to support community mem bers at Langley Elementary School and Langdon Education Campus.

Parents at both schools said buildings have been without heat for several weeks.

For Henderson, this situation highlighted the need for improve

ments in how the Department of General Services and DC Public Schools address requests for school building repairs.

He said that the D.C. govern ment must prioritize the needs of students, teachers and parents.

“We need to focus on making sure these schools are well re sourced with quality offerings,” Henderson said, as he also reflect

ed on the accumulation of charter schools in Ward 5.

“A lot of schools are struggling to keep teachers. I don’t see how adding more schools can help with that. It spreads our enrollment thinner. I would like to avoid any situation where schools are clos ing.”

“We need to focus on making sure these schools are well resourced with quality offerings,” Henderson said, as he also reflected on the accumulation of charter schools in Ward 5.

5 Robert Henderson

5 Ben Williams

Winter energy assistance? You have options!

Submitted by Washington Gas

Unexpected events can strike any family without warning. At Washington Gas, we’re passionate about everyone having a warm home and not being penalized for dealing with challenging times.

For almost 175 years, we’ve called Washington home. As winter arrives, many in our com munities may need help with cold-weather energy bills. This is especially true this year as we all face rising gas prices, inflation and numerous other factors. More than 15,000 friends and neighbors in the combined DMV communities receive ≈$14 million in federal en ergy assistance each year, plus addi tional aid from other state and local programs.*

District residents, please keep reading to explore your options for energy bill assistance and payment plans. For full details, visit wash ingtongascares.com. Maryland and Virginia customers, please also see the link for information on en ergy programs in your areas.

FEDERAL LIHEAP PROGRAM

LIHEAP funding offers grants to states and Washington D.C. to help qualified applicants pay their energy bills depending on house hold size, income and other fac tors. You can learn more and apply at https://doee.dc.gov/node/9412. Please note that programs below marked with ** require LIHEAP certification before applying.

RESIDENTIAL ES SENTIAL SERVICES (RES)**

Do you use natural gas as the principal source to heat your home? Through the RES program, also known as the Utility Discount Program, you may qualify for a monthly discount on electric, gas, water and sewage bills. https:// doee.dc.gov/node/714902

ARREARAGE MANAGEMENT PROGRAM (AMP)

We understand that some of our customers continue to face financial hardships brought on by the COVID pandemic. In response, the Washing ton Gas AMP program can help you have past-due debt forgiven when new bills are paid on time. AMP can assist you with lowering or eliminating past-due balances, bringing accounts current, avoiding disconnection and reducing financial stress. https://bit.ly/ wg-amp

HOMEOWNER ASSIS TANCE FUND (HAF)

As a District of Columbia home owner, you can apply for housing-re lated financial assistance through the DC Homeowner Assistance Fund. Eligible homeowners impacted by COVID-19 can apply for grant funding to cover mortgage payments and other housing expenses, includ ing utility payment assistance, up to $4,000. https://haf.dc.gov/

WEATHERIZATION AS SISTANCE PROGRAM (WAP)**

If your household qualifies, the WAP program can provide technical and financial assistance to help reduce your energy bills while maintaining a safe, energy-efficient home. Funded by the U.S. Department of Energy and administered by the DC De partment of Energy & Environment (DOEE), you may receive energy au dits and weatherization solutions such as insulation, duct sealing, heating/ cooling system repairs/replacements, ENERGY STAR® appliances and more. https://doee.dc.gov/service/wap

EMERGENCY ME CHANICAL SYSTEM PROGRAM

(EMS)**

If you experience hot water tank, furnace, boiler or air conditioning failure and urgently need repairs or re placements, the DC DOEE-managed EMS program can help. In addition to

being pre-certified through LIHEAP, at least one person living in the house hold must currently receive Social Security or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. https://doee.dc.gov/ service/wap

WASHINGTON AREA FUEL FUND (WAFF)

As winter approaches, some fami lies will struggle to stay warm due to financial stress from illness, accidents, job losses or other unexpected events. Since 1983, WAFF has distributed nearly $32 million to help 306,000 local homes keep their heat on while they get back on their feet. On aver age, WAFF helps between 7,000 and 8,000 families in the district, Mary land and Virginia.*** https://washing tonareafuelfund.org/

BILL MANAGEMENT OPTIONS

If you don’t qualify for any of the options above, you can still get help with your bill! Washington Gas offers billing options such as the interest-free Installment Plan, which spreads out standing balances across multiple billing cycles to help you catch up; the Budget Plan, which distributes winter heating costs over an entire year; and the Automated Payment Plan that deducts your bill automatically each

month and eliminates check-writ ing and postage costs. https://bit. ly/wg-billing-programs

Thank you for being a Washing ton Gas customer. We wish you a warm and happy winter season!

*Data courtesy of Washington Gas Power Bi analytics

***Data courtesy of Washington Area Fuel Fund

WASHINGTON GAS CONSTRUCTION NOTICE: PIPELINE REPLACEMENT WORK ON FLORIDA AVENUE, NE

Washington Gas is committed to stay connected and keep you up-to-date about scheduled work regarding the Florida Avenue, NE construction project. In coordination with the District Department of Transportation (DDOT), Washington Gas crews have been on-site since June 2021 to replace gas pipelines, with an estimated completion date in December 2023.

YOU MAY SEE US WORKING IN YOUR AREA

Construction work will entail the replacement of main and services between 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., MondayFriday, weather and construction conditions permitting. Our crews will be on-site to conduct construction work from the intersection of 4th Street and Florida Avenue NE through H Street NE, Florida Avenue NE and Maryland Avenue NE.

Washington Gas also wants to reassure residents that we will continue to communicate daily with our experienced contractor, Infrasource, Inc., to help minimize disruption and impacts to customers in the area.

If you have questions regarding any of our construction processes, please call the PROJECTpipes Hotline at 202-624-6400, email Project_ Pipes@washgas.com or visit washingtongas.com/projectpipes

Be Thankful This Thanksgiving

The Thanksgiving holiday has become a time of eating lots of food at friends and fami lies’ houses, watching colorful parades and sporting events such as professional football and basketball games and in many cases, shopping for pre-Black Friday deals. As people par take of these activities, they talk about politics, sports, family and the latest developments on their jobs or personal lives.

What many people fail to do is talk about what they are thankful for. As they stuff their bellies, they complain about the job, the economy, the spouse or significant other, the Biden administration and “the mess the world is in.” People become “living room lawyers” as they dissect what is wrong with others and how they should fix their lives.

Instead of a time of joy and happiness, Thanksgiving can devolve into petty skirmishes about who fixed the gummy mash potatoes, why someone else’s child is so messed up, young people being disrespectful of older people or why hasn’t a family member gotten married yet? It is more common than it should be that Thanksgiving ends up becoming a day of arguments or covert boiling tensions between family members and friends.

Thanksgiving should be a time when all who are living and functioning in society should be thankful. People should be thankful that they have a job instead of griping about their responsibilities or the boss. Their children may not be perfect, but at least they are home from college or on break from school instead of sitting in a juvenile detention facility. The homes in which people reside or visiting for Thanksgiving may not be of mansion-quality but it is comfortable. A growing number of Americans don’t have a home to go to. While the coronavirus pandemic is still around, the days of the virus killing hundreds of thou sands of people monthly appear to be over because of vaccines and adherence to measures designed to keep people safe.

This Thanksgiving, people should be thankful for what they have. It could be a lot worse. WI

If You’re Not Paying Attention to the Climate Problem, Now is the Time To Start

Every year, the United Nations holds an event with the most nondescript, opaque, meaningless name: the Conference of Parties. Most of the time, it takes place somewhere super far off—this year’s wrapped up last week in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.

This annual climate change conference, now in its 27th year, has continued to fail our communities and our children in ways we can’t ignore.

If your basement has ever flooded, leaving you with soggy furniture to replace; if violence seems to spike in your neighborhood at the height of summer; if your child has asthma attacks that scare you half to death—you should be paying attention to this climate conference.

This year, negotiators failed to reach an agreement that could keep the world from getting 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit hotter than it was before humans started burning tons of fossil fuels. That might not sound scary, or even that interesting, But the D.C.-area has seen three times as many floods in this decade compared to the last two. Since no one can seem to agree to stop burning fossil fuels immediately, that number will only go up as the seas rise and storms hit more and more frequently. Neighborhoods that rarely flooded before could see water in the streets dozens of times a year.

Does your home have flood insurance? It will only get more expensive as the risks increase.

Burning fossil fuels causes higher levels of air pollution. Volunteers with the Wash ington Interfaith Network have found hundreds of gas leaks all over the city, some of which are concentrated enough to potentially explode. They’ve also started testing the air inside homes using gas stoves and have discovered that some kitchens reach unsafe levels of nitrogen oxide within an hour. Gas is just one kind of fossil fuel that creates air pollution linked to asthma and other respiratory issues.

Conversations about climate, especially at the international level, can feel as far away and opaque as the Conference of Parties in Egypt. In fact, many people, including some government leaders and the more than 600 fossil fuel lobbyists that attended COP27 last week, want it to feel like that: it means they can get away with more, because we’re not watching. But these global decisions hit us hard at home.

We can’t let COP28 and COP29 and COP30 pass by without letting our leaders know we’re watching and listening. They need to hear, through our votes and our voices, that we want to save our planet and provide help to communities at home and around the world who will feel the brunt of the disaster we’ve already created. WI

Black is Back Coalition Marches

Thank you, Sam for this article and for getting the word to the African Commu nity. Truly appreciate very informative political information affecting Africans and our community and Uhuru. Salute to Chairman Omali Yeshitela and all the mentioned members in the article for the work they are involved in as well as the Black Is Back 14th Annual Black People’s rally and March on the White People’s House otherwise many of us would not be informed thank and continue to keep us informed.

Matumb Um Nyob'e @jgrant1954

Lillian Wiggins: An Inspiring Story

From 'Singing Hat Check Girl' to Journalist and Civic Leader Who Pre dicted 'The Plan' for D.C.

This is such an inspiring story especial ly because of the era through which she seemed to maneuver . Many had extraor dinary lives but their stories never reached mainstream readers. RIP Ms. Wiggins…… Condolences to her family and friends.

Markeeta Wins @ladypoetry

D.C.’s Revised Criminal Code

I am grateful to Sam P.K. Collins for sharing some details about the revised D.C. Criminal Code. It would be even more informative if more details of what is exactly included in the revised code could be spelled out the D.C. residents. Have more liberties been taken away? It is better to know before laws are broken especially when we already know that “ignorance” is not allowed to be used as an excuse. Please educate the community.

Jonathan Winger D.C.

Guest Columnist

Remembering Don Lewis

"When you came into this world, you could sing two songs … the first, crying, the second song, laughter. We sang those songs before we could say 'mama' or 'papa.' We live our lives between those two songs: one of need, one of joy. We need each other to be joyful." —Don Lewis

Earlier this month, visionary, joyful musician Don Lewis passed

away. Don was an electronic music pioneer and the creator of the Live Electronic Orchestra, an innova tion that helped shape current syn thesizer technology. He worked in the studio with Quincy Jones, Sergio Mendez, Michael Jackson, Brothers Johnson and Marvin Hamlisch, among many others; scored and produced music for television, film and commercials; and performed everywhere from Carnegie Hall to touring with the Beach Boys. His life and musical

influences are now the subject of a full-length documentary. But this extraordinary artist also had a spe cial connection to the Children's Defense Fund (CDF): For years, Don served as the beloved organist at CDF's annual Proctor Institute for Child Advocacy Ministry at Haley Farm in Clinton, Tennessee.

Don often said music had been a "magic carpet ride" that took him all over the world, and he used his gifts to transform as many people's lives as possible. His early musical

experiences were in his childhood church in Dayton, Ohio. He was curious about how the church's organ worked, and after spending many services sitting behind the organist to watch him play, one night he dreamt he was the one playing: "The feeling I had in that dream, I had never felt anything like it." He asked his grandmother for music lessons the next day, and after she agreed he could start with the piano, he was on his way.

Don studied electronic engi

Voters Make an Important Down Payment on Democracy's Future

The anger he fostered with lies about election fraud let to a violent attempt to stop Congress from affirming Joe Biden's victory.

A lot of good news came out of this month's elections—and enough bad news to remind us that we can never let our guard down when freedom and de mocracy are at stake. This year, democ racy itself was on the ballot, and voters made an important down payment on its future.

In 2020, Americans voted not to give President Donald Trump a second term. He wasn't willing to accept his loss, and tried to overturn the election.

What did that have to do with this year's elections? Trump tried to get his people in power as governors and sec retaries of state so they could pull off in 2024 what they were not able to do in 2020.

Voters weren't having it. The "Red Wave" that Trump was counting on was blocked. Most of the secretary of state candidates running on Trump's election lies were defeated, which means that important guardrails against

future assaults on our democracy re main in place.

To further resist the threat of author itarianism, we must lift up young lead ers who will be democracy's champions for this and future generations. People For the American Way's Young Elect ed Officials Network is celebrating the election of young leaders as new mem bers of Congress from across the coun try: Greg Casar from Austin, Texas; Emilia Sykes from Akron, Ohio; Max well Frost from Orlando, Fla.; Summer Lee from Braddock, Pa.; Robert Garcia from Long Beach, Calif.; Sydney Ka mlager from Los Angeles, Calif; and

Jasmine Crockett from Dallas, Texas. Dozens more were elected to local and state offices, building a crucial leader ship pipeline.

