The Washington Informer - February 23, 2023

Black Street Vendors Anticipate Likely Passage of Council

Legislation

By Sam P.K. Collins WI Staff Writer

Since last summer, numerous passersby have gotten a taste of honey glazed salmon, lamb chops, mac and cheese and honey barbeque wings, among other soul food delicacies, while walking along 14th Street in Columbia Heights.

They’ve been able to do so, thanks to Sunni Teez Kitchen, a small Blackowned business that set up shop under a large black tent, just a few feet from the entrance of the DC USA Shopping Complex.

Since launching Sunni Teez Kitchen last July, District couple Sunni

Stuart and Shaun Stepney have hired three people, including a chef. They’ve also started the process of transferring their LLC from Delaware to the District, all with the goal of eventually securing a brick-and-mortar location.

In the interim, Stuart and Stepney continue to join other Black and brown vendors along a portion of 14th Street and Irving Street in Northwest, who sell a variety of foods, clothing, accessories and artwork -- all while under the threat of police harassment.

With a vendor decriminalization bill making its way through the D.C. Council however, all of that will soon

VENDORS Page 44

The

D.C. Council Recognizes Black History Site in Georgetown

By Sam P.K. Collins WI Staff Writer

Over the last few decades, as Georgetown grew in prominence as one of the District’s top tourist locations, the Mount Zion-Female Union Band Society Cemetery served as a reminder of the neighborhood’s rich African-American history.

That’s due, in part, to preservationists who’ve fought tooth and nail to memorialize Mount Zion-Female Union Band Society Cemetery. Such efforts have manifested in the District government’s infusion of $1.6 million for a nearby storm drainage system.

Most recently, it also inspired the D.C. Council’s commemoration of the Mount Zion-Female Union Band Society Cemetery’s 215th anniversary with the passage of a ceremonial resolution. That resolution, approved by the entire council on Feb. 6, recognizes the cemetery’s national signifi-

HISTORICAL SITE Page 44

Biden Issues Executive Order on

Further Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities

By Stacy M. Brown WI Senior Writer

President Joe Biden has issued a second executive order to extend and strengthen federal actions to enhance equitable processes and outcomes for Americans.

The action builds on the critical mandates contained in the president’s executive order to advance racial equity throughout the federal government.

Biden issued the first order immediately after taking office in Jan. 2021.

“This executive order is crucial to enhancing the federal government’s progress on advancing racial equity,”

EQUITY Page 38

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

5Sunni Stuart of Sunni Teez Kitchen, a small Black-owned business that sets up shop under a large black tent, just a few feet from the entrance of the DC USA Shopping Complex, on 14th Street in Columbia Heights. (Photo by Marckell Williams)

5D.C. Councilmember Anita Bonds (D-At large), pictured with Lisa Fager, executive director of the Black Georgetown Foundation, introduced a D.C. Council resolution honoring Mount Zion-Female Union Band Society Cemetery in early February. (Shevry Lassiter/The Washington Informer)

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Georgia Grand Jury Forewoman Hints of Criminal Indictment Against Trump

Emily Kohrs, the forewoman of the Georgia Special Grand Jury that investigated election interference, gave the strongest hint yet that former President Donald J. Trump will be indicted in the Peach State.

“It is not a short list,” Kohrs told the New York Times on Tuesday, Feb. 21.

While the newspaper said she declined to discuss who specifically that grand jury recommended for indictment, Kohrs appeared to remove any suspense.

“You’re not going to be shocked. It’s not rocket science,” she responded when asked specifically whether the jury recommended indicting Trump.

Reportedly, the grand jury has recommended indictments of multiple people on what the Times said was a range of charges.

Most of the grand jury’s report remains under seal at the order of the judge.

Led by District Attorney Fani Willis, legal experts view Georgia as the place Trump has potentially the most legal exposure criminally.

In January, the Manhattan district attorney’s office started presenting evidence to a grand jury on whether Trump paid off a porn star to keep her silent during his 2016 presidential campaign.

Mississippi Congressman Bennie Thompson, who chaired the January 6 committee that investigated the Capitol insurrection, told the Black Press that the panel turned over a mountain of evidence against Trump to the U.S. Department of Justice.

The Great Exodus: More Black Women Are Reportedly Moving Abroad for Better Lives

In January 2020, Atlanta tech professional Ashley Cleveland received her third pink slip in five years. After counseling for burnout and severe depression, the 36-year-old decided to shift her environment.

