OpEd

Make Room for D.C. Residents in Hospitality Industry

Fewer people in the Nation’s Capital can brag that they are a “Native Washingtonian” and that their history in the city dates back through generations. The effort to attract more people to town has significantly contributed to the decrease of homegrown residents opting to relocate outside of the area or who are displaced due to economic pressures.

Yet, D.C. is full of people; most come here to visit and experience the unique attractions D.C. offers. History plays a large part in making D.C. the number one place tourists like to visit in the U.S., according to U.S. News, which named D.C. Number 1 among the Best Historical Cities to see in the U.S., outpacing Boston, Mass., Gettysburg, Penn., Philadelphia, Penn. and Williamsburg, Va.

Recently, Elliott Ferguson II, president and CEO of Destination DC, reported that Washington, D.C. welcomed 19.1 million total visitors in 2021, up from 13.3 million in 2020. Those numbers were music to the ears of local leaders who value the local tourism industry. Despite the devastating impact of the COVID pandemic that nearly decimated the hospitality industry, D.C. is witnessing the reopening of restaurants, hotels and entertainment venues, to name a few. Workers who rely on tourism to feed and house their families were impacted the most. They are returning with higher wages and more significant opportunities due to more than 26 new hotels or renovations in the pipeline, adding over 5,892 new or renovated rooms in neighborhoods throughout the city. This all means more revenue and jobs for residents.

The crisis has nearly ended and D.C.’s tourism is making a quick comeback. Sports and tourism mogul Sheila Johnson opened the Salamander Hotel, formerly the Mandarin Oriental in Southwest, this week. She touted that the rebranded 373-room property will bring 100 new team members or employees to serve her customers, adding to those who are already employed there. It’s an opportunity to address job opportunities in a city where hospitality is one of the top-ranked employment industries.

We have said and will continue to stress that D.C. leaders must do a better job conveying the message to residents that viable employment opportunities exist in the hospitality industry. Educational programs in the D.C. Public Schools and those at local universities provide a pipeline for careers in hospitality. However, more needs to be done to bring home the fact that residents also have a stake in this. Hospitality and tourism provide employment opportunities that pay well and provide excellent benefits for those who want them. WI

Grandparents Make a Difference for Children, Especially in the Black Community

The first Sunday after Labor Day marks National Grandparents Day in the U.S. – a day during which we honor grandparents and the roles they play in our lives and society. And while it’s also a special day that allows them to show their love for their grandchildren, most grandmother and grandfathers do that day in and day out.

Grandparents serve as the protectors of guidance to our societies as the elders embodied with wisdom, which is also an aim of this day to pass on the older generation’s knowledge to the younger. After years of trying to accomplish this day to honor and commemorate elders, National Grandparents Day was signed into law by former President Jimmy Carter in 1978.

The preservation of the family remains paramount to all Americans, which is why when a relationship breaks down, we tend to turn to a known entity – our grandparents. In the Black community, this practice dates back to pre-colonial Africa and serves as the backbone of our strength and resilience.

In general, kinship care reduces stress, promotes stability and eases the transition from living with parents to a different yet familiar environment. Almost a quarter of children in foster care are Black, according to the Child Welfare Information Gateway, a federal service, and yet, Black children make up 14 percent of the U.S. population, according to the census. So, it would be accurate to say that “Black Grandparents Matter.”

Even if you missed the national observance, it’s not too late to show how much you appreciate grandparents. Giving them a gift or a care, spending some quality time with them or taking them out to lunch or dinner are great ideas. If you don’t have grandparents, why not consider volunteering at a nursing home for the day. Whatever idea or activity you come up with will surely warm the hearts and be appreciated in the eyes of the elderly. Let us all be reminded and give thanks to the special grandparents and elderly in our communities and the great wisdom and love they have to share. WI

Happy Anniversary!

Wow! 55 years! What a milestone, Anacostia Museum. So many people have no clue that the museum is a part of the Smithsonian system and has so much to offer residents, old and new. I hope everyone comes out to celebrate 55.

Evelyn Simmons Washington, D.C.