One bright spot was Pennsylvania, where voters elected state attorney gen eral Josh Shapiro as governor, rejecting a far-right promoter of Trump's election lies, and voted to send Lt. Gov. John Fetterman to the U.S. Senate rather than Trump's hand-picked celebrity con man. What has gotten less atten tion is the exciting news about who will replace Fetterman as lieutenant governor: state Rep. Austin Davis, an impressive young Black man who has

neering as a college student at Tuskegee Institute — a technical background that served him in new ways later — but always con tinued performing, including at rallies in Tuskegee where Dr. Mar tin Luther King Jr. spoke. The civil rights movement was getting un derway in Alabama, and Don later explained to an interviewer that he learned lifelong lessons then about how music can become an

The war on drugs has had devastat ing effects on the Black community in the District of Columbia and the coun try. This so-called "war" has impacted the Black community in devastating ways: an escalation in overdose rates, the weakening of families, the death of loved ones, and mass incarceration. We know the myriad of problems that are associated with trying to arrest our way out of drug use and addiction. It has

filled our prisons and jails, torn apart families, created racial disparities in po licing, and has driven a deeper wedge between law enforcement and the Black community, and communities of-color. Drug criminalization causes drug use to exist in the shadows of our society, and as such has contributed to a more tainted and toxic drug supply permeating the community resulting in skyrocketing rates of overdoses and deaths. 86% of the fatal overdose deaths last year were of Black Washingtonians. Criminalization and incarceration have not reduced or eliminated drug

use in our communities. In fact, the impact of this failed approach dispro portionately harms Black Washingto nians because drug law violations are unequally enforced throughout the city. Despite evidence demonstrating that Black Washingtonians use drugs at much lower rates (across the board) than white people, between January 2017 and April 2022, 480 white peo ple were arrested for drug-related of fenses compared to 3,342 Black people. We have witnessed how a law enforce ment approach, and not a health-cen tered approach, has made life worse

for those struggling with chaotic drug use by forcing people to struggle with their addiction and dependency on the periphery of community. There are severe limitations to successfully reduc ing the harm associated with addiction because we ignore the needs and issues of people who use drugs because it is out of sight and out of our minds. We have not seriously invested in harm re duction in the ways that we should to improve and save lives. We have built more jails and prisons, but we have not opened more evidence-based harm re duction and treatment centers to ease

devoted his life to community and public service since he was a teenager.

There were other bright spots. Dem ocrats will hold a majority in the Sen ate, so Republicans will not be able to stop President Biden from building on his excellent record of naming brilliant federal judges who are committed to justice for all. Voters in Los Ange les elected Karen Bass as mayor and dumped Sheriff Alex Villanueva, noto rious for overseeing an abusive depart ment. Voters in several states protected access to abortion. Far-right attempts to

or eradicate the effects of drug use and addiction. Criminalization, particularly in the Black community, creates a cycle of poverty, mental illness, dysfunction al families, and lives, and often contrib utes to premature loss of life.

We should be investing in alter natives to this deadly cycle. We need to embrace our knowledge and his torical perspective and stop arresting and punishing people simply because they use or are found in possession of small quantities of drugs. We need to

Guest Columnist

Ben Jealous

Marian Wright Edelman

Guest Columnist

Rev. Graylan Scott Hagler

The Choice

people, figuratively and literally, gave their lives for us to attain that right.

OPINIONS/EDITORIALS

Our voting responsibilities ARE NOT finished! Our obligation to the ancestors requires us to engage in one more election this season. We must vote — with either our ballots or our contributions. I most certainly won't tell you who to vote for. I won't even directly recommend a candidate to you. The only thing I WILL ASK is that you vote. I have given reasons for voting more times than I can remember, but I will add one more time that too many

I WILL ALSO present the facts about the candidates as I know and be lieve them to be. Any voting decision you make will be determined by your critical assessment of the information I present and the synthesis of that in formation with other information you may have received from other media sources.

Some will ask, "Why are you bring ing up voting now after the elections are over?" My response is, "We have one more election to go before we are

finished. Although the Senate majority has been determined, the outcome of this election will exemplify the type and quality of leadership we expect and de mand for the next six years." Of course, I am referring to the Georgia runoff election between incumbent Sen. Ra phael Warnock and Herschel Walker.

In a time when politics was more civ il and the candidates we elected "gen erally" put national interests ahead of local interests and political parties, there was less of an imperative to assert that we all have a vested interest in out-ofstate political races. With the current

acrimony between Republicans and Democrats, the warfare-style, mortal enemy attitude between the parties, and the "always say Never!" position to opposing viewpoints, we must intel ligently and actively consider the out come of every election so as to protect the positions that are near and dear to us. That's a clear reason that we see an increase in the nationwide solicitation of campaign contributions.

It has been suggested that most vot ers choose candidates who most closely match their character, philosophy, in terests, and aspirations. Logic informs

us that anyone running for public of fice would want to present the most complimentary image of her/himself as possible. For some, this means telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Others must embellish the truth to present themselves as more qualified or worthy. The rest must LIE to cover a myriad of indiscretions, lapses in judgment, hypocrisies, moral failures, unsavory associates, or criminal intent.

Can we run the risk of electing a

Trice Edney

From Erroneous Data to Environmental Justice, Rail Merger Concerns Still Loom Large

every bit as heavily on the lives of Americans.

Now that the midterm elections have drawn to a close, the nation is gradually shifting its focus from polls and partisanship back to dayto-day issues that shape the future of our communities at a local level — things like permitting, zoning, city council meetings, regulatory hearings, and more. And while such matters don't drive flashy national headlines and animate talking heads on CNN or Fox News, they weigh

Take for example, the ongoing review by the U.S. Surface Trans portation Board of a proposed me ga-merger between Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern railroads. While regulatory review of a rail merger may seem mundane to casu al observers in comparison to a mid term election, the fact of the matter is that this merger has massive im plications to communities near the rail routes impacted by the merger — especially communities of color.

In September, the Trice Edney

News Wire wrote at length about the environmental justice concerns related to this proposed merger. As is so often the case, minority commu nities — which are disproportion ately close to the relevant rail lines in places like Houston — face a host of negative environmental impacts if the merger is approved. This case sets a precedent that could affect how such reviews are handled around the nation, according to leading environ mental activists.

"The federal government should take every opportunity to establish equity between African-Americans

and those companies that do busi ness in our communities. Specifical ly, the U. S. Department of Trans portation should assure that equity is the guiding principle for attaining environmental and climate justice," says Dr. Ben Chavis, who coined the term "environmental racism" nearly 40 years ago as chair of the United Church of Christ's Commission on Racial Justice. "Before a decision is made concerning the merger be tween Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern railroads the racial impact on our communities should be given the highest priority," says

Why the Pundits and Junk Polls Got the Midterm Elections Wrong

Chavis, now president/CEO of the National Newspaper Publishers As sociation, the Black Press of Amer ica.

With more freight trains rolling through Black communities and other communities of color, resi dents can expect more emissions, dirtier air, slower emergency re sponse times due to lengthy waits at rail crossings, and more. Given the challenges already looming over Black communities, from higher rates of asthma in children to lagging

"I am angry at the chorus of armchair pundits who created a dominant media narrative around the red wave with little evidence of it. I'm furious about that be cause for those of us who do the work on the ground to persuade [people] to vote, it was actually a challenging narra tive environment when voters and all of us are being told, "This is going to be a red wave or a red tsunami," as if, for in stance, women voters had amnesia from

the summer around the overturning of Roe v. Wade and were just focused on the economy and inflation. Not true, it turns out. Or Black voters, yet again, basically the conscience of America, turning out and showing up and really voting our values around racial justice and freedom and resilience." — Dorian Warren, co-president, Community Change and Community Change Ac tion.

A little over two weeks before Elec tion Day, New York Times columnist David Brooks helpfully explained "Why Republicans are Surging."

The only problem: they weren't. And they didn't.

Brooks wasn't alone. Fox News hosts Jesse Watters and Jeanine Pirro bet Ger aldo Rivera $1,000 the GOP would win the Senate and the House. CNN's Chris Cillizza offered up the following headlines: "Why the midterms are going to be great for Donald Trump," "Why Republican attacks on crime have been so devastating for Democrats," and "The bottom is dropping out of the 2022 elec tion for Democrats."

They weren't, they haven't, and it didn't.

While a few House races remain too close to call, President Biden's party has lost at least six seats, giving control of the chamber to Republicans. "Howev er, Democrats flipped one Senate seat and pending the outcome of Georgia's runoff, may increase their majority." It was hardly the 20- to 30-seat Republi can gain in the House many forecasters predicted, and decidedly not "great" for Trump-endorsed candidates in competi tive races, about 70% of whom lost with six races yet to be called and two headed to runoffs.

It was also the first midterm election

since at least 1934 that the President's party hasn't lost a state-legislative cham ber; in fact, Democrats took complete control of three new state governments — Michigan, Minnesota, and Vermont — and flipped the Maryland and Mas sachusetts governorships and the Penn sylvania state House.

Predicting a loss for the President's party in a midterm election usually is a safe bet. The President's party has lost seats in Congress in every election ex cept two since World War II. The only

Guest Columnist

Hazel

Marc H. Morial

E. Faye Williams

LIFESTYLE

Nikki Giovanni Takes Her Prose to Another Level

Songs of Faith Bring New Emotion to a Legend’s Words

Brenda C. Siler WI Contributing Writer

An air of excitement over seeing Nikki Giovanni was thick in the Ken nedy Center’s Terrace Theater. After all, she is a legend who has written over thirty volumes of poetry and prose, including several children’s books. For

this performance, Giovanni is coming from a different perspective. She col laborated with saxophonist, compos er, and educator Javon Jackson on the CD “The Gospel According to Nikki Giovanni.” It is a collection of Giovan ni’s favorite faith music except for “Night Song,” which is a sweet song recorded by Giovanni’s friend Nina

and Nikki Giovanni in the recording studio for the CD “The Gospel According to Nikki Giovanni.” (Photo courtesy Shaban R. Athuman for the Kennedy Center)

Simone.

Here’s the kicker. Giovanni sang some of the songs performed with Jackson, his trio and jazz vocalist

Nnenna Freelon. We know the author is not known for singing, and she ad mits she is not. That did not matter because we heard Giovanni’s whole heart in “Night Song.” She admitted nervousness as her voice quivered. To show us her vulnerable soul gave new meaning to spirituals many of us grew up with.

Giovanni’s banter between songs led her to talk about the importance of jazz to our culture. That was the connection working with Jackson. His bandmates, pianist Jeremy Manasia, bassist David Williams, and drummer McClenty Hunter, put a jazz slant on the selected spirituals. With the ad dition of Freelon, the strength of the words hit the audience just right.

Giovanni ended the performance by reciting “Ego Tripping,” one of her best-loved poems. That brought the house down!

A group of 20-something women talked after the show, and expressed joy over seeing Giovanni. For Rache'l Oatis, it was her second time seeing Giovanni.

“It was so great to see her. I felt con nected, and I felt empowered,” said the Silver Spring resident. “Given the holiday season, it felt like Black holi

day time.”

Taylor Thompson was seeing Giovanni for the first time. She was one of two friends with Oatis.

“It was amazing to see someone live whose work you have read,” Thomp son said. “To see her so present admit ting she was nervous and vulnerable, she was giving us permission as Black women to be nervous and to express ourselves.”

Freon Gaines felt Giovanni’s intent performance.

“I had a feeling of a spiritual con nection,” said Gaines. “The combina tion of the music and her poems was such a beautiful connection.”

Giovanni and Jackson met the audience after the show to sign CDs and books. Summing up the process of creating this new piece of work, Giovanni spoke about the collabo ration with Jackson in a one-on-one interview.

“It was wonderful to do this,” Giovanni said. “Javon has been in front of everything. I was happy when they said, let’s do it.”

Make Giovanni’s “The Gospel Ac cording to Nikki Giovanni,” a new addition to your collection. WI

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5 Javon Jackson

“It was so great to see her. I felt connected, and I felt empowered,” said the Silver Spring resident. “Given the holiday season, it felt like Black holiday time.”

Going to the Club Will Never Be the Same

D-Nice Brings Club Quarantine to the Kennedy Center

Brenda C. Siler WI Contributing Writer

During the shutdown, stayat-home phase of the pandemic, D-Nice created Club Quarantine (CQ). On the scene for decades, the photographer, hip-hop record ing artist, and member of the Ken nedy Center Hip-Hop Culture Council, D-Nice, opened his heart and shared with millions a vast multigenerational library of music through CQ. This past weekend, CQ was live as D-Nice became the first DJ and hip-hop artist to headline the Kennedy Center Op era House. Those mingling outside the Opera House before going in were of one mind: Let’s get this party started!

When D-Nice was introduced, everyone in the Opera House jumped immediately to their feet. Cellphone cameras were nev er turned off. The audience was dressed to jam! From after-five sparkle to tuxedos to casual chic to gear for hanging out at the cook out, it did not matter what you wore, those “dressed to the nines,” were not shy about wearing topof-the-line sneakers.

The MC for “CQ Live” was Kenny Burns, a native Washingto nian and entertainment entrepre neur. He seemed to think Howard University was the only HBCU in the District as he kept yelling,

“HU!” Burns helped to introduce the special guests who came to perform. D-Nice was extremely humble as he thanked each special guest for supporting a vision of to getherness through CQ.

Backing D-Nice, who spun one party hit after another, was Igmar Thomas’s Revive Orchestra. The pa rade of hitmakers was ready to deliv er. Diggable Planets, LeToya Luck ett, Eric Benét, Faith Evans, hip-hop legends EPMD and Too $hort, and contemporary gospel artist Israel Houghton were all there. Of course, how can any reputable DJ come to DC and not acknowledge Go-Go?