She said she lived in a society “that didn’t value Black women’s mental or physical health.”

Cleveland moved her 2- and 11-year-old daughters with her to Tanzania before settling in South Africa in January.

In September 2020, Perry co-founded the ExodUS Summit, a digital platform to help women determine how to leave America.

“This is a movement,” Perry told the outlet. “I think Black women have discovered that the American dream is not necessarily possible in America.”

A survey of 2020 summit attendees showed that 25% to 30% of members earned more than $200,000 a year and held graduate or professional degrees. The majority are also Generation Xers or baby boomers.

Mexico, Portugal and the Caribbean attract Black Americans. Some moved to Bangkok. Perry predicts this will be another Great Migration, partly because those places have cheaper living costs.

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

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PUBLISHER

Denise Rolark Barnes

STAFF

Micha Green, Managing Editor Ron Burke, Advertising/Marketing Director

Shevry Lassiter, Photo Editor

Lafayette Barnes, IV, Editor, WI Bridge DC

Jamila Bey, Digital Content Editor Austin Cooper, Our House Editor Desmond Barnes, Social Media Stategist ZebraDesigns.net, Design & Layout Mable Neville, Bookkeeper Angie Johnson, Office Mgr./Circulation

REPORTERS

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

PHOTOGRAPHERS

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

On the site, people talk about planning for longterm travel, finding house-sitting jobs abroad, and turning a skill into an online business.

During Perry’s first event, more than 3,000 registered. Last year, the online Summit hosted over 4,500 women.

“ExodUS Summit was truly the most inspiring thing I’ve taken part in,” Amanda, who didn’t provide her last name, wrote on the Summit page. “Moving abroad was just an idea before. But, after the Summit, it became achievable.”

WI

Like Michael Jackson, Beyoncé Proves More than Just a Music Superstar

Probably no two groups of people in the history of popular music have ever had more devoted followers than Michael Jackson and Beyoncé

Like the late King of Pop, Beyoncé’s fanbase (the BeyHive) is unrivaled.

The two are so revered that even A-list celebrities pay their respects to them.

Trevor Noah, who hosted this year’s Grammys, was so overcome by her presence, he handed Beyoncé her award while she was still in her seat.

“We’ve got Beyoncé in the room, people,” Noah giddily announced.

Later, when Lizzo won Record of the Year, instead of basking in her victory, she praised Beyoncé.

“Thank you so much,” she told the Queen. “You clearly are the artist of our lives.”

Pop’s undisputed king and queen have devotees who have shown or expressed a willingness to mortgage their homes, max up their credit cards, and even sell body parts just to see them perform live.

Tickets for Beyoncé’s Renaissance Tour reportedly cost more than $500 on average, with the more deep-pocketed of her fandom willing to spend a whopping $2,100 for a standing room only spot in a section called the BeyHive. When an assembly of A-list celebrities got together at Madison Square Garden in 2001 to celebrate Michael Jackson’s 30th anniversary in showbiz, tickets on the secondary market climbed as high as $10,000.

Despite the high price, two shows at the Garden sold out within minutes.

While Jackson’s impressive total of Grammy wins (13) pales in comparison to the record 32 now held by Beyoncé, the two are music’s unquestioned king and queen. WI

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

Kevin Hargraves-Shird’s Family to File Civil Suit Against MPD

U.S. Attorney’s Office Declined to File Criminal Charges against Police Officer

By Sam P.K. Collins WI Staff Writer

The family of the late Kevin Hargraves-Shird recently revealed plans to file a civil suit against the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) for its involvement in Hargraves-Shird’s death.

This development comes after the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia decided against criminally charging MPD Sergeant Reinaldo Otero-Camacho, the man who shot and killed Hargraves-Shird last July at the culmination of a vehicular pursuit in upper Northwest.

A Feb. 9 statement released by the U.S. Attorney’s Office said that MPD’s review of the shooting found insufficient evidence.

Authorities said their investigation included a review of police and witness statements, a police report, body-worn camera footage, an autopsy report, forensic reports, recorded audio communication and physical evidence.

Yaida Ford, the attorney representing Hargraves-Shird’s family, said that by not collecting a statement from Otero-Camacho, the U.S. Attorney’s investigation didn’t go far enough.

“The finding is medically and factually inaccurate,” Ford said “He's under internal affairs review and [the U.S. attorney's decision] gives him cover. Failing to conduct a fair investigation leaves the officer free of facing prosecution. If the U.S. attorney's office can't prosecute him, then who can?"

