Honoring Black Americans’ Role in the Inception of Memorial Day

Ambassador Andrew Young Weighs in

on Black Participation

By Stacy M. Brown WI Senior Writer

Memorial Day has a deep historical connection to the African American community in the United States.

The holiday, which originated as Decoration Day, initially began when formerly enslaved individuals and their descendants gathered to honor and decorate the graves of Union soldiers who fought during the Civil War.

“Oddly, that’s a fact that I wasn’t fully aware of,” former U.S. Ambassador Andrew Young told the Informer.

“It’s not surprising, though,” said Young, an American civil rights leader and hero.

Indeed, on a day when picnics, family outings, and other leisurely pursuits occur, the founders of Memorial Day meant for the occasion to honor African Americans

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Informer Co-Founders Honored with Ceremonial Street Sign

Wilhelmina & Calvin Rolark Way Debuts in Ward 8

By James Wright WI Contributing Writer

The late Calvin and Wilhelmina Rolark, co-founders of the Washington Informer Newspaper, were recently honored with an honorary street renaming in Ward 8. The ceremony took place on May 18, which would

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Don't Miss This Month's WI Bridge Center Section

Coach Nickens Sets the Standard at Theodore Roosevelt High School

By Sam P.K. Collins WI Staff Writer

5 Rob Nickens, coach of Roosevelt High School’s varsity basketball team for 18 years, uses basketball to help his players advance their athletic and educational goals. (Ja’Mon Jackson/Washington Informer)

With an important basketball tournament on the horizon, the members of Roosevelt Senior High School’s boys varsity basketball team are maintaining a training regimen that keeps them in the gym at 4301 13th Street NW for hours on end. Each morning before the start of school, the young men complete morning strength and conditioning workouts. They also participate in practice runs that reinforce the

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