What a surprise for Sugar Bear from E.U. to come on stage performing “Da’ Butt.”

It was a magical evening. After the three-hour show ended, the crowd outside the Opera House did not disburse for a long time. Revelers wanted the party to con tinue. We were spoiled. CQ host ed by D-Nice meant we can now only listen to hip-hop backed by a full orchestra. The string section jammed. In fact, the musicians playing violin and viola often danced and played at the same time. The Kennedy Center created an environment the eliminated the need to enter a club again. It’s what D-Nice created, and it worked.

Follow D-Nice on Instagram @ dnice. WI

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5 D-Nice brought Club Quarantine to the Opera House at the Kennedy Center. (Brenda C. Siler/The Washington Informer)

5 The flashing name opened the D-Nice Club Quarantine event in the Opera House at the Kennedy Center. (Brenda C. Siler/The Washington Informer)

When D-Nice was introduced, everyone in the Opera House jumped immediately to their feet.

Images of Seven Global Leaders Unveiled for Public Viewing

Smithsonian Portrait Gallery Continues to Pay Tribute to the Greatest

Brenda C. Siler WI Contributing Writer

The Smithsonian’s National Por trait Gallery honors a group of stellar global leaders with its recent unveil ing of “Portrait of a Nation: 2022 Honorees.” The current group in cludes José Andrés, Clive Davis, Ava DuVernay, Marian Wright Edelman, Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., Serena Williams, and Venus Williams. The exhibition premieres six newly com missioned works and one never-be fore-shown photograph, each by a highly acclaimed contemporary art ist. “Portrait of a Nation: 2022 Hon orees” will be on view in the museum until Oct. 22, 2023. Admission is free.

A DIFFERENT VIEW OF MEDIA PERSONALITIES

Artist Hugo Crosthwaite commis sioned Fauci’s portrait. Crosthwaite’s

artwork is composed of a stop-mo tion drawing animation and a suite of 19 pencil-like drawings on paper, seven of which are on view in this ex hibition. Crosthwaite captured mile stones in Fauci’s public health career.

“Hugo Crosthwaite is an extraor dinary, unusual, but awesome artist who did a living portrait of me. “He took frames and made it into a video.

It was something I had never experi enced before,” Fauci said in a one-onone conversation before the Portrait of a Nation Gala. “It’s as much about the era as it is about me as a person.”

The portraits of tennis champions and entrepreneurs Venus and Serena Williams were created separately by New York-based artists Robert Pruitt and Toyin Ojih Odutola, respective ly. The Williams sisters have close ties to the District through their support of the Southeast Tennis and Learning Center in Ward 8.

“From the start, she wanted to be very collaborative. A lot of what went in it came out of conversations with

her,” Pruitt said on his approach to the portrait of Venus. “There is a lot of stuff represented, like her family, personal history, and her history as an athlete. It took about two months to finish.”

Odutola intentionally conveyed a specific message about Serena in her approach to the portrait.

“I was very cognizant of the unfair views that have often been put on her throughout her career,” Odutola said about Serena. “I wanted to lean into the grace of Serena. I wanted to lean into her abundance of beauty and happiness. It was exciting for me to portray someone at ease.”

ADVOCATE FOR EQUAL JUSTICE STANDS STRONG AMONG PORTRAITS

Marian Wright Edelman, another 2022 honoree, was portrayed in a black and white photograph by Co lombia-born artist Ruven Afanador. A District resident, Edelman is the founder and president emerita of the Children’s Defense Fund. In her photo, Edelman wears two pendants with images of women who have been powerful freedom fighters in American history.

“Harriet Tubman and Sojourner Truth are my sheroes. They had ex traordinary courage and did what they had to do to free themselves and others,” Edelman said. “When I think I’m having a bad day, I think about their days and challenges, and I get up and keep going.”

Edelman was the first Black wom an admitted to the Mississippi Bar. During her time as director of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educa tional Fund office in Jackson, Miss., she and other lawyers from around the country defended civil rights workers jailed in the south. Current ly, Edelman writes commentaries that appear in the Washington In former.

A STELLAR GROUP WORTHY OF RECOGNITION

The remaining “Portrait of a Na

tion: 2022 Honorees and their art ists include Andres and his painting by Kadir Nelson titled “José Andrés and the Olla de Barro that Feeds the World,” portraying the renowned cu linary entrepreneur and humanitar ian. Davis, the award-winning pro ducer and music industry executive, is represented by a rare commission by British artist David Hockney, who has only taken on one other painting commission during his accomplished career. The acrylic-on-canvas portrait of Davis is the first Hockney paint ing to enter the Portrait Gallery’s collection. A new work on paper by the California-based artist Kenturah Davis features an intricate depiction of filmmaker DuVernay, whose in terest in moving images and writing

is highlighted through the artist’s stamping technique.

With the exhibition on view un til October 2023, there is plenty of time for families to visit “Portrait of a Nation: 2022 Honorees. Edelman captured the importance of this exhi bition.

“I am deeply honored to be one of this year’s Portrait of a Nation honor ees,” Edelman said. “I hope the por traits of my fellow honorees and me will remind children they can be and achieve anything with hard work, faith and perseverance.”

Visit the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery website to learn more, https://npg.si.edu.

WI

5 In front of Marian Wright Edelman’s “Portrait of a Nation” photograph are (L-R) Edelman, her granddaughters Zoe Edelman and Ellika Edelman, and former secretary of state Hillary Clinton. Clinton presented Edelman with her honor during the Portrait of a Nation Gala held at the National Portrait Gallery. (Courtesy photo/Paul Morigi for National Portrait Gallery)

. Black Lawyers for Justice (Dr. Attorney , Malik Zulu Shabazz)

All Roads lead to Bowling Green, Kentucky December 3

Demanding authorities serve arrest warrant for

. Carolyn Bryant Donham

Carolyn Bryant Donham Emmett Till

Activist are keeping up demand on an arrest warrant being served to Carolyn Bryant Donham. The warrant was found June 2022 in a basement in a Mississippi court house for her involvement in the gruesome murder of Emmett Till in 1955.

5 In front of Marian Wright Edelman’s “Portrait of a Nation” photograph are (L-R) Edelman and former secretary of state Hillary Clinton. Clinton presented Edelman with her honor during the Portrait of a Nation Gala held at the National Portrait Gallery. (Courtesy photo/Paul Morigi for National Portrait Gallery)

‘Is That Black Enough For You?!?’ Goes Down Memory Lane Documentary Examines the Heyday of Black Cinema

Brenda C. Siler WI Contributing Writer

An explosion of movies with Black topics and Black actors came onto the scene from 1968 to 1978. “Is That Black Enough For You?!?” is a docu mentary now on Netflix examining practically every film from that era where Black people are seen. Mov ies such as “Five on the Black-Hand Side,” “Sounder,” “Hell Up in Har lem,” “The Learning Tree,” and “Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song” are a few of the titles writer, director, and narra tor Elvis Mitchell used to create a twohour and 15-minute graduate school seminar of incomparable film history.

“My grandmother viewed films as the dreams she had,” Mitchell says in the opening of his film. “Movies changed the way she dreamed.”

Mitchell starts with 100 years of

how Blacks have been depicted on screen. Throughout the film, he engag es some of our most visible talents who comment on the importance of being seen in movies. These commentators were not only in front of the camera, but some were also behind the camera to ensure Black stories were written and produced with intentional care.

Harry Belafonte, Laurence Fishburne, Margaret Avery, Whoopi Goldberg, Samuel L. Jackson, and Mario Van Peeples spoke about their hopes for cinema and how they wanted to see themselves and others on screen.

“As a little girl, all I saw in movies were people who didn’t look like me. So, I didn’t ever believe that I could re ally become an actress until I saw Har ry Belafonte and Dorothy Dandridge in Carmen Jones,” said Avery. “When I saw them, I said, ‘Oh wow, maybe I can become an actress.’”

In “Black Enough,” Belafonte speaks strongly about the disregard he and other actors experienced early in their careers. When his friend Sidney Poitier’s career began to gain momen tum, Belafonte was candid about the roles Poitier received.

“He was the most popular Black figure in the universe,” Belafonte said. “But he was not Sidney Poitier in a Black environment, in a Black circum stance. He was Sidney Poitier playing a Black person in an all-white movie.”

Belafonte also spoke about how he was offered the role in “Lilies of the Field,” the movie his friend starred in, then won the Academy Award for Best Actor.

“The first thing I asked myself, where does a Black man who came from nothing, going nowhere, is all of

a sudden in the middle of seven Nazi nuns?” Belafonte continued. “I turned it down. They offered it to Sidney, and he took it.”

Refusing to appear in movies from 1959-1970, Belafonte felt significant roles were not being offered to Black male actors. For Mitchell, Belafonte, standing firm on his beliefs, held a place in history on the same level as Muhammad Ali.

For the era Mitchell explored, he follows the impact between film and film scores. Soundtracks from “Shaft” and “Superfly” were an example of cross-marketing tactics. For example, Van Peeples was deliberate when he wrote, produced, directed, scored, and acted in “Sweet Sweetback 's Baadas ssss Song.” The provocative title guar anteed the movie an X-rating. He got Earth, Wind and Fire to record the movie soundtrack. The group took a screeching, avant-garde jazz approach for the soundtrack that went perfectly with the running on foot and car chase scenes in the movie. Van Peeples made every aspect of the production to his liking.

“He used the perks of exploitation and the new liberalism in movie cul ture to his advantage,” Mitchell said.

More super talents lending their voices to Mitchell’s masterclass are Antonio Fargas, Billy Dee Williams, Suzanne de Passe, Stan Lathan, Ros coe Orman, Billy Dee Williams, Shei la Frazier, and Charles Burnett. True movie buffs will love this film and the movie clips that bring back memories.

The movie trailer for “Is That Black Enough For You?!?” on Netflix will ex cite you. WI

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a documentary about Black films currently airing on Netflix from writer, director, and narrator Elvis Mitchell. (Courtesy photo/Netflix)

5 “Shaft” premiered in 1971 and was directed by Gordon Parks with an Oscar-winning soundtrack composed by Isaac Hayes. The film is featured in the Netflix documentary “Is That Black Enough For You?!?” (Courtesy photo/Netflix)

Toshi Reagon Gives Music Jacqueline Woodson’s “The Day You Begin” Collaboration Is an Enjoyable Time for Families

Brenda C. Siler WI Contributing Writer

Entering the Kennedy Cen ter’s Family Theater, the audi ence is immediately hit with bright pastel colors on stage for “The Day You Begin.” This mu sical is adapted from Jacqueline Woodson’s book with the same title. The District’s own Toshi Reagon wrote the music and lyrics. On stage until December 18, the production looks at how nervous children are in a new situation. The setting is the first day of school that four children are navigating. A theme repeated several times in the 55-minute musical is, “There will be a time when you walk into a room, and no one there is like you.”

“I wanted to let people know that every one of us walking into a room has a story and has a gift to give that room. ‘The Day You Begin’ is about those gifts and those stories,” said Woodson, Kennedy Center Education Art ist-in-Residence.

The staging is beautiful. I kept thinking that in real life, the brightly colored classroom would

be a joyful setting for learning. In the musical, Ms. Veve is a pos itive, supportive teacher. Played by Audrey Hailes, Ms. Veve also engages children in the audience with guidance on how to listen closely. She also asked the chil dren in the audience what they wanted to be when they grew up. It was a wonderful approach to have the audience focus.

Adult actors portray the four children. That is significant as it is a subtle message that adults can also feel anxious, like chil dren, when entering a new en vironment, like the first day of a new job. Without giving too much away to those unfamiliar with Woodson’s book, each stu dent in this musical is unique. They identify commonalities that show they are more alike than different.

Other ensemble members in “The Day You Begin” are Camilo Linares as Rigoberto, who tells his classmates that he moved to the community during the sum mer. Noah Virgile is Sam, who hears and communicates differ

5 “The Day You Begin” at the Kennedy Center until December 18 is based on the book by Kennedy Center Education Artist-in-Residence with music and lyrics by Toshi Reagon. Cast members (L-R) Carla Duren, Ashley D. Nguyen, Noah Virgile, Camilo Linares. (Courtesy Photo/Teresa Wood for the Kennedy Center)

An Update on Mayor Bowser’s Strikeforce on Black Homeownership

By Jamila Bey Special to The Washington Informer

D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser has been reelected to serve a third term. She’s the first to match the record three terms “Mayor for Life” Marion Barry won when he led the District.

Since first taking office, Bowser’s commitment to ensuring Black homeowners that they can stay in the city has not been without stumbling blocks. Over the past ten years, the District has seen a net loss of Black homeowners. And while Bowser wasn’t elected until 2015, just between 2018 and 2020 alone the city lost 3,045 Black home owners. This is despite DC’s Black homeownership rates that have historically been among the highest in the nation.

To come up with ideas to raise the num ber of Black residents who own homes in the District, Bowser gathered a group of neigh borhood advocates and municipal officials last June. Calling the group the Black Home ownership Strike Force, they were tasked with developing a long-term plan to produce 20,000 new Black homeowners in the Dis trict by 2030.

At-Large Councilmember Anita Bonds, who also won reelection to a term beginning in 2023, was part of the strike force. She ex plained, “The mayor wanted us to look into the issues surrounding home ownership, and wanted us to explore ideas about how to keep Black residents in the homes they own.  We came up with the ideas that were released in the strike force plan.”