TO THE EDITOR

Fight for D.C. Statehood

I’m hoping for a positive outcome for D.C statehood this midterm election season. Big shoutout to all the advocates and activists working to make D.C. the 51st state with full representation. We deserve it. We should have it. We will get it.

Leslie Barringer Washington, D.C.

Readers' Mailbox The Washington Informer welcomes letters to the editor about articles we publish or issues affecting the community. Write to: lsaxton@washingtoninformer. com or send to: 3117 Martin Luther King Jr Ave., SE, Washington, D.C. 20032. Please note that we are unable to publish letters that do not include a full name, address and phone number. We look forward to hearing from you.

Guest Columnist

'A Place for Everyone'

"As Barack said, if the two of us can end up on the walls of the most famous address in the world, then, again, it is so important for every young kid who is doubting themselves to believe that they can, too."

On Sept. 7, former President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama visited the White House for the unveiling of their official White House portraits. The two extraordinary paintings, by Robert McCurdy and Sharon Sprung, have now taken their place in the historic gallery of former presidents and first ladies displayed on the White House walls. The traditional portrait installation ceremony was ignored and delayed during the last administration, but this week, with President Biden, first lady Biden, Vice President Harris, and Second Gentleman Emhoff all in attendance, once again the Obamas made spectacular and moving history.

Both President Obama and first lady Obama acknowledged the meaning of the moment as they spoke, and Mrs. Obama expressed the special hope that these portraits will help set a new standard of representation for

Marian Wright Edelman

our nation's children. She said: "A girl like me, she was never supposed to be up there next to Jacqueline Kennedy and Dolley Madison. She was never supposed to live in this house, and she definitely wasn't supposed to serve as first lady. But I've always wondered: Where does that ‘supposed to' come from? Who determines it? And too often in this country, people feel like they have to look a certain way or act a certain way to fit in, that they have to make a lot of money or come from a certain group or class or faith in order to matter. But what we're looking at today — a portrait of a biracial kid with an unusual name and the daughter of a water pump operator and a stay-at-home mom — what we are seeing is a reminder that there's a place for everyone in this country."

Mrs. Obama added: "That is what this country is about. It's not about blood or pedigree or wealth. It's a place where everyone should have a fair shot, whether you're a kid taking two buses and a train just to get to school; or a single mother who is working two jobs to put some food on the table; or an immigrant just arriving, getting your first apartment, forging a future for yourself in a place you dreamed of. That's why, for me, this day isn't about me or Barack. It's not even about these beautiful paintings. It's about telling that fuller story — a story that includes every single American in every single corner of this country so that our kids and grandkids can see something more for themselves."

Telling that fuller story has always been necessary to make the American dream real for everyone. The Obamas remain a beautiful, transformative example of what American leadership and American leaders can look like. Now these new portraits will serve as a reminder to generations of visitors to the White House, our Presidency's

Guest Columnist

Ben Jealous

Accountability: An Insurrectionist Removed from Office

A New Mexico judge has done the country a big favor.

Judge Francis Mathew upheld a little-known provision of the U.S. Constitution and removed a public official for participating in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection. I hope other judges have the courage to follow his lead.

The principle that no person is above the law — that powerful people have to obey the laws like everyone else — is essential to a democratic society. If this principle is not enforced, corrupt leaders will undermine the rule of law and democracy itself.

Judge Mathew ruled that a county commissioner who participated in the attack on the U.S. Capitol can no longer hold public office. The ruling was based on a section of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, which was passed after the Civil War. It forbids anyone from holding public office if they had taken an oath to support the Constitution of the United States and then “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” against the country.

The judge found that Otero County Commissioner Couy Griffin helped lead the mob that used violence to try to prevent Congress from affirming Joe Biden's win in the presidential election. Griffin later bragged about his role and suggested that there might be another insurrection coming.

Judge Mathew's ruling is a milestone in the effort to hold public officials accountable for trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election. It should provide a road map — and some moral courage — to other judges considering legal efforts to hold state legislators and others accountable for trying to undermine democracy.

Another important effort to hold powerful people accountable for the insurrection is being conducted by the House Select Committee that is investigating the insurrection and the schemes that led up to it.