When this case goes to civil court, the Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia will represent MPD.

Ford said that it remains unclear if the U.S. Attorney’s office received witness statements. She also revealed that investigators didn’t canvas Fort Slocum Park, the site of the police-involved shooting, until weeks after Hargraves-Shird’s death.

Another point of contention, Ford said, centers on MPD’s insistence

that Hargraves-Shird was facing Otero-Camacho when Otero-Camacho shot and killed him. Ford affirmed the opposite, citing the autopsy that designated the back of Hargraves-Shird’s right earlobe as the bullet’s point of entry.

She also said the manner in which Hargraves-Shird’s hands were planted -- palms up and next to his body -- further bolsters her point that he had his back to Otero-Camacho at the time of his death.

As supporters of Hargraves-Shird’s family have done in the past, Ford also pointed to body-worn camera footage to note that Otero-Camacho shot and killed Hargraves-Shird from 100 feet away, never issuing a verbal warning before doing so.

Hargraves-Shird, a business owner and father of three, died on the afternoon of July 30, several minutes after MPD officers responded to reports about a nearby shooting.

Body-worn camera footage shows Otero-Camacho pursuing a white sudan occupied by Hargraves-Shird and others along Missouri Avenue NW.

LAWSUIT Page 8

OFFICE OF THE CHIEF FINANCIAL

THE DC EARNED INCOME TAX CREDIT (DC EITC) is a special tax break, based on the federal EIC, designed specifically for low- and moderate-income workers.

NEW THIS YEAR, the DC EITC has been increased to 70% of the federal EIC. Additionally, individuals with qualifying children receiving the DC EITC will be paid differently than in previous years.

● Taxpayers will receive a refund equal to 40% of their federal EIC as usual after their return is processed.

● The balance of the EITC will be paid in equal monthly installments over the next 11 months.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE VISIT

5 Yaida Ford, the attorney representing Kevin Hargraves-Shird’s family in a civil suit against MPD, said the U.S. Attorney’s investigation in his police-involved shooting death didn’t go far enough. (Photo courtesy of Steve Ragland)

AROUND THE REGION

FEB 23

1868 – W.E.B. Du Bois, author, sociologist and civil rights activist, is born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts.

1942 – Haki Madhubuti, author, activist, and founder of the Third World Press, is born in Little Rock, Arkansas.

1979 – Frank E. Petersen Jr. is promoted to brigadier general, becoming the first African American general in the Marine Corps.

FEB. 24

1811 – Daniel Payne, author, educator and integral figure of the African Methodist Church, is born in Charleston, South Carolina.

1864 – Rebecca Lee Crumpler can American woman to earn a medical degree. 1999 – Rapper and singer Grammys including Album of the Year, setting a onenight record for a female artist.

FEB. 25

1903 – Albany State University, a historically Black college, is founded in Albany, Georgia.

1948 – Civil rights icon Jr. is ordained as a minister at Ebenezer Baptist

FEB 23 - MAR 1, 2023

SOURCE: BLACK AMERICA WEB

Church in Atlanta, where his father was a pastor. 1964 – Muhammad Ali, then known as Cassius Clay, defeats Sonny Liston by a 7th-round TKO in Miami Beach, Florida, to win the heavyweight boxing championship for the first time.

FEB. 26

1926 – Boxing great Theodore "Tiger" Flowers becomes the first Black middleweight champion. 1928 – R&B legend Fats Domino is born in New Orleans.

1965 – Civil rights activist Jimmie Lee Jackson dies eight days after being shot by police during a peaceful voting rights march in Marion, Alabama.

FEB. 27

1844 – The Dominican Republic declares its independence from Haiti.

1872 – Charlotte E. Ray, the first Black American female lawyer in the United States, graduates from Howard University School of Law.

1897 – Famed opera singer Marian Anderson, the first African American singer to perform at the White House and the first African American to sing with New York's Metropolitan Opera, is born in Philadelphia.

1988 – Figure skater Debi Thomas becomes the first African American to win a medal in the Winter Olympics.

FEB. 28

1984 – Michael Jackson wins eight Grammys for his record-breaking "Thriller" album.

MARCH 1

1913 – Famed novelist and scholar Ralph Ellison, author of "Invisible Man," is born in Oklahoma City.