According to the 28-page findings of the Strike Force, racial covenants and inequities in mortgage financing, through strategies like redlining, have created obstacles for Black homeowners and fostered homeownership inequality in the District. According to the report, the proportion of Black city residents has decreased from almost 70% in 1970 to less than 50% during the last ten years. The report’s data from the American Com munity Survey showed a net loss of 5,000 Black homeowners between 2010 and 2020.

Members of the strike force say that meeting this increased ownership objective will help the city overcome long-standing, discriminatory housing laws that were formerly widespread in the U.S. and are still responsible for today’s unequal homeownership rates. Approximately 34% of Black D.C. residents own their houses, down from 46% in 2005, according to statistics from the American Community Survey used in the analysis.

Between 1990 and 2019, the percentage of White homeowners in the city climbed from 47% to 49%.

Bonds said that the task force made certain to strike the proper balance between being feasible and aspirational, “We had extensive research and discussions with the public. Then we decided that 20,000 homeowners could be possible. But it requires some help from the city.”

Members of the strike force recommended that Bowser increase resources to help residents transfer their homes to their children and heirs, offer technical assistance to

Black homeowners who must renovate their homes, develop a program specifically for Black homeowners at risk of foreclosure, and find ways to speed up zoning and per mitting for affordable housing projects in order to reverse the trends that lead to the decrease in the District’s Black homeownership rates.

Another recommendation suggests the city use the $10 million that Bowser allocated for the strike force to establish a public-private fund that would provide Black home buyers with a range of affordable housing options.

Of course, there are issues with home affordability and the larger context of insti tutional racism to take into account. But some of the most driving causes that have proven to make homeownership more difficult for Black buyers are longstanding and unfortunately, lingering.

The analysis found that between 2005 and 2015, 49% increase in median home owners association dues and condomini um fees, disproportionately burden Black people. Even more concerning, the analy sis finds that home appraisal values have skyrocketed in the city’s majority-Black neighborhoods, which may be related to a historical trend in which property assessors overvalued Black-owned properties which is the primary factor in causing property tax bills to skyrocket.

When the report was released in ear ly October of this year, Bowser said at a media event about the findings that the recommendations of the team would be a challenge for her administration to decide whether the suggestions are “exhaustive enough.” Before including the proposals in the budget she submits to the D.C. Council next year, Bowser said she will also ascertain the recommendations’ cost and legality.

Their ideas, she believes, will likely build on some of the city’s other programs aimed at keeping residents in the city, most notably the Home Purchase Assistance Pro gram, which was expanded on Oct. 1 to offer first-time home buyers a benefit of up to $202,000, up from $80,000. Another District initiative offers interest-free loans and matching funds to city government employees for down payments and closing costs on their first home purchase. However, Bowser stated that she was particularly interested in exploring more ways that the city can assist potential homeowners in compet ing for properties with the region’s many wealthy investors.

Bowser’s plan will likely benefit from a proposed $26M in the 2023 budget to help low-income firsttime homebuyers with down payment and closing cost assistance. Since she’ll have a third term in which to work, this is a space that aspiring homeowners should fully expect to see more initiatives to support their goal.

Slumberland Movie Review: A Film About Dreams That Won’t Put You To Sleep

DB Bantino Movie Reviewer

If you are looking for a won derful family film to watch during the holiday season then Netflix’s Slumberland is a great choice.

The film has a fantasy-adventure theme that also mixes in comedy. It is about a girl named Nemo, played by fourteen-year-old Mar low Barkly, whose father is trag ically lost at sea. She is forced to move from the lighthouse her fa ther raised her in to a more urban environment to live with her Un cle Phillip. Because of Nemo’s up bringing and the pain from losing her father, she is not enthusiastic about socializing with other kids.

One night when Nemo is sleep ing at her uncle's house she ends up on a magical journey to an imaginary place called Slumber land. She then meets Flip, played by Jason Momoa, who also starred in the movie Aquaman. Flip tells Nemo about the magical pearls hidden in Slumberland and if she helps him find them, it will ulti mately give her the chance to re connect with her father.

Slumberland is based on the comic book series titled Little Nemo, first launched on October 15, 1905. The series was created by the cartoonist Winsor McCay, who was born in Spring Lake, Michigan in 1869. Although the concept of Slumberland was taken directly from McCay’s comic book series, director Francis Lawrence said he used his own imagination to create the magical environment and look to the film. Lawrence also directed blockbuster smashes such as I Am Legend and The Hunger Games.

The cast did an excellent job of

keeping the movie entertaining. Jason Momoa gives a very Jhon ny Depp-ish performance with his character Flip, a nine-foot tall creature who is half beast and half man. He tells Nemo that he has no interest in befriending her and only wants her to help him find the pearls, but as they embark on their journey together a true bond is created between the two.

During the film, they are also being tracked down by Agent Green who works for the Bureau of Subconscious Activity. Agent Green is an afro-wearing Afri can-American woman who gives the vibe of Foxy Brown.

The actress Weruche Opia, of Lagos, Nigeria who plays Agent Green says, “The character is in spired by Pam Grier and a dash of Denzel Washington.” Opia is also set to play Coretta Scott King in Disney+ and National Geograph ic's upcoming television series ti tled Genius: MLK/ X.

Slumberland was created with a $150 million budget and did a great job of putting it to use. The film was filled with amazing spe cial effects thanks to production vex supervisor Adrian De Wet, who also worked on the films The Matrix Reloaded, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and The Hunger Games. The scenery was visually stunning and matched perfectly with the original music scored by Pinar Toprak. She also did the musical scores for Captain Marvel and The Lost City.

I would recommend this movie as one to surely watch during the holiday season. If you like fantasy movies or have a big imagination then this is the kind of film that

The Anacostia Community Museum: 2022 in Review

Melanie Adams Roger Ferguson and Annette Nazareth Director

As 2022 comes to the close, the Anacostia Community Museum would like to thank the community for continuing to share your stories and supporting our work on site, online and in the community. This past year the museum focused on issues related to housing through the development of our first online exhibit, We Shall Not be Moved: Stories of Struggle from Barry Farm-Hillsdale to the launch of our first aug mented reality walking tour, Before the Bulldozers: Historic Southwest DC Exposed to our final exhibit of the year, The Utopia Project: Inspiration for Creative Activism. This year the museum has expanded its offerings and its programs allow better access and opportunities for everyone to participate.

We Shall Not Be Moved: Stories of Struggle from Barry Farm-Hillsdale tells the sto ry of the African American men and women who called this neighborhood home following the Civil War. In addition to telling the history, the online exhibit encour ages visitors to think about why the Barry Farm-Hillsdale community no longer ex ists. What happened to the families and the thriving businesses that used to call the area home? Unfortunately, this story is not unique to Washington DC, but African American communities around the country were demolished to make room for highways, sports stadiums, and even shopping malls without little regard for the history that was being eliminated.

Continuing the narrative of disappearing African Ameri can communities, the museum launched an augmented reality walking tour Before the Bull dozers: Historic Southwest DC Exposed. This walking tour uses the photographs of Joseph Owen Curtis to guide visitors through what the neighborhood lost through redevelopment. Over the 1-mile walk starting at the Southwest Waterfront metro station, participants learn about the history of redevelopment and why not everyone may see it as a positive for the community.

Finally, in November we opened our last exhibit for the year, The Utopia Project: Inspira tion for Creative Activism. This experience is more than just an exhibit because we are asking you to think about the type of world you want to live in and then each section walks you through the steps to create positive change. Throughout the experience, you learn about individuals such as Julius Hobson who told a little “fib” about a rat farm to spur action on pest control in Southeast, and Anacostia artist Yetunde Sapp who helped us remember the life and death of Breonna Taylor through her mural at Lafayette Square during Black Lives Matter protests in 2020. The experience uses the stories of DC residents, past and present, who found creative ways to advocate for change and invite visitors to do the same. This experience is an excellent activity for families and youth groups to introduce young people to changemakers in their community and show them how they can follow in their footsteps.

The Anacostia Community Museum will close out the year with its annual Kwanzaa event on Saturday, December 10th from 11am to noon. The museum is happy to invite people back in person to learn about this important Afri can American holiday and build a sense of community with Grammy-nominated artist “The Culture Queen.”

Thank you to everyone who supports the museum, and we look forward to seeing you in the new year.

5 “The Utopia Project: Inspiration for Creative Activism” is on view at the Anacostia Community Museum until March 1, 2023.(Photo by Andrea Jones, the Smithsonian’s Anacostia Community Museum)

5 Melanie Adams, Roger Ferguson and Annette Nazareth Director. (Photo by Stephen Voss, Smithsonian Institution)

I got the pet robot fish by first setting a goal to save the money to buy it. The fish costs $59!

That seemed like an enormous amount of money, but Wendy suggested I think of the $59 as a series of smaller goals.

So I made a goal to save $10. After I did that, I made the goal to save $10 again.

April wanted to be able to sink 25 baskets in a row. At first she could only sink about three in a row. Twenty-five was a big goal, but breaking it into smaller goals saved the day.

First, April set the goal of sinking five baskets in a row. Then 10, then 15, then 20 and finally—she did it! April sank 25 baskets in a row!

I worked hard for my money. Put a check in the box next to each job that I did. If you checked the right boxes, they add up to exactly $10.

Mowed the lawn ..................................... Made my bed (mom expects me to do that every morning!) ...............

Walked the dog .......................................

Took out the trash one night .................. Did the dinner dishes five nights ...........

$3 $0 $2 $1 $5

Newspaper Search for a Successful Person

How many di erences can you nd between these two pictures of April?

Standards Link: Research: Find the differences between common objects.

Find an article from the newspaper about a person you believe has achieved success. It might be an athlete, actor, businessperson or community volunteer. Write the name of the person and the success that he or she is recognized for. List the things you think that person had to do to succeed.

Standards Link: Civics: Identify examples of civic responsibility.

Wendy gave me a great idea! It really worked!

LIFESTYLE

review wi book

"The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times"

By Michelle Obama

Terri Schlichenmeyer WI Contributing Writer

Your entire life is like a gigantic game of "Chutes and Ladders." Shake the dice, move two steps ahead, and you hit a ladder that takes you to higher places on the game board. Three more squares, and you hit a chute that sends you back to the bottom. Life and children's games are alike in this way: as expressed in the new book "The Light We Carry" by Michelle Obama, the only way to win is to keep playing.

Pandemic, recession, political divide, market volatility. For many months, you've wondered every morning what fresh chaos you'll deal with that day. So what keeps you going? How do we overcome feelings of being "wobbly and unsettled?"

Michelle Obama says she ponders this "a lot." She thinks about the things she uses to keep her "balanced and confident... moving forward even during times of high anxiety and stress." She calls them her "per sonal toolbox" and she shares them in this book.

Most recently, she says, the pandemic taught her the value of having a hobby to relax into, to let her hands work, "my mind trailing behind." Her early life taught her the value of seeing the difference between real fear and fear of newness and change, the latter of which is surprisingly easy to overcome. Newness offers us "chances to grow."

"I've come to understand," she says, "that sometimes the big stuff becomes easier to handle when you deliberately put something small alongside it."

Listen to your body, Obama says, and "pay attention to how you're feeling." Collect small boosts, and learn to look at yourself in a more positive way. Love your differences and be kind to yourself because it's "everything." Be open to connections with others; cultivate friendships you can count on. "Know your own light," Obama says, and “share it with another person."

Be authentic.

And finally, she says, "Tell the truth, do your best by others, keep perspective, stay tough. That's basically been our recipe for getting by."

Chances are that at some point in the past nearly three years, you got out of bed one morning and you weren't even sure why. It's been a long haul, and you're tired, but "The Light We Carry" can get you to the next goal, then the next.

At first glance, it doesn't look like that kind of a book.

Author Michelle Obama is a true storyteller, and she uses a Show, Not Tell method of writing. Readers are lulled into an entertaining story of life in the White House, or a gossipy snip of Obama's married life, or a shared memory from her childhood and BAM! the words seamlessly roll over to an easy, do-able tip to survive in hard times. Nice surprise.