Guest Columnist

Never Forget

Currently, the Architect of the Capitol fulfills on average more than 100,000 flag requests from lawmakers annually. Therefore, it is not unusual for a member of Congress to request a flag that had flown over the U.S. Capitol and have it presented to constituents in honor of special occasions, patriotic service or memorials.

However, it is hard to fathom how a person who was arrested for storming the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and then sentenced to 60 days in prison be worthy of receiving a commemorative flag flown from the very building they previously attacked. Dr. Simone Gold is founder of America's Frontline Doctors, a group that is known for touting unproven claims, disinformation and conspiracy theories during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The day before the Jan. 6 attack,

David W. Marshall

Gold spoke at a "Stop the Steal" rally where she further promoted vaccine misinformation. The next day, she was part of a group of rioters who breached the U.S. Capitol, where she later spoke through a megaphone to fellow rioters gathered in Statuary Hall. Yet, upon her release from federal prison, Republican Rep. Louie Gohmert presented Gold with an honorary American flag recently flown above the U.S. Capitol. Gohmert claimed that Gold was "a political prisoner," a term used by many supporters of former President Donald Trump to inaccurately describe the prosecution and incarceration of Jan. 6 defendants.

Dr. Simone Gold is an insurrectionist, and she is also a MAGA Republican. Gohmert is a MAGA Republican lawmaker who is more than happy to rally to the defense of those charged in connection with the insurrection. As we recognize the 21st anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks EDELMAN Page 53

The committee's public hearings this summer gave the American people a powerful dose of truth-telling about the lies and deceptions of President Trump, members of his legal team, and his political allies. The committee's investigation is continuing, and we can look forward to more public hearings this fall.

Members and staff of the committee have spent countless hours digging through emails and other public records and interviewing for-

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on our nation, we do so with the facts and truth about the Jan. 6 domestic attack being whitewashed before our very eyes.

According to an August NBC poll, "threats to democracy" has overtaken the cost of living, jobs and crime as the main issue facing American voters.

The 2022 midterm election is a pivotal moment which is why former

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Guest Columnist

Unchained

Inevitably, in my writings the discussion of some topics will recur. By their very nature, some issues are always 'ripe' for discussion. One such issue is that of what Dr. Carter G. Woodson called "The Miseducation of the Negro." Like most discussions involving race, this issue is subjective in nature and its "reality" is shaped by perspective. Perspective is, too often, shaped by circumstance, condition, or opportunity.

Recently, I was disturbed by an email I received suggesting that "Black people are taught to hate America and see themselves as victims." Since I choose not to bring additional notoriety to the originator or origins of the email, I will only provide its gist.

The main talking points offered by this email were: • Hatred is taught — Black people are taught to hate America and see themselves as victims. • Black students are educated to see themselves as oppressed. • Radical professors and the media want us divided.

• CRT teaches us to divide the world by skin color. • Racial division in this country is just a figment of someone's sick imagination.

Since I am, and always have been, an aggressive proponent for the advancement of and equitable treatment of people of color, I found these assertions insulting. Frankly, reading this brought to mind the caricature of the happy (house-nigger) slave portrayed by Samuel L. Jackson in the movie "Django Unchained" whose well-being and prosperity was intrinsically connected to that of his Massa!

For the sake of discussion and minds weak enough to fall for this pro-racist pablum, I offer rebuttal: • Hatred is taught — I agree completely. In my experience, Black people and people of color have learned to hate the actions and symbols which represent the hatred which white people have been taught to direct toward them. Should we be forced, or biblically choose, to ignore the former and current brutalities suffered by people of color? Or can we acknowledge the reasons for reaction against inhumane treatment? • Blacks believe themselves oppressed — The recognition and acknowledgement of oppression does not equate to the acceptance of oppression or victimhood. However, the denial of an obvious circumstance/condition is ignorance! Challenge, whether adversarial or conditional, is a part of life which must be met and overcome, and only shapes one's character, not one's self-esteem. • Radical professors and the media want us divided — Admittedly, there

E. Faye Williams

Guest Columnist

Rev. Jesse L. Jackson Sr.