1927 – Singer-songwriter, actor and social activist Harry Belafonte is born in Harlem, New York. WI

LAURYN HILL

MICHAEL JACKSON

BY SARAFINA WRIGHT

Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre has filed defamation lawsuits against multiple people, including television personality and fellow Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe, who discussed Favre’s alleged role in the Mississippi welfare scandal. What are your thoughts?

REMICHA NELSON / WASHINGTON, D.C.

I’m hoping Shannon Sharpe countersues for the millions Favre took.

LISA D. / BIRMINGHAM, ALA.

Everybody said it. He knows he is guilty, but some people never want to be held accountable for their crimes. How evil can you be to steal from the poor, considering you made over a $100 million during your career? Now I understand why Mississippi is the poorest state in America. They have been doing this for a long time.

DENISE FREEMAN / ST. LOUIS

Where is the lie? Isn’t that what happened?

LOCHTON GRANT / WASHINGTON, DC

Brett must not know about a little thing called “discovery.” My bet is he’ll drop the lawsuit right before this begins to play out.

O. WILKINS / WASHINGTON, DC

Well, in Mississippi, he has the right complexion to get away with stealing and suing because it seems like they are all corrupt.

Nike Brings the Web3 Conversation to D.C.

By Chris Esmele

With the rise of blockchain and Web3 technology moving into consumer markets, Nike Virtual Studios seeks to apply these networks for future community engagement. .SWOOSH, Nike’s Web3-enabled platform, is currently undergoing its limited beta phases, but that hasn’t stopped its lead product team from inviting communities to connect with them as creative advocates.

The .SWOOSH Sessions is Nike’s approach to initializing dialogue between local communities by holding discussions in affiliated stores. Including local influences, the .SWOOSH Sessions actualizes the platform’s growing values and further advocates for community-building capabilities. As stated in its outreach flyer, “No pre-existing knowledge is necessary, just come with an open mind and bring your curiosity, allowing everyone to join the conversation.

Along First Street S.E., a long line awaits outside the cafe/ clothing store SOMEWHERE, a known neighborhood space in

Southeast DC. Painters, recording artists, sneakerheads, NFT collectors, and known cultural architects populated these lines. Upon entrance, leatherbound journals branding the infamous Swoosh logo were given to attendees as staff members outfitted in Nike Tech Apparel led people into their seats.

Seated in front of the audience was Jasmine Watkins, .SWOOSH’s Community and Content Manager, Isaiah Andrew, the Creative Director of the platform, and Jasmine Gao, the Lead Product Manager. This trio of speakers introduced the audience to Nike’s Web3 leadership and a rich diversity of disciplines to connect around. WI

Read full story on wibridgedc. com by scanning the QR code.

Once the car crashed at Fort Slocum Park, Hargraves-Shird and others fled the scene.

Otero-Camacho stepped out of his vehicle and behind the driver seat door to shoot Hargraves-Shird as he ran away. Hargraves-Shird died at the scene.

Hargraves-Shird’s death happened not far from where MPD Officer Terence Sutton and Lieutenant Andrew Zabavsky engaged Karon HyltonBrown in a deadly vehicular pursuit in the fall of 2020. During the latter part of last year, a jury found Sutton guilty of second-degree murder and obstruction of justice. Zabavsky was similarly found guilty of obstruction of justice.

Ford, who’s representing the family of Deon Kay in a separate case, said that the police-involved deaths of Hargraves-Shird, and others in the District, further shows the need for police training and accountability beyond what the U.S. Attorney’s Office appears willing to provide.

“It’s clear that officers act without training and tactical vision,” Ford said on Feb. 14. “Procedure was not followed -- no verbal warnings for Kevin Hargraves-Shird -- the basic things. The U.S. Attorney’s decision is part of a broken system. The relationship between MPD and U.S. Attorney’s office is close, so therein lies an inherent bias when it comes time to review a case.”

WI @SamPKCollins

5 Jasmine Watkins, .SWOOSH’s Community and Content Manager (WI Bridge/ Nik Rupp)

LAWSUIT from Page 5

Material Possibilities in the Collection

March 18-May 14, 2023

Tulsa Race Massacre Survivors Set to Receive Ghanaian Citizenship at Ceremony in Washington

By Stacy M. Brown WI Senior Writer

Viola Fletcher, the 108-year-old survivor of the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921, and her 101-year-old brother, Van Ellis, will acquire Ghanaian citizenship during a ceremony at Ghana’s embassy in Washington on Tuesday, Feb. 28.