Readers will be glad to know that this isn't a cheerleading book. In stead of U-Rah-Rah, it's U Can Do This, told in a calm, knowing man ner. And, if that's what you need in this time of turmoil, let "The Light We Carry" help you back onto the ladder. WI

horoscopes

ARIES As the week begins, the Universe amplifies your potential for success, rewards, and perhaps even recognition. Taking it in stride and leaning in to any feelings of gratitude are your best bets for making the most of this moment. Lucky Numbers: 1, 16, 28

TAURUS Although you're a creature of habit, you could be caught off-guard by just how much you want to strike out against convention early in the week. Switch up your routine or approach to personal goals in a way that feels true to your core purpose. You might feel empowered and liberated as a result. Lucky Numbers: 21, 25, 48

GEMINI If you've been waiting for a time when it feels easier than usual to meet up with loved ones or friends or even share time one-on-one in a catch-up chat, you can look forward to the start of this week. The energy is perfect for connecting with your nearest and dearest, especially if you're doing something pleasurable and fun-loving together (think playing a favorite game or celebrating a recent milestone). Lucky Numbers: 1, 9, 56

CANCER If you're feeling especially sensitive early in the week, just know that talking through all your feelings might be your best bet for not only processing them but finding that you have more support than you realize, especially from loved ones. Trust that the words you speak are going to come straight from your heart and land exactly as they're meant to. Lucky Numbers: 4, 12, 35

LEO Look out for psychological or work/life balance wins as the week begins. Later, it's likely you'll get swept up in your daydreams and romantic fantasies with your significant other or another special someone. Now is a sweet time to let those desires and wishes wash all over you and then see if you can channel them into a work of art or other creative outlet. Lucky Numbers: 40, 48, 53

VIRGO You might be itching to soak up new knowledge or hit the road and explore a destination outside of your neighborhood at the beginning of the week. You usually like to think through every step of a proposed itinerary before jumping into action, but this influence can have you throwing caution to the wind for your own benefit! Lucky Numbers: 7, 26, 27

LIBRA You could be a magnet for recognition and accolades from higher-ups as the week begins. The energy of the moment might also make it easier to land on new ways to balance your work and family life. Lucky Numbers: 20, 21, 34

SCORPIO In the beginning of the week, pairing up with a colleague on a shared project could lead to new responsibilities. Later, if it's hard to nail down the facts about how your significant other or someone else special in your life is feeling, just know that it's tough to gain clarity around relation ship matters right now, and you might be feeling discouraged as a result. Lucky Numbers: 2, 10, 17

SAGITTARIUS Look out for a potential cash flow increase, perhaps shared with your significant other or another loved one, early in the week. You'll do well to give yourself credit for a job well done and keep a pragmatic eye trained toward your future steps. Lucky Numbers: 8, 38, 56

CAPRICORN You could feel the impulse to get more serious about a creative project or relationship in the beginning of the week. Later, if you've been feeling like you need to have a tough emotional conversation that would take a load off your heart and mind, consider initiating it now. Being able to wear your heart on your sleeve more than usual and explain how you're feeling to your significant other or someone else special in your life can make a world of difference in how you're connecting with one another. Lucky Numbers: 1, 8, 54

AQUARIUS Finding time and space to enjoy pleasurable, fun-loving pastimes with loved ones comes more naturally than usual as the week starts. Enjoying intellectually stimulating conver sations, as well as being playful and curious together, can bring you even closer. Lucky Numbers: 23, 40, 50

PISCES The mood is right to connect with loved ones in a meaningful, loving, and joyful way in the beginning of the week. Even the simplest pleasure like a meal or looking at old photo albums can prove heartwarming and connection bolstering. Later, getting swept up in wearing rose-col ored glasses and swimming in your deepest emotions could happen even more organically than usual. Take advantage of it by expressing what's in your heart, and channeling your most imagi native ideas into your favorite medium, be that dance, poetry, song, or painting. Lucky Numbers: 16, 26, 32

Archbishop Carroll High School Lions Football Team wins 2022 WCAC-Metro Division Championship

On Sunday November 20, 2022, at The Navy-Marines Corps Me morial Stadium in Annapolis, the Archbishop Carroll High School Lions football team put on a his toric and epic 4th Quarter perfor

mance. Down 28-16 entering the 4th quarter, Carroll "exploded" to a 46-28 victory over Paul VI, Cap turing the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference-Metro Divi sion Championship.

The Lions went 9-2 during the regular season and capped it with their first Conference Football Championship since 1988.

Head Coach Robert Harris (Archbishop Carroll High School Class of 91') and his Lions look

to defend their D.C. State Football Championship Sat urday, Nov. 26th at 1 p.m. against Friendship Colle giate at Cooper Field on the Campus of Georgetown University. WI

3 The scoreboard shows the final score, while also reflecting the Carroll Football team and Coaches as they huddle for prayer after the game.

(Courtesy photo/ACHS Jim Vance media Student Jackson Swain)

4 Head Coach Robert Harris hoists the Championship Plaque during the trophy ceremony (Courtesy photo/ACHS Jim Vance media Student Jackson Swain)

3 Roman Hemby (24) runs through a tackle during the Maryland Terrapins loss to the Ohio State Buckeyes 43-30 at Capital One Field in College Park, MD on Nov. 19. (Abdullah Konte/The Washington Informer)

3 Bradley Beal (3) extends to deflect the pass during a Washington Wizards win over the Miami Heat 107 - 106 at Capital One Arena in Northwest on Nov. 18. (Abdullah Konte/The Washington Informer)

5Retired football star Vernon Davis (right) along with his brother Vontae of the Vernon Davis Foundation, gives back to the community distributing turkeys at Emery Heights Community Center in Northwest. Reggie Miner receives a turkey at the event held on Nov. 18. (Roy Lewis/The Washington Informer)

3 5 Photographer Dee Wyder, on the drums, opened the Go-Go Preservation Week Exhibition, Chocolate City Keep Crankin’ at the Martin Luther King Library in Northwest. Visitors can view the exhibit in the library’s Great Hall from Nov. 16-December 15. (Marckell Williams/The Washington Informer)

5Sister Emmanuella Ladipo, HHCJ President, Saint Augustine Catholic School and Melet Abebe, a 7th grade student presents an early birthday card to Cardinal Wilton Gregory Archbishop of Washington, DC. (Jacques Benovil/The Washington Informer)

5Covenant House Greater Washington hosted their annual Sleep Out on Nov. 17 at the Wharf in Souhwest with community leaders to raise awareness of youth facing homelessness in the Washington metropolitan area. (Marckell Williams/The Washington Informer)

RELIGION

Men Honoring Men for Enduring Faith, Commitment to Worship at Allen Chapel AME Church

DR Barnes WI Staff Member

Church doors are slowly re opening following a more than two-year pandemic that required social distancing, mask-wearing, and places where people gather –even for worship –to close indef initely.

It is still a tough decision for congregations to gather again to fellowship, worship, and celebrate religious and secular occasions while keeping members and guests safe from COVID-19 and the flu.

In September, a Men’s Day Committee of Allen Chapel AME Church in Southeast began plan ning an elaborate celebration for their Men’s Day season but not without carefully considering how to do so safely. Lifting the theme: Men of Passion, Power & Prom ise –taken from Joshua 1:3 -- they planned an outdoor fish fry, a fash

MUTULU from Page

ion show with guests socially dis tanced, a guest preacher for their Sunday, November 21 service, as well as a brunch honoring elders and ancestors of the church on November 12, both where masks were required.

Many churches worldwide cel ebrate International Men’s Day, which falls annually on November 19. The day is set aside to recog nize and honor men’s cultural, political, and socioeconomic achievements. For churchgoers, it is also a day, and a season, for men to acknowledge their faith and its contributions to their accomplish ments.

At Allen Chapel, often called the “Cathedral of Southeast,” the minimum age for the Men’s Day Brunch honorees was 80. There were 21 men aged 80 and above who were recognized, and 11 of them attended the midday affair.

WHAT ALLEN CHAPEL MEANS TO COMMUNITY

Charles Young, 82, a senior licensed funeral director at Pope Funeral Home, said he joined Allen as a child in 1946. He was raised in Southeast and shared fond memories of attend ing youth activities on Friday nights, including movies. He not only re called the small building on Alabama Avenue that housed Allen, but he ac curately listed every pastor who led the church since it was established as Allen Garfield AME in 1850.

Leroy Cowan, 95, said he joined Al len because of its outreach programs.

“My life has been about outreach,” he said. He organized a senior ministry in 1992, and he and his wife worked

17

mored car robbery that resulted in the death of two police officers.

In 2020, Judge Charles Haight Jr., the same judge who sentenced Shakur to prison, denied Shakur’s motion for compassionate release on the grounds that he wasn’t sick enough. However, reports that surfaced earlier this year said Shakur had less than six months to live. Comrades also said he weighed less than 130 pounds, making him unable to continue chemotherapy treatment.

A cadre of supporters that includ ed Attorney Nkechi Taifa, the Rev. Graylan Hagler, and members of the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement coalesced around efforts to secure

Shakur’s early release. In July, dozens converged on the U.S. Department of Justice to make their case.

In the eyes of many people, like Hirano, Shakur proved more than de serving of an early release.

Hirano said Shakur was a great in spiration to those who used the Lincoln Protocol to free the minds of those suffering from racial oppression. By the time Hirano, a Japanese-American acupuncturist, met Shakur in the early 1970s, he had been heavily involved in detoxifying Asian prison inmates.

Hirano and Shakur would later work together at the Lincoln Hospital Detoxification Center. That’s where he recounted seeing much of the effect Shakur had on the Bronx community.

“It was liberation medicine,” said Hirano.

“It wasn’t just to get you clean, but to empower you and do political edu cation to understand your transforma tion [through the prism] of what your people had to go through to liberate themselves,” Hirano added.

“When you go beyond your own misery and turn your individual ques tion into a mass question, it changes ev erything. Beyond getting clean, we had to understand what led us to drugs.”

NEXT STEPS: REBUILDING AND SUSTAINING INSTITUTIONS

together supporting other ministries for 28 years before her death. “It’s [Al len] a place where people in need can come for worship and seek comfort,” he responded when asked what made him most proud to be a member of the church.

Lafayette Barnes, Sr., and 18-yearold Donyell Harris, a student at Montgomery College, co-hosted the program. Harris’s great-grand mother and great-grandfather were considered pillars of Allen, and he looks forward to following in their footsteps.

A room filled with about 150 people sang “Oh Happy Day,” a musical selection performed by Brian Glover, and later enjoyed a buffet spread including salmon, grits, potatoes, eggs, turkey bacon

Trinidad noted that Shakur’s ear ly release could be an opportunity to educate people of all ages about his pioneering of acupuncture as a drug detoxification method.

Decades ago, when the government shut down BAAANA, Trinidad and a colleague launched the First World Acupuncture Association of North America School and Clinic. She said that, in the absence of medical insti tutions owned by people of color, acupuncture as a method of drug de toxification was co-opted by medical professionals like Dr. Michael Smith, the late founder of the National Acu puncture Detoxification Association.

That’s why Trinidad stressed that practitioners take action to build

and sausage, and more. “This is too much food,” one guest comment ed.

CONTINUING ALLEN CHAPEL’S LEGACY OF SERVICE

A video showing the new church’s groundbreaking in the 1980s was filmed by Allen Jackson and produced by Jose E. “Go Ye” Maldonado includ ed many notables. Among them were the late Pastor Leon G. Lipscomb, leaders of the AME church, the late D.C. Mayor Marion S. Barry, former Ward 8 Councilmember Wilhelmi na J. Rolark, and Attorney Dovey Roundtree.

Allen Trustee Paul Trantham per formed the Calling of the Ancestors with the Tolling of the Bells as he announced the deceased men of the church who died over the past two years.

Later, Malcolm Peter Drewery, 93, delivered the keynote addressing the theme: Know Our Past to Lead Allen Forward.”

“This is not a popcorn church,” Drewery said. “It was built from the hearts of good men, and women, and children who love the Lord.”

“Can you imagine a church with no indoor toilet or air-conditioning? En vision how difficult it was to build the church using brick and mortar. Going from Allen Garfield to Allen Chap el shows we’ve gone through a lot of changes, and we’ve come a long way,” he concluded, “Our work has just be gun. For some of us, this is our finish line, but the work is not done. There are people on the streets who need our help. It is time for the men of Allen to take the baton and bring our young people with us.”

WI

long-lasting, culturally aligned pro grams and schools where people of color can learn about what she de scribed as a simple community med icine approach.

“We need to see how we finance our institutions and what kind of models we use so we don’t replicate the capitalistic model, but we don’t go bankrupt giving away our resources,” Trinidad said.

“We have a completely different way of looking at the human body. How do we incorporate that into an institution?” she asked. “It’s not easy. It’s something that the BAAANA team is willing to grapple with. And other people who are into institution building will do the same thing.” WI

@SamPKCollins

5 A program honoring the elders of Allen Chapel AME Church included long-standing members(l-r standing) Harrison Murphy, Allen Jefferson, Charles Young, Reverend John Thompson, Milton White, Leroy Cowan, Malcolm Peter Drewery, (seated l-r) Otha Lewis, Jesse Hamilton, and Earle Gumbs.

Now that the holiday season of Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanuk kah, and New Year’s is upon us, let each of us take some time to make some life-changing moves that mat ter.

If you listen to Steve Harvey tell his story of how he slept in his car for two years, determined to make it in this world, you will be bless ed. He sought the help of God to change his life. Pay close attention to what it may take to achieve suc cess. Steve Harvey, a man who loves God, got his opportunity. Why?

Harvey trusted and believed; he did without because he was walking by faith and not by sight. He tells the story of how in 1991, he was sleeping in his car. Steve said, “I had $35 to my name. Everything I had could fit into two bags. I started talking to God about my dreams. Fast forward, out of nowhere, he said, “I got a call from the Apollo

the religion corner

WITH LYNDIA GRANT

“You’ll Never Walk Alone!”

Theater asking me to come on the show.” Steve Harvey was not walk ing alone!

Today, Harvey has a life of pros perity, filled with friends, family and others; yet for this same man, years ago, life was something to be desired. This can be true for you too, but like Harvey, you cannot give up on your dreams. What seemed like trash to others was a man going through a metamorpho sis, like a butterfly. Be willing to suf fer, and crawl on your belly. It will only make you stronger, and then you will be able to make it through the storms of life easier than others who have not gone through those tough times.

Did money make Steve better? No, he is still Steve Harvey, a man with dreams and goals. Some wom en did not want Steve during his hard times. You’ve heard the saying, “One Man’s Trash Is Another Man’s Treasure!” Too bad, we cannot simply look at someone and make the right decision because looks can be deceiving. Remember, God changed Saul, and he became Paul. Pick up your bible and read the sto ry for yourself.

True prosperity has nothing to do with material possessions, per sonal ability, or accomplishments. The only way we can be truly pros perous is not based on anything of this world, but instead, on things of God and your com mitment to Him and His

ways.

To God, nothing about you is trash; you are a treasure to Him. He only desires the treasures that come from knowing Him and His ways; His provision, His caring, His discipline, and His teaching. To be prosperous is to be filled with God.