Water Crisis in Jackson Reflects Vicious Neglect

In sweltering heat, 150,000 residents of Jackson, Mississippi, the state’s capital and its largest city, now have no running water, after suffering under a "boil only" order for weeks. The last catastrophe came after extreme rainfall in Jackson swelled the Pearl River and swamped the city’s outmoded water treatment plant.

This was a disaster waiting to happen. Why wasn’t the system rebuilt years ago? In deep red Mississippi, every statewide elected official is a conservative Republican, and while Jackson is the state capital, it is also a poor, majority-Black city that Republican office holders find easy to short-change.Republican state lawmakers blocked the city’s efforts to raise money for its infrastructure with a sales tax hike, while passing tax cuts — skewed to the wealthy —at the state level.

A Republican controlled state legislative committee blocked a 2021 bill that wold have allowed issuance of a bond to help pay for infrastructure improvements. The Republican governor, Tate Reeves, instead called for the city to do a better job collecting water bill payments.

In the emergency, Mississippi will get immediate help from the federal government. And the state will get significant funding from the recently passed Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act signed into law by President Joe Biden that allocates about $429 million to fund water system improvements in the entire state of Mississippi.

Yet every Republican member of the Mississippi delegation to Congress, except one, voted against that infrastructure bill. And of course, Republicans have for years scorned even the existence of global warming, while opposing any efforts to strengthen our roads, bridges and water systems to prepare for it.

Mississippi is not alone. The American Society of Civil Engineers give America’s storm water protections the grade of D on their infrastructure report card. Think about that.

In Arkansas, floods in 2021 wiped out bridges and roads, took out power lines, and buried homes and cities in mud and debris. Again, the federal government stepped in to help fund needed repairs. Arkansas now is slated to receive $96 million for 19 flood control projects across the state from the infrastructure bill. Again, every single Republican in the state’s congressional delegation voted against the money for flood control.

In Kentucky, fierce floods — caused again by unprecedented rains that result from catastrophic climate change — took the lives of 37 people (and counting) and devastated entire communities. Much of southeast Kentucky remains under "boil water" orders because of overwhelmed water systems.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) admits that the $1.2

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Guest Columnist

Marc H. Morial

Trailblazing News Anchor Bernard Shaw Inspired a Generation of Black Journalists

"The qualities that made him our anchor — our rock: a manner and a voice that makes every word believable; the coolest demeanor in the hottest situations; the cut-to-the-quick interviewing style; and, at his core, a powerful combination of journalistic integrity and pure instinct." — Judy Woodruff

Representation in media matters. It can shape not only how people perceive one another, but how people perceive themselves.

That's why the remarkable career of television journalist Bernard Shaw, who passed away this week at the age of 82, was so significant. When the brand-new 24-hour cable news network CNN launched in June 1980, America saw a Black man in the prime-time anchor chair. He was only the second Black anchor of a network evening news program; Max Robinson had been named co-anchor of ABC News's "World News Tonight" in 1978 just two years earlier.

While Shaw's award-winning career may have inspired an entire generation of young Black journalists, Shaw himself had no role models of color. But he knew what he wanted to be from the time he was a teenager growing up in Chicago. CBS News correspondent Edward R. Murrow "was my idol," Shaw said. "He was the kind of journalist, the kind of interviewer, the kind of anchorman I wanted to be."

In 1961, when Walter Cronkite, also of CBS, arrived to report a story on Oahu where Shaw was stationed as a Marine, Shaw seized his chance. "I called the hotel 34 times and left 34 messages," Shaw said. He waited two hours for Cronkite in the hotel's lobby. "He was the most persistent guy I've ever met in my life," Cronkite said. "I was going to give him five begrudging minutes and ended up talking to him for a half-hour. He was just determined to be a journalist."

Shaw downplayed the role of race in his career but said, "There were times when my color did play a role in perceptions, or people's reactions to me." He recalled a moment as a pool reporter covering a reception for President Lyndon Johnson "sumptuous ballroom" at the Plaza Hotel in New York. Among the guests were National Urban League President Whitney M. Young. "It was clear that this night had a very strong civil rights theme." Just before making his entrance, President Johnson reached out to Shaw and

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