In 2021, Fletcher, affectionately called “Mother Fletcher,” and Ellis, often called “Uncle Red,” traveled to Ghana for the first time.

The visit was part of Ghana’s Remembrance Day.

For Fletcher and Ellis, it also counted as a time of reflection on the Tulsa massacre, which left about 300 dead, hundreds more injured, and 10,000 African Americans homeless.

The pair returned to Ghana this month but will attend the citizenship ceremony organized by the Ghana Tourism Authority, members of the government, and H.E. Dr. Erieka Bennett, the founder, and head of mission at the Diaspora African Forum.

The Ministry of Tourism, Arts, and Culture, the Ministry of Interior, and the Ghana Tourism Authority will host the 11 a.m. event.

“The family is honored to be receiving Ghanaian citizenship

for our priceless Black icons,” Ike Howard, Mother Fletcher’s grandson, told the Informer from Africa.

“Mother Fletcher wanted to visit the Motherland before she caught her wings,” Howard stated. “Now she has the option to live in the Motherland.”

In 2021, the Ghana Tourism Authority, Diaspora Africa Forum, and Osu Traditional Council honored Fletcher and Ellis in Accra with a naming ceremony.

Fletcher received the name Naa Lameley. Ellis was given the name Bio Lantey. Both received certificates with their new African names.

“The naming ceremony is for our brothers and sisters to reconnect with them and welcome them back home, and also to review their identities as Africans and Ghanaians, to be precise,” Deputy Minister of Arts, Culture, and Tourism Mark Okraku Mantey said.

“Ghana is a hospitable country, and I am sure you have seen places, worn Ghana, eaten Ghana, and heard Ghanaian music. Share the word that Ghanaians love people, especially Black people,” Mantey declared.

WI

@StacyBrownMedia

Reserve tickets today! PhillipsColletion.org

5 Viola Fletcher, affectionately known as Mother Fletcher, appeared on the National Newspaper Publishers Association’s morning news program, “Let It Be Known,” on Monday, July 19, 2021./NNPA

Dindga McCannon, Charlie Parker and Some of the Amazing Musicians He Influenced (detail), Painting from 1983, mixed media quilt from 2010

AROUND THE REGION

Newsletter

CAPTURE THE MOMENT

– Ms. Lauryn Hill

Who’s Reading the Informer?

Dr. Ivory Toldson reads the Washington Informer. (Shevry Lassiter/The Washington Informer)

“Everything we do should be a result of our gratitude for what God has done for us.”

Amazon delivery driver Shirley Gale (center holding check) donated $10k to the American Heart Association on Feb. 16, for American Heart Month during a celebratory event at Amazon's Lanham delivery location. Gale was recognized as Amazon's most thanked driver for the month of December and also received a check for $10K (Courtesy photo/Amazon)

Noted Local Photographer Seeks Kidney

Maurice Fitzgerald Joins Many Pursuing

By James Wright WI Staff Writer

One of the Washington area’s most well-known African American freelance photographers recently disclosed that he has a need for a new kidney and has issued a call for a donor– a situation thousands of people nationally find themselves in.

Maurice Fitzgerald worked as a freelance photographer for the Washington Informer Newspaper for years taking photos of local and national events. The 68-yearold Fitzgerald, who resides in Fort Washington, Maryland, has retired from the federal government and volunteers as the official photographer for the annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Holiday Peace Walk and Parade held in the District’s Ward 8. Fitzgerald said he wants to continue to his activities.

“I need a kidney to live,” he said. “Somebody should be able to give me one. People have two, they only need one to live. I need to continue to live to spend more time with my family and to perform more service for the community.”

Fitzgerald has joined nearly 92,000 people, according to the American Kidney Fund, who need a kidney transplant. The National Kidney Foundation (NKF) reports 33% of American adults are at risk for kidney disease.

Vital Organ

FITZGERALD’S PURSUIT OF A NEW KIDNEY

Fitzgerald said he has registered with the National Kidney Register for a transplant.

“I wish more people would donate their kidneys,” he said.

Fitzgerald said he is listed as an organ donor on his driver’s license.

“I want to let someone else live,” he said.

Fitzgerald’s plight as an African American, along with many others, seeking a kidney transplant is one of the reasons Dr. Clive Callender, a Howard University Medical School professor and surgeon, founded National

MOTTEP (Minority Organ Tissue Transplant Education Program) in 1996. National MOTTEP works to increase the number of minority donors and decrease the need for transplants through a health promotion campaign aimed at preventing transplants.