Scripture also says, “Be not con formed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind.” This scripture reminds us to shape the world and not allow the world to make us. We came to earth for a reason, and we must be about our Father’s business! Con tinue to transform the world by being who you were destined to become, even when they thought you were only trash!

With your hand in God’s hand, you will always get the last laugh! In the words of one of my favorite songs, my high school alma mater, McKinley Tech choir, sang goes like this… “When you walk through a storm, hold your head up high, and don’t be afraid of the dark. At the end of the storm is a golden sky and the sweet silver song of a lark. Walk on through the wind; walk on through the rain, though your dreams be tossed and blown. Walk on, walk on, with hope in your heart, and you’ll never walk alone.” This song says it all.

Bishop Michael C. Turner, Sr. Senior Pastor

9161 Hampton Overlook Capitol Heights, MD 20743

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

Service and Times

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

Communion: 1st Sunday

Sunday School: 9:00 AM

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

Website: www.themiraclecenterFMBC.com

Email: Miraclecenterfmbs@gmail.com

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

Blessed Word of Life Church

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

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

Sunday School: 9:30 AM

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

Rev. Louis B. Jones II Pastor

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

Service and Times

Worship Sundays: 7:30 & 11:00 AM

5th Sundays: 9:30 AM

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

Church of Living Waters

Rev. Paul Carrette Senior Pastor Harold Andrew Assistant Pastor

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

Service and Times

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

Allen Chapel A.M.E. Church

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

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

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

Service and Times

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

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

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

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

Tuesday Topical Bible Study: 6:30 PM

Tuesday New Beginnings Bible Study: 6:30 PM

Wednesday Pastoral Bible Study: 6:30 PM

Wednesday Children’s Bible Study: 6:30 PM

Thursday Men’s Bible Study: 6:30 PM

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

Saturday Adult Bible Study: 10:00 AM

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

Third Street Church of God

3845 South Capitol Street Washington, DC 20032

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

Services and Times

Sundays: 10:00am Worship Services

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

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

Bishop Lanier C. Twyman, Sr. Senior Pastor

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

Services and Times

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

Sunday Morning Worship: 10:45 AM

Tuesday: 7:00pm/Kingdom Building Bible Institute

Wednesday , 12:30 PM Mid-Day Bible Study

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

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

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

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

Services and Times

Sunday School: 9:30 AM

Sunday Worship: 11:00 AM

Sunday Community Worship Service: 8:30 AM

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

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

Rev. Dr. Alton W. Jordan Pastor

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

Service and Times

Sunday Morning Worship: 11:00 AM

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

Men’s Monday Bible Study: 7:00 PM

Wednesday Night Bible Study: 7:00 PM

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

Computer Classes: Announced Family and Marital Counseling by appointment

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

Greater Mt. Calvary Holy Church

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Reverend Dr. Calvin L. Matthews Senior Pastor

1200 Isle of Patmos Plaza, Northeast Washington, DC 20018

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

Service and Times

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

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

Seniors Bible Study: Tuesdays at 10:30 AM

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

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

St Marks Baptist Come Worship with us...

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

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

Services and Times

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

Thur. Prayer service: 6:45 PM

Thur. Bible Study: 7:15 PM

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

Turning Hearts Church

Virgil

421 Alabama Ave. SE Washington, DC 20032

Phone: 202-746-0113

Fax: 301-843-2445

Service and Times

Sunday School: 10:15 AM

Sunday Worship Service: 11;15 AM

Children’s Church: 11:15 AM

Tuesday Bible Study: 6:30 PM

Motto : “A Great Commitment to the

Great Commandment”

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

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

Service and Times Sunday Worship Service: 11:00 AM

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

Reverend Dr. Paris L Smith, Sr. Senior Pastor

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

Fax (202) 682-9423

Service and Times

Sunday Church School : 9:00 AM

Sunday Morning Worship: 10:10 AM

Bible Study Tuesday: 6: 00 PM

Prayer Service Tuesday: 7:00 PM

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

Reverend John W. Davis

Pastor

5101 14th Street, NW / Washington, DC 20011

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

Service and Times

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

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

Communion 10 a.m. 4th Sunday

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

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

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

Mt. Zion Baptist Church headline and photo for

John F. Johnson

Reverend Dr.

1306 Vermont Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20005

Service and Times

Divine Worship, Sunday 10:00 a.m.

Communion 1st and 3rd Sunday

“Friendliest Church in the City”

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

Crusader Baptist Church Isle of Patmos Baptist Church

Pilgrim Baptist Church

The Miracle Center of Faith Missionary Baptist Church

St. Stephen Baptist Church

Reverend William Young IV Pastor

Covenant Baptist United Church  of Christ

Campbell AME Church

Twelfth Street Christian Church

Mount Carmel Baptist Church

Mount Olivet Lutheran Church

Zion Baptist Church

Rev. Keith W. Byrd, Sr. Pastor

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

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

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

St. Luke Baptist Church

Rev. Aubrey C. Lewis

Pastor

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

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

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

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

Rev. Dr. James Coleman Pastor

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

Service and Times

Sunday Church School – 9:30 AM

Sunday Worship Service – 11:00 AM

Holy Communion – 1st Sunday at 11:00 AM

Prayer – Wednesdays, 6:00 PM

Bible Study – Wednesdays, 7:00 PM

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

Website: www.allnationsbaptistchurch.com

All Nations Baptist Church – A Church of Standards

Israel Baptist Church

Rev. Lance Aubert

Imterim Pastor

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

Service and Times

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

Holy Communion1st Sunday: 10:45 AM Prayer Service: Wednesday at 6:30 PM Bible Study: Wednesday at 7:00 PM Bible Study: Tuesday at 10:30 AM

Rev. Daryl F. Bell Pastor

2324 Ontario Road, NW Washington, DC 20009 (202) 232-1730

Service and Times

Sunday School: 9:30 AM

Sunday Worship Service: 11:00 AM

Baptismal Service: 1st Sunday – 9:30 AM

Holy Communion: 1st Sunday – 11:00 AM

Prayer Meeting & Bible Study: Wednesday -7:30 PM

“Where Jesus is the King”

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

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

Service and Times

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

Baptism/Holy Communion: 3rd Sunday Family Bible Study Tuesdays – 6:30 PM Prayer Service: Tuesdays – 8:00 PM www.emmanuelbaptistchurchdc.org

Sermon On The Mount Temple Of Joy Apostolic Faith

Dr. Earl D. Trent Senior Pastor

623 Florida Ave.. NW - WDC. 20001

Church (202) 667-3409 / Study (202) 265-0836 Home Study (301) 464-8211 / Fax (202) 483-4009

Service and Times

Sunday Worship Services: 10:00 AM

Sunday Church School: 8:45 – 9:45 AM

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

Pastor’s Bible Study: Wednesday –7:45 PM

Midweek Prayer: Wednesday – 7:00 PM Noonday Prayer Every Thursday

Matthews Memorial Baptist Church

Rev. Dr. George C. Gilbert

4504 Gault Place, N.E. / Washington, D.C 20019 202-397-7775 – 7184

Service and Times

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

The Lord’s Supper 1st Sunday Prayer & Praise Services: Wednesday 7:00 PM Bible Study: 7:30 PM Saturday before 4th Sunday Men, Women, Youth Discipleship Ministries: 10:30 AM

A Christ Centered Church htubc@comcast.net

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

Email: mtmoriah@mountmoriahchurch.org

Rev. Richard B. Black Interim Pastor

1301 North Carolina Ave. N E Washington, D C 20002

202 543 1318 - lincolnpark@lpumcdc.org www.lpumcdc.org

Service and Times Sunday Worship: 10:00 AM

Holy Communion: First Sunday 10:00 AM Sunday School: 9:00 AM Bible Study: Wednesday @ 12 noon and 6:30 PM

Motto: "Faith On The Hill"

Damion M. Briggs Pastor

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

Service and Times

Early Morning Message: 7:30 AM

Sunday Morning Worship Service: 10:00 AM Sunday Church School: 9:00 AM

Holy Communion: 1st Sunday 7:30 AM & 10:00 AM

Prayer, Praise and Testimony: Wednesday 7:00 PM Bible Study: Wednesday 7:30 PM

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

Historic St. Mary’s Episcopal Church

The Rev. E. Bernard Anderson Priest

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

Service and Times Sundays: 10 a.m. Holy Eucharist with Music and Hymns Wednesdays: 12:10 p.m. - Holy Eucharist www.stmarysfoggybottom.org Email: stmarysoffice@stmarysfoggybottom.org

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

Elder Herman L. Simms Pastor

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

Service and Times

Sunday Apostolic Worship Services 11:00 A.M and 5:00 PM Communion and Feet Wash 4th Sunday at 5:00 PM Prayer/Seeking: Wednesday at 8:00 PM

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

New Commandment Baptist Church

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

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

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

Dr. Joseph D. Turner / Senior Pastor 2616 MLK Ave., SE - Washington, DC 20020 Office 202-889-3709 Fax 202-678-3304

Service and Times

Early Worship Service: 8:00 AM

Worship Service: 11:00 AM

New Member’s Class: 9:45 AM

Holy Communion: 1st Sunday, 11:00 AM Church School: 9:45 AM Wednesday 12:00pm Bible Study

Prayer, Praise and Bible Study: 7:00 PM Saturday Bible Study: 11:00 AM

Baptism 4th Sunday: 11:00 AM

“Empowered to love and Challenged to Lead a Multitude of Souls to Christ”

Peace Baptist Church

Rev. Dr. Michael T. Bell 712 18th Street, NE Washington, DC 20002 Phone 202-399-3450/ Fax 202-398-8836

Service and Times Sunday Early Morning Prayer & Bible Study Class: 8:00 AM Sunday School: 9:00 AM Sunday Morning Worship Service: 10:00 AM Wednesday Service: 12:00 PM

“The Loving Church of the living lord “ Email Address: admin@pbc712.org

Promised Land Baptist Church

Rev. Oran W. Young Pastor

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

Fax: (202) 289-4595

Service and Times

Sunday School for All Ages: 8:00 AM

Sunday Worship Services: 9:30 AM

Midday Prayer & Bible Study: Wednesday 11:30AM

Evening Prayer & Bible Study: Wednesday 7:00 PM

Laymen's League: Thursday 7:00 PM

Email: Froffice@firstrising.org Website: www.firstrising.org

“Changing Lives On Purpose “

Kelechi Ajieren Coordinator

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

Service and Times

Sunday Worship Service: 10:00 AM Wednesday Bible Study: 7:00 PM Friday Evening Service: 7:00 PM ; Last Friday

“…Giving Your Life a Meaning”

www.Christembassydc.org Christ.embassy.dc@hotmail.com

Pennsylvania Ave. Baptist Church

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

Service and Times Sunday Church School: 9:30 AM Sunday Worship Service: 11:00 AM Monday Adult Bible Study: 7:00 PM Wednesday Youth & Adult Activities: 6:30 PM

Prayer Service Bible Study

Mt. Horeb Baptist Church

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

2914 Bladensburg Road, NE Wash., DC 20018

Office: (202) 529-3180 - Fax: (202) 529-7738

Service and Times Worship Service: 7:30 AM Sunday School: 9:00 AM Worship Service: 10:30 AM Holy Communion: 4th Sunday 7:30AM & 10:30 AM Prayer Services:Tuesday 7:30 PM. Wednesday 12 Noon Email:mthoreb@mthoreb.org Website:www.mthoreb.org For further information, please contact me at (202) 529-3180.

Lincoln Park United Methodist Church

Christ Embassy DC

Rehoboth Baptist Church

St. Matthews

Baptist Church

First Rising Mt. Zion Baptist Church

All Nations Baptist Church

Reverend Christopher L. Nichols Pastor

Emmanuel Baptist Church

Florida Avenue Baptist Church

Holy Trinity United Baptist Church

Senior Pastor

Shabbath Commandment Church

King Emmanuel Baptist Church

Mount Moriah Baptist Church Eastern Community Baptist Church

LEGAL NOTICES LEGAL NOTICES LEGAL NOTICES

D.C. 20001-2131

Brent Antonio Odom, Jr. Decedent

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

Zelphia Odom, whose address is 102 Jonquil Avenue, Hyattsville, Md 20785, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Brent Antonio Odom, Jr. who died on 2/19/21 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 (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 5/10/2023. 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 5/10/2023, 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: 11/10/2022

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131 2021 ADM 001285

Robert Ridley Decedent

Brian L. Kass, Personal Representative 4301 Connecticut Ave., NW Suite 434 Washington, DC 20008 Attorney

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

Brian L. Kass, whose address is 4301 Connecticut Ave., NW, Suite 434, Washington, DC 20008, was appointed Personal

Representative of the estate of Robert Ridley who died on December 30, 2020 without a Will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment (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 5/10/2023. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Reg ister of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 5/10/2023, 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: 11/10/2022

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

2022 ADM 001072

Juanita Yvonne Warren Weathers aka Juanita Yvonne Weathers Warren aka Juanita Warren Decedent

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

Dorine M. Adams, whose address is 3206 Lassie Avenue, Suit land, Md 20746, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Juanita Yvonne Warren Weathers aka Juanita Yvonne Weathers Warren aka Juanita Warren who died on 8/16/2022 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 5/11/2023. 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 5/11/2023, 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: 11/10/2022

Dorine M. Adams Personal Representative

LEGAL NOTICES LEGAL NOTICES

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

2022 ADM 1139

Joe L. Greene Decedent

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

R. Denise Greene-Bryant, whose address is 5602 Preswyck Dr., Austin, Texas 78723, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Joe L. Greene who died on January 10, 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 5/10/2023. 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 5/10/2023, 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: 11/10/2022

R. Denise Greene-Bryant Personal Representative

TRUE TEST COPY

Washington Informer

TRUE TEST COPY

Nicole Stevens Register of Wills Washington Informer

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

2022 FEP 127 August 3, 2020 Date of Death

NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT OF FOREIGN PERSONAL REPRESEN TATIVE AND NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Edward G. Varrone, Esq. whose address is 1825 K Street, NW, Suite 1150, Washington, DC 20006 was appointed per sonal representative of the estate of Felicia Maureen Johnson, deceased, by the Register of Wills for Prince Georges County, State of Maryland, on February 26, 2021.

Service of process may be made upon Edward G. Varrone, Esq. 1825 K Street, NW, Suite 1150, Washington, DC 20006 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.

441 Valley Avenue, SE; 208 Malcom X Avenue, SE; 1130 47th Place, NE. 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: 11/10/2022

Edward G. Varrone, Esq. Personal Representative

Nicole Stevens Register of Wills Washington Informer

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131 2022 ADM 001172

Shirley L. Van Buren Decedent

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

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

Cheryl Van Buren-Smith, whose address is 1918 D Street NE, Washington, DC 20002, was appointed Personal Repre sentative of the estate of Shirley L. Van Buren who died on December 8, 2015 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 5/10/2023. 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 5/10/2023, 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: 11/10/2022

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

2022 ADM 001125

Lynne Michele Pena Decedent

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

Dorian Alan Pena, whose address is 6003 New Forest Ct. Unit 3, Waldorf, Md 20603, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Lynne Michele Pena who died on September 25, 2022 without a Will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 5/17/2023. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Reg ister of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 5/17/2023, 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: 11/17/2022

Dorian Alan Pena 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 1145

La’Shawn Woodson Decedent

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

Taylor Woodson, whose address is 1015 Rhode Island Ave, NE, Washington DC 20018, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of La’Shawn Woodson who died on February 26th, 2022 without a Will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 5/10/2023. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Reg ister of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 5/10/2023, 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: 11/10/2022

Taylor Woodson 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 1069

Dewayne Cornelius Chisholm Decedent

William C. McCaskill 6448 Bock Road Oxon Hill, Maryland 20745 Attorney

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

Deshaliah D. Jeffries, whose address is 3912 Regency Parkway, #305 Suitland, Maryland 20748, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Dewayne Cornelius Chisholm who died on June 4, 2020 without a Will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 5/17/2023. 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 5/17/2023, 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: 11/17/2022

Deshaliah D. Jeffries

Personal Representative

TRUE TEST COPY

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

2022 ADM 000851

Estate of Joseph Matthew Shea aka Joseph M. Shea

NOTICE OF STANDARD PROBATE

Notice is hereby given that a petition has been filed in this Court by Deanna C. Williams and William D. Shea for standard probate, including the appointment of one or more personal representatives. Unless a responsive pleading in the form of a complaint or an objection in accordance with Superior Court Probate Division Rule 407 is filed in this Court within 30 days from the date of first publication of this notice, the Court may take the action hereinafter set forth.

In the absence of a will or proof satisfactory to the Court of due execution, enter an order determining that the decedent died intestate appoint an unsupervised personal representative

Date of first publication: 11/17/2022

Jefferey K. Gordon 5335 Wisconsin Ave., NW #700 Washington, DC 20015 Petitioner/Attorney:

TRUE TEST COPY

Nicole Stevens Register of Wills

Washington Informer

TRUE TEST COPY

Nicole Stevens Register of Wills Washington Informer

Nicole Stevens Register of Wills

Washington Informer

Brian L. Kass Personal Representative

TRUE TEST COPY

Nicole Stevens Register of Wills Washington Informer

Cheryl Van Buren-Smith Personal Representative

Nicole Stevens Register of Wills Washington Informer

Felicia Maureen Johnson Name of Decedent

Zelphia Odom Personal Representative

TRUE TEST COPY

Nicole Stevens Register of Wills

LEGAL NOTICES LEGAL NOTICES

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

2021 ADM 000299

Harold McCoy Decedent

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

Nina McCoy Hawkins, whose address is 309 Reid St. E Wilson NC 27893, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Harold McCoy who died on May 2, 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 5/17/2023. 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 5/17/2023, 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: 11/17/2022

McCoy Hawkins Personal Representative

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

2021 ADM 001449

Jacqueline Laverne Martin aka Jacqui Laverne Martin Decedent

Ashley E. Wiggins Griffin, Murphy & Wiggins, LLP 1912 Sunderland Place, NW Washington, DC 20036

Attorney

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

Juanita Waller, whose address is 748 Oglethorpe Street, NE, Washington, DC 20011, was appointed Personal Representa tive of the estate of Jacqueline Laverne Martin aka Jacqui La verne Martin who died on 11/11/2020 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 5/17/2023. 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 5/17/2023, 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: 11/17/2022

LEGAL NOTICES LEGAL NOTICES

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

2022 ADM 000005

Clarence L. Muse aka Clarence Lee Muse Decedent

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

Roland S. Muse, whose address is 401 Massachusetts Ave., NW, Unit PH203, Washington, DC 20001, was appointed

Personal Representative of the estate of Clarence L. Muse aka Clarence Lee Muse who died on September 30, 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 May 17, 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 May 17, 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: November 17, 2022

Roland S. Muse Personal Representative

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

2022 ADM 000774

Frank Spellman Borris aka Frank S. Borris Decedent

Law Office of Robert P. Newman Robert P. Newman, Esquire 801 Wayne Avenue, Suite 400 Silver Spring, Md 20910 Attorney

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

Catherine M. Borris, whose address is 6705 5th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20012, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Frank Spellman Borris aka Frank S. Borris who died on 4/11/2017 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 5/17/2023. 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 5/17/2023, 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: 11/17/2022

ently using a device that shares his words with others. Sarah Anne Sillers, an understudy, played a student named Min. This character was portrayed as spirited and easily connected with her classmates. Carla Duren played Angelina. In the book, it is Angelina who seems most ap prehensive, but in this produc tion, she quickly becomes com fortable with her new friends. The cast also created puppets that eased the audience into the musical.

Reagon’s lyrics and music are wonderful and not overly pro duced. In fact, I found the mu sic soothing. The musical is a world premiere Kennedy Center commission. Combined with Woodson’s writing, directing by Charlotte Braithwaite and the wonderful acting, this is a great time for the entire family.

Nicole Stevens Register of Wills Washington Informer

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

Notice of Special Appearance : am that I am: " Derieka Valen cia Mahoney", in full life, in propria persona, sui juris, in solo proprio, Haqdar by natural issue, the beneficiary and heir of: “ DERIEKA VALENCIA MAHONEY ", corp.sole Dba.: " DERIEKA V MAHONEY© ", DERIEKA MAHONEY, Derieka Mahoney, Derieka V Mahoney, derieka v mahoney, derieka valencia mahoney, derieka mahoney, having reached the age of majority, being aboriginal to the northwestern and southwestern shores of Africa, the Atlantic Islands, the continental Americas, being duly certified, hereby affi1985rms to declare my tribal intention to be as my pedigree subscribes, as a:  Moorish American, but not a citizen of the United States. I declare permanent, and unalienable, allegiance to The Moorish Empire, Al Maghreb Al Aqsa, Estados al Marikanos, Societas Republicae Ea Al Maurikanuus Estados, The Constitution for the united States of America, Article III Section 2, The Lieber Code, Hague Con ventions of 1899 & 1907, The Geneva Conventions, [ United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples ], and all natural laws governing moors, and hereby declare and proclaim my nationality in good faith as a:  Moorish American. I am that I am: " Derieka Valencia Mahoney© ", from this day forward, in harmony with my Nationality / Status / Jurisdiction, shall be known as: " deja songbird bleu ". Notice of White Flag Surrender: as "hors de combat", pursuant to The Geneva Conventions, Article III, as a minister of The Moorish Empire, and Internationally Protected Person. Notice of: LAWS AND CUSTOMS OF WAR ON LAND HAGUE, IV), ARTICLE: 32, 45, 46, & 47. Notice of Claim pursuant to Public Law 87-846, TITLE II, SEC. 203. Notice of Bailment Merging of Legal Title with Equitable Title : This order is to preserve legal and equitable title , and to reserve all rights, title, and interest, in the property, Re: STATE OF HAWAII DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH: STATE FILE NUMBER, 151 1985 - 002664: " DERIEKA VALENCIA MAHONEY© ", is as a special deposit order, conveyed to " Musiqal Babiez© ". All property of the same issue and amount, in like kind and specie, is to be returned fully intact, as a Special Deposit order of the Depositor Beneficiary Bailor / Donor / Principal / Creditor: " deja songbird bleu© ", nom deguerre: " Derieka Valencia Ma honey ", as a special deposit order in lawful money. This special deposit is to be used exclusively for the benefit of : " Musiqal Babiez© ", an Inter Vivos Unincorporated Divine Grantor Trust. This deposit is not to be commingled with general assets of any bank, nor depositary / trustee / agent / bailee / donee / debtor. This deposit is not limited to, but including: discharge and set off, of any and all outstanding liabilities as accord and satisfac tion. Inter alia enact fuit. All Rights Reserved. Deo volente.

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131 2022 ADM 001147

TRUE TEST COPY

Nicole Stevens Register of Wills Washington Informer

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

Catherine M. Borris Personal Representative

For ticket information, visit www.kennedy-center.org. Learn about the origin of the book and musical for “The Day You Be gin.”

WI @bcscomm

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

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

Chesterfield R. Stewart III, oldest son, whose address is 2308 Good Hope Road, SE Apt 40, was appointed Personal Repre sentative of the estate of Arnell B Stewart who died on March 12, 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 5/17/2023. 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 5/17/2023, 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: 11/17/2022

Notice of Special Appearance : I am that I am: "Amy Shondel Nichole Hines© ", in full life, in propria persona, sui juris, in solo proprio, Haqdar by natural issue, the beneficiary and heir of: “ AMY SHONDEL NICHOLE HINES ", corp.sole Dba.: " AMY S HINES © ", AMY SHONDEL NICHOLE HINES, AMY SHONDEL HINES, HINES AMY, AMY SHONDEL NICOLE HINES, AMY S HINES having reached the age of majority, being aboriginal to the northwestern and southwestern shores of Africa, the Atlantic Islands, the continental Americas, being duly certified, hereby affirms to declare my tribal intention to be as my pedigree subscribes, as a: Moorish American, but not a citizen of the United States. declare permanent, and unalienable, allegiance to The Moorish Empire, Al Maghreb Al Aqsa, Estados al Marikanos, Societas Republicae Ea Al Maurikanuus Estados, The Constitution for the united States of America, Article III Section 2, The Lieber Code, Hague Conventions of 1899 & 1907, The Geneva Conventions, United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples ], and all natural laws gov erning moors, and hereby declare and proclaim my nationality in good faith as a: Moorish American. I am that am: " Amy Shondel Nichole Hines © ", from this day forward, in harmony with my Nationality / Status Jurisdiction, shall be known as: "Ceasia Djehuti © ". Notice of White Flag Surrender: as "hors de combat", pursuant to The Geneva Conventions, Article III, as a minister of The Moorish Empire, and Internationally Protected Person. Notice of: LAWS AND CUSTOMS OF WAR ON LAND HAGUE, IV), ARTICLE: 32, 45, 46, & 47. Notice of Claim pursuant to Public Law 87-846, TITLE II, SEC. 203. Notice of Bailment Merging of Legal Title with Equitable Title: This order is to pre serve legal and equitable title and to reserve all rights, title, and interest, in the property, Re: STATE OF FLORIDA BUREAU OF VITAL STATISTIS : STATE FILE NUMBER, 109-88-004525: " AMY SHONDEL NICHOLE HINES © ", is as a special deposit order, conveyed to " DJEHUTI TRUST© ". All property of the same issue and amount, in like kind and specie, is to be returned fully intact, as a Special Deposit order of the Depositor / Beneficiary / Bailor / Donor / Principal / Creditor: " Ceasia Djehuti © ", nom deguerre: " Amy Shondel Nichole Hines© ", as a special deposit order in lawful money. This special deposit is to be used exclusively for the benefit of : " DJEHUTI TRUST© ", an Inter Vivos Unincorporated Divine Grantor Trust. This deposit is not to be commingled with general assets of any bank, nor depositary / trustee / agent / bailee / donee debtor. This deposit is not limited to, but including: discharge and set off, of any and all outstanding liabilities as accord and satisfaction. Inter alia enact fuit. All Rights Reserved. Deo volente.