“One of the things I learned early on in my career was that there was a

shortage of donors and a complexity in this shortage of donors, and that minorities and African Americans were rarely donors,” Callender, 86, said according to Howard University’s The Dig on August 3, 2021. WI

@JamesWrightJr10

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP) SOLICITATION NO.:

0007-2023

MELVO RAD GENERAL CONTRACTOR

The District of Columbia Housing Authority (DCHA) requires professional General Contractor for the rehabilitation of five (5) bundled DCHA-owned properties that comprise the MELVO Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) Project.

SOLICITATION DOCUMENTS will be available beginning Tuesday, February 21, 2023 on DCHA’s website at www.dchousing.org under “Business” and “Solicitations”.

SEALED PROPOSAL RESPONSES ARE DUE ON OR BEFORE Tuesday, March 21, 2023 at 12:00 PM.

Email LaShawn Mizzell-McLeod, Contract Specialist at LMMCLEOD@dchousing.org with copy to business@dchousing.org for additional information.

5 Maurice Fitzgerald has worked as a freelance photographer for the Washington Informer. (Courtesy Photo/Maurie Fitzgerald)

PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY

Bladensburg Residents Voice Confusion Regarding Proposed Temporary Shelter

By Richard D. Elliott WI Contributing Reporter

Last week, Bladensburg residents were surprised to see a local church that was purchased last year by developers is being converted to a temporary homeless shelter. County Executive Alsobrooks (D) was recently seen touring the site. Among the concerns raised by local organizations and community residents is the transparency prior to the site being chosen.

Some Bladensburg residents allege that this shelter was proposed and approved without the input of local elected officials including City Council members such as District 5 Councilmember Jolene Ivey (D).

“When it was brought to their

attention, I believe a lot of them were not aware,” said Bladenbsurg resident Abdoul Diatike.

Alsobrooks recently confirmed the site is being considered to WJLA News, and admitted she is aware of the opposition. “I’m not tone deaf. I won’t ignore the concerns of the residents of Bladensburg," Alsobrooks said. However, Alsobrooks had criticism of the “not in my backyard” (NIMBY) attitude towards the homeless.

“Everybody loves poor people as long as they don’t live near them,” Alsobrooks said. “That’s literally what I have found. Go from one community to the next -- if you raise the issue of trying to find a place to house the homeless, everyone says we love and care about the poor, but can you tuck them away

so we don’t have to see them.”

BLADENSBURG CITIZENS REACT

Several Bladensburg residents chimed in with their opinions. Diatike believes the Bladensburg site is isolated from areas that offer services outside of housing that would be needed. “We want them to be successful and have the services they need; Bladensburg is not that place. I am sure they can find a use for an abandoned or unused building/warehouse in the nearby unincorporated areas,” he said. He also emphasized that Bladensburg already takes care of the poor in their own community, and that “tucking away a temporary shelter in a working-class

community,” will not provide access to other needed support.

Kristina Smith believes a facility that offers housing without skills development, counseling, or mental health support is not an answer. “The county must co-create solutions with the residents that their decisions will impact,” Smith said when asked how she suggests Prince George’s can better address homelessness. “Yes, this may require a little longer, but the outcomes will usually be a win-win for everyone.”

Steve Weitz believes a town hall should be held on the matter. He said “I do not support a homeless shelter in Bladensburg because our town does not have enough police, town staff and resources to support a homeless shelter. Our small town has 10,000 residents, 5,000 students, seven schools and three very busy highways.”

The Better Bladensburg Block by Block and Business by Business Initiative (B5) is also opposed to the shelter. Similar to the Diakite, the organization said the lack of public transportation access and other agencies that provide need to the site is a concern. In a press release provided to the Informer, B5 explained why the organization has taken a stance against the shelter, noting consideration of residents, public safety and schools.

“In opposing the establishment of a homeless shelter, our stance is not against people in need nor those seeking shelter. On the contrary, in fulfilling its mission, B5 has directed those falling on hard times to appropriate resources and in doing so has acted as a bridge for those in need.”

ESCU Page 13

Multiple residents also stressed the need for affordable housing and more jobs to ensure more County residents don’t become homeless.

WHAT ARE TEMPORARY HOMELESS SHELTERS?

Temporary homeless shelters, such as the one proposed in Bladensburg, differ from transitional housing shelters, such as the Men’s Shelter in Capitol Heights.