Notice of Special Appearance : I am that am: "Melvin Castrol Lett© ", in full life, in propria persona, sui juris, in solo proprio, Haqdar by natural issue, the beneficiary and heir of: “MELVIN CASTROL LETT", corp.sole Dba.: "MELVIN C. LETT © ", “Lett, Melvin Castrol ©” having reached the age of majority, being aboriginal to the northwestern and southwestern shores of Africa, the Atlantic Islands, the continental Americas, being duly certified, hereby affirms to declare my tribal intention to be as my pedigree subscribes, as a: Moorish American, but not a citizen of the United States. I declare permanent, and unalien able, allegiance to The Moorish Empire, Al Maghreb Al Aqsa, Estados al Marikanos, Societas Republicae Ea Al Maurikanuus Estados, The Constitution for the united States of America, Arti cle III Section 2, The Lieber Code, Hague Conventions of 1899 & 1907, The Geneva Conventions, [ United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples ], and all natural laws gov erning moors, and hereby declare and proclaim my nationality in good faith as a: Moorish American. am that am: "Melvin Castrol Lett© ", from this day forward, in harmony with my Nationality / Status / Jurisdiction, shall be known as: "marcel melvin castrol lett-bey© ". Notice of White Flag Surrender: as "hors de combat", pursuant to The Geneva Conventions, Article III, as a minister of The Moorish Empire, and Internationally Protected Person. Notice of: LAWS AND CUSTOMS OF WAR ON LAND HAGUE, IV), ARTICLE: 32, 45, 46, & 47. Notice of Claim pursuant to Public Law 87-846, TITLE II, SEC. 203. Notice of Bailment Merging of Legal Title with Equitable Title : This order is to preserve legal and equitable title , and to reserve all rights, title, and interest, in the property, Re: State Department of Health and Senior Services Bureau of Vital Statistics: STATE FILE NUMBER #: 112-1986 6047430© ", is as a special deposit order, conveyed to "The Hokage Trust© ". All property of the same issue and amount, in like kind and specie, is to be re turned fully intact, as a Special Deposit order of the Depositor / Beneficiary / Bailor / Donor / Principal Creditor: "melvin castrol lett-bey© ", nom deguerre: "Melvin Castrol Lett© ", as a special deposit order in lawful money. This special deposit is to be used exclusively for the benefit of : "The Hokage Trust © ", an Inter Vivos Unincorporated Divine Grantor Trust. This deposit is not to be commingled with general assets of any bank, nor depositary / trustee / agent / bailee / donee / debtor. This deposit is not limited to, but including: discharge and set off, of any and all outstanding liabilities as accord and satisfaction. Inter alia enact fuit. All Rights Reserved. Deo volente.

Nina

TRUE TEST COPY

Juanita Waller Personal Representative

TRUE TEST COPY

Nicole Stevens Register of Wills Washington Informer

TRUE TEST COPY

Nicole Stevens Register of Wills

Washington Informer

Arnell B. Stewart Decedent

Chesterfield R. Stewart III Personal Representative

TRUE TEST COPY

Nicole Stevens Register of Wills

Washington Informer

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REVIEW from Page 37

will keep you glued to the screen. There are even lessons that any one can learn from watching this film. For example, at one point Nemo tells Agent Green, “I'm not afraid of anything,” and Agent

Green responds, “Being brave isn't about not being scared. It's about doing what you have to do, even when you are.”

That was a great takeaway for me as I watched the film but I am sure if you watch it yourself you will also find your own connection. WI

EDELMAN from Page 28

essential component of movement building. He said those lessons were related to advice he would give younger artists working with new musical technologies today — no matter how much technol ogy continues to change, creativity should always have specific inten tion:

"What are you going to do with the music you produce with these tools? What is your intention? Are you going to be inspiring? Is there something you want to express? … You have to be not only about you, [but] about others, and when you become about others, you are actually being more about you. How would this make a difference not only in my life, but in others' lives? In the days of civil rights, the protest songs were songs, they were things that people could sing and march. They weren't chant ing, they were singing. The differ ence between chanting and sing ing is that chanting only takes in the left side of the brain, which is only speech. Singing takes in the musical side and the language side, the creative side and the logic side. And then you get more power, and you get more people partici pating."

He added: "I know I would not be here if it had not been for my ancestors, who sang their way through slavery. They sang those work songs, they sang those spiri tuals, and that's what helped them to survive. What helped our civil rights movement in the United States was the singing, the march ing, Martin Luther King, John Lewis, and others. I met both of these people, I knew them. So I understand those rudiments … [and] this is the atmosphere we need."

His own intention to continue creating that atmosphere through music helped bring him to the CDF Proctor Institute. Through out his own musical career Don was devoted to sharing music and its power with young people. He was a passionate believer in the need for arts education and to gether with his wife Julie found ed the school assembly program "Say 'YES' to Music!" to bring the importance of dreams, educa tion, and community to children through music, inspiring thou sands of children through school visits and performances. At Haley Farm he was a wonderful part of the CDF Proctor Institute's

work bringing together clergy, seminarians, Christian educators, young adult leaders, and other faith-based advocates for children for spiritual renewal, networking, movement-building workshops, and continuing education about the urgent needs of children. Proctor was just one of the ways he lived out his lifelong belief that music can and does make a differ ence in the world.

Don and Julie became integral pieces of the CDF Proctor Insti tute family. Don and Dr. Eli Wil son, Proctor's Minister of Music, guided the Resurrection Choir as they sang at the evening Great Preacher Series worship services, morning devotions, and the clos ing celebration. The Resurrection Choir is open to everyone, and Don and Eli made sure the mu sic became one of the most joy ful, inspiring components of the week. Don played his own deep ly moving version of "Amazing Grace," which evokes the sounds of the Middle Passage, on the first

JEALOUS from Page 28

build a national "Red Wave" with racist fearmongering about crime and bigot ed smears of transgender people didn't work, though they did enough damage to keep some good people out of office.

One bit of bad news came with the narrow victory of Kris Kobach as Kan sas attorney general. Kobach made a name for himself with attacks on im migrants and relentless attempts to re strict voting. Voters previously rejected his bids for governor and Senate, but, sadly, he's back.

So is Trump, who officially launched his campaign to get back into the White

HAGLER from Page 28

create an effective system of treatment on demand allowing people to reclaim and restore their lives. I live in Ward 4, but across the city polls show that res idents overwhelmingly support a pro posed policy of drug decriminalization and want to see investments in public health strategies, including establish ing a 24/7 harm reduction center, as suggested by the #DecrimPovertyDC campaign. Even in Ward 4, polling shows that 82% of voters support eliminating criminal penalties for lim ited, personal use quantities of drugs (decriminalization), 93% of voters sup

evening of Proctor each year, and every evening's worship ended with the congregation remaining seated throughout Don's organ postludes for a cherished time of reflection with his music as the last sound of each day's gathering. Don and Julie also loved working with the children taking part in the special Proctor CDF Freedom Schools program as they prepared music for their finale, and Don of ten enthusiastically invited them up close to show them how the organ worked, captivating them the same way his own childhood

House just a week after voters said "no, thanks" to his most high-profile allies. It's a reminder that in politics, no vic tory is final. The struggle is never over. In fact, even this election isn't over, as Georgia voters must return to the polls for a crucial runoff between Sen. Ra phael Warnock and Trump's candidate Herschel Walker.

Citizenship is a responsibility that requires constant recommitment. On that front, I'd like to share a bit of exciting personal news. Next year, I will continue my advocacy for a more just and sustainable world in a new role as executive director of the Sierra Club, the nation's most influential

port establishing 24/7 harm reduction centers to offer health services and over dose prevention services to people who use drugs, and 96% of voters support allocating additional funding to com munity-based healthcare and treatment services for those in need.

Unfortunately, despite the over whelming public support for drug decriminalization and substantial support for investment in harm re duction, we remain at a standstill with the D.C. Council. Now, more than ever, we must adopt a humane, evi dence-based public health approach to address drug use and addiction rather than continuing with the failed strat

imagination had been sparked. Even as he served as a collabo rator and role model for so many famous peers, throughout his life Don Lewis remained commit ted to encouraging and inspiring young people to include music in their lives and pursue their dreams, and to being intentional in using his own talent and time to be "about others." The Children's Defense Fund is so grateful for the ways he shared his gifts with the Proctor Institute and grateful for his legacy. WI

grassroots environmental group. I am delighted that my successor as president of People For the American Way will be Svante Myrick, who is just the kind of young leader our na tion needs. He was elected to the city council of Ithaca, New York, while still a student, and at age 24, he be came the city's first Black mayor and the youngest mayor in the state. He was reelected twice by huge margins, and now he's bringing his leadership and passion for defending democracy to the national level.

Much to be grateful for. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. WI

egy of punishment, which rarely, if ever, provides real justice or support. As decades-long, punitive strategies of the drug war persist, overdose deaths also continue to climb, the rate of in carceration grows, and mass criminal ization still disproportionately harms low-income and Black communities throughout D.C. We need to be using our common sense, following the ev idence, and provide treatment rather incarceration. This is the only winning strategy that there is, and this is the only way to slow down, if not stop the high overdose and death rate that cur rently persists in our community.

WI

The Children's Defense Fund is so grateful for the ways he shared his gifts with the Proctor Institute and grateful for his legacy.

Each week you’ll get news from The District of Columbia, Prince George’s County, Montgomery County, and Northern Virginia.

You will discover Arts and Entertainment, Social Tidbits, Religion, Sports, People’s Viewpoints, Letters to the Editor,

known liar or of lies being told when circumstances might impact our safety and security? The candidate who will ingly lies to you once is telling you that he/she will lie again, and we know to believe a person who tells us who they are the first time. If you are willing to accept factual reversals, suspicious "spinning," blatant lies, and misrepre sentations of facts in the face of oppos

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access to public services, the Canadi an Pacific merger represents another drop in an ever-filling bucket of en vironmental injustice.

The Surface Transportation Board has an important role to play in mit igating such concerns — a role they recognize. In their own words, the "STB has a clear role in advancing environmental justice for minority and low-income communities and the Board administers that role as part of its environmental review pro cess." Our last story on this subject pointed to the STB's failure to live up to this mandate given, among other things, the original plan to host the only public hearings on the merger in a historically White area, Vidor, as opposed to more represen tative locations in Harris County or even Houston itself.

These equity concerns must be meaningfully addressed if the STB expects its words to be taken seriously.

But environmental justice isn't the only factor weighing on this merger. There are also serious and potential ly disqualifying issues with the way Canadian Pacific has conducted it self through the review process. The company has repeatedly provided

MORIAL

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exceptions have been 1998, when the President's party gained five seats in the House and lost no seats in the Senate, and 2002, when the President's party gained eight seats in the House and two seats in the Senate. Post-war, control of the House has flipped eight times and control of the Senate 10 times.

How did some of the most promi nent voices in the media get it so wrong? One mistake is relying on outlier polls and unreliable polls, as David Brooks did. On Oct. 20, the day his "Republi cans are Surging" column appeared, an average of "generic ballot" polls showed Republicans with an advantage of just one tenth of one percentage point, and Democrats ahead in the four key Senate

ing credible evidence, then this election offers you your candidate of choice. Those are the characterizations that have been verified by a family member of one of the candidates.

Temperamental instability and demonstration of violence are traits of character that are unsuitable for a candidate and/or a sitting senator. Documented facts show this type of behavior to be true of one of the can didates.

stakeholders and regulators with un reliable data, seemingly intentionally misleading regulators.

On the data front, the STB in structed Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern to address "inconsistency in the calculation of traffic density numbers" submitted to the STB's Office of Environmen tal Analysis." In another instance of less-than-transparent messaging, Ca nadian Pacific also used a video in an attempt to demonstrate the efficiency of trains moving through Houston. The problem was the fact that the video presented an intentionally in complete picture, as noted by rival railroad Union Pacific, which showed "only a sliver of the KCS train's run through the Houston area."

In reality, the video Canadian Pacific claimed to show a relatively smooth 74-minute transit through Houston left out two hours of delay at Dawes, Texas and another two hours waiting near Rosenberg, Texas while Union Pacific served existing customers. So instead of the 74 min utes Canadian Pacific claimed it took to get across the city, the truth is that it took nearly 8 hours for the train to cross the city.

That's a lot of idling. A lot of wait ing. And a lot of traffic.

races. Brooks based his analysis on a sin gle poll that found a four-point Republi can advantage.

Closer to Election Day, however, even these polling averages shifted in favor of Republicans, thanks to what political strategist Simon Rosenberg called "a fe rocious campaign GOP campaign right now to flood the zone with their polls, game the averages, declare the election is tipping to them." Political data specialist Tom Bonier noted that many of these polls assumed "an older, whiter, more male electorate."

Rosenberg told MSNBC's Joy Reid, "This is an unprecedented massive cam paign by the Republicans to game the polling average. And it's disappointing to me this wasn't caught earlier by many of the people that do this that are on TV

A candidate who would accept spe cial consideration for him/herself while holding constituents to a rigid and dog matic standard of conduct is unsuitable for election. Again, one candidate in Georgia offers you that choice.

Citizens are not well-represented by those who have shown themselves to be hypocrites or liars. Your choice is to decide who and what you believe by your vote.

WI

Delays in Houston are far from the only traffic concerns. Metra, Chicago's regional passenger rail provider, is opposed to the merger due to the fact that it would lead to "a big increase in freight train traffic throughout the northwest suburbs and all that extra traffic could dis rupt their service and cause extensive delays."

The best one can say about the merger proposal, at this point, is that it is woefully incomplete. A more accurate take, though, is that the proposal is lacking because the facts simply don't warrant its approval.

Policymakers who have looked at the merger have raised concerns. It was enough for U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois to state that he doesn't "believe what they [Canadi an Pacific] produced is accurate and it's certainly not complete."

There's no shortage of reasons to hope that the STB will reject this application, especially given all of the contradicting and misleading esti mates of the merger's impact. And while the talking heads on CNN may not stay up all night talking about exit polls as this decision is awaited, the stakes are just as high for a significant number of communities facing the merger on the ground. WI

and do this for a living."

A bigger problem was this polling mirage served to confirm some pundits' pre-existing biases, underestimating mo tivating factors like reproductive rights and the threat to democracy, that were not important to them personally, and overestimating the role of inflation and the false narrative of rising violent crime.

The American electorate is changing, growing more racially and ethnically di verse. Our pundit class — those whose opinion columns are published by major news organizations and who are given network and cable tv platforms to wax political — does not reflect this diversity. Until it does, it will continue to suffer from the blind spots that not only skewed predictions about the election, but potentially sabotaged it. WI

EDNEY

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