In temporary shelters, beds are assigned on a first-come, firstserved basis. In transitional housing, beds are offered on a more extended basis of two weeks or more. For example, The Men’s Shelter in Capitol Heights has 36 beds, 24 for 60-day emergency shelter and 12 for one-year transitional shelters.

“Temporary shelters operate with overnight capacity, releasing those who are able to get a bed for the night to find a place to go during the day,” B5 explained. According to B5, the 5th Council District currently has multiple shelters for women and children along with other existing agencies.

The Salvation Army currently operates in the unincorporated area near the town.

OTHER PROSPECTS FOR THE SITE

During a recent town meeting, a trade school was proposed for the same site.

“To me, the real solution is jobs,” said Diakite. “A multi-functional facility including a trade School is offering to help [residents] get back on their feet.”

WI

5 The Men’s Shelter in Capitol Heights is an example of transitional housing, where housing is offered on an extended basis. In temporary housing, housing is offered on a first-come, first served basis nightly. (Courtesy Photo)

AARP DC Staff Reports

It is that time of year! From February 1-April 18, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will be accepting tax returns for 2022. Do you have a strategy for the best way to get the most out of your state and federal filings? If you need assistance, AARP Foundation’s Tax-Aide has opportunities for you to meet with a volunteer who can prepare your taxes for free.

AARP Foundation Tax-Aide is the nation’s largest free tax assistance and preparation service, offering tax preparation help to anyone – AARP members and non-members alike - who cannot afford a tax preparation service. For 55 years, Tax-Aide has helped nearly 50 million low- to moderate-income taxpayers. Last year, Tax-Aide volunteers helped 2,018 people in the District file their tax returns resulting in a total of $1,647,626 in federal refunds.

When choosing someone to assist with your taxes, it is important to make sure you are working with a legitimate tax preparer. There are many types of tax preparer fraud that you should be on the lookout for. These include “ghost” preparers who set up shop around tax time in pop-up offices or pitch their services at community gatherings. AARP Foundation Tax-Aide volunteers are trained and IRS-certified every year to ensure they know about and understand the latest changes and additions to the tax code and are working on your behalf.

This year, AARP Foundation Tax-Aide has set up sites at libraries, community and recreation centers across the District to provide free tax assistance and preparation. The following sites offer in-person assistance, but

It’s Tax Season. Are You Prepared?

you must schedule an appointment. You can visit: aarpfoundation.org/taxaide or call (202) 642-9037 to get more details and schedule an appointment.

2023 AARP FOUNDATION TAX-AIDE SITES IN WASHINGTON, DC:

Anacostia Library

1800 Good Hope Rd SE

Tuesday & Wednesday, 11:00 am to 3:00 pm

Appointments must be made in-person at the site

Bellevue Library 115 Atlantic Ave SW

Saturday only, 10:00 am to 2:00 pm

Capitol View Library 5001 Central Ave SE

Monday & Wednesday, 10:00 am to 2:00 pm

Georgetown Library 3260 R St NW

Wednesday & Friday, 10:00 am to 2:00 pm

Petworth Library 4200 Kansas Ave NW

Monday & Friday, 12:00 pm to 4:00 pm

Shaw Library 1630 7th St NW

Saturday only, 10:30 am to 2:30 pm

Southwest Library 900 Wesley Pl SW

Monday & Wednesday, 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm

Woodridge Library 1801 Hamlin St NE

Monday & Wednesday, 10:00 am to 2:00 pm

Appointments must be made by phone or email

Chevy Chase Community Center

5601 Connecticut Ave NW

Monday & Wednesday, 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm

Emery Heights Community Center

5701 Georgia Ave NW

Tuesday & Thursday, 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm

Turkey Thicket Recreation Center

1100 Michigan Ave NE

Tuesday & Thursday, 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm

Appointments must be made in-person at the site

For those who cannot make an in-person appointment, there is a virtual option available through Tax-Aide’s Assisted Taxpayer Preparation. Tax-Aide will provide you a

link to free tax return preparation software. You will have a counselor who “coaches” you through the return preparation process using video conferencing and sharing your computer screen. Your returns are filed electronically and saved and/or printed at home.

We're in Your Corner

You can find more information about this option at: aarpfoundation.org/taxaide or calling (202) 642-9037.

Don’t delay! Call or visit our website today to schedule your appointment with a Tax-Aide volunteer.

People today can spend nearly half their lives over the age of 50. That’s a lot of living. So, it helps to have a wise friend and fierce defender like AARP in your community. Find us at aarp.org/dc.

BUSINESS

James Wright / WI Staff Writer

MARYLAND’S MOORE WANTS AGENCY DATA ON MBE PROGRAM

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) signed an executive order on Feb. 16 mandating state agencies to report data assessing the performance of the state’s Minority Business Enterprise program.

“Our administration has the most diverse cabinet in history, and it’s critical that we take the first step forward in delivering more access and opportunities to our minority-owned businesses in order to create a more economically competitive and inclusive state,” the governor said.

A RATE THAT’S

In 2013, state leaders set a MBE goal of 29% which has yet to be met.

The order requires participating agencies that have not submitted mandatory MBE data for fiscal year 2022 to the administration to do so within 15 days. Plus, the order mandates that within 60 days, program participants must report certain procurement activity since July 1, 2022, in addition to MBE goals and benchmarks.

The agencies must report on outreach and marketing efforts conducted since July 1, 2022, too.

Maryland set up the MBE program in 1978 with the aim of increasing participation of minority and women-owned firms in state government procurement.

ALEXANDRIA NIXES SMALL BUSINESS GRANT PROGRAM

Alexandria, Virginia officials announced last week that it will end its BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color) Small Business Grant Program, which was created to offer financial assistance to minority-owned businesses, after a lawsuit by Tridentis LLC in January argued it violated the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution by discriminated against white-

owned firms’ participation.

A small business needed to be at least 51% BIPOC owned for program eligibility.

“Upon review of the lawsuit and the program, we have decided we will not launch the program as currently proposed,” city leaders said in a statement on its website.

City leaders said they will explore other ways to support the Alexandria’s “diverse small business community.”

Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares (R) filed an amicus brief in support of the Tridentis lawsuit.

Alexandria Mayor Justin Wilson said his administration favors supporting minority and women-owned businesses.

“I think we’re committed in Alexandria to being very intentional about addressing some of those inequities and we’ll work within the law and make sure that we do the right thing and design programs that are going to address those needs,” the mayor said.

CAAB RECEIVES HIGH RATING FOR FOURTH STRAIGHT YEAR

Capital Area Asset Builders (CAAB) announced that it has earned the 2023 Platinum Guide Star/Candid Non-

profit Seal of Transparency, the fourth consecutive year it has received such recognition.

The seal of transparency is the highest level of recognition offered by Candid, the world’s largest source of non-profit information.

“We are honored to receive this distinction for a fourth year in a row,” said Joseph Leitmann-Santa Cruz, CAAB’s chief executive officer and executive director. “The qualitative and quantitative data shared on CAAB’s GuideStar/Candid Nonprofit Profile serve as indicators of how diligently we strive to advance CAAB’s mission for the benefit of low-and-moderate income Black, Latinx and immigrant families in our region. We are proudly focusing on intentionally addressing and closing the racial wealth gap in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan region.” WI

5 Maryland Gov. Wes Moore has ordered state agencies to supply data to his office on the Minority Business Enterprise program.

that a return to 1972’s jail population would cut the prison population by 87% from its 2009 peak.

Crime has dropped in some states, often outperforming national trends, due to jail population decreases.

When New York more than halved its jail population between 1999 and 2020, its violent crime rate plummeted by 38% while the U.S. violent crime rate declined by 24%.

The Sentencing Project Launches Education Campaign on Mass Incarceration

By Stacy M. Brown WI Senior Writer

Over five million people are under criminal legal supervision in America, and nearly two million—disproportionately Black—live in prisons and jails.

In the early 1970s, this count stood at about 360,000.

The nonprofit Sentencing Project blames incorrect sentencing laws and policy, not crime, for much of the increase in custodial monitoring.

The Sentencing Project and a coalition of advocates, professionals and allies have launched “50 Years and a Wake Up: Ending the Mass Incarceration Crisis in America,” a public education campaign.

Advocates say the U.S. prison population began its astonishing rise 50 years ago, in 1972.

The new campaign uses that year’s historical significance to raise awareness of mass incarceration’s catastrophic effects on American communities and promote more effective and humane solutions.

“Through the ‘50 Years and a WakeUp’ campaign, politicians and the public will learn about the dire state of the U.S. criminal legal system, the devastating impact of incarceration on communities and families, and they will be urged to support more effective crime prevention strategies for our country,” said Amy Fettig, executive director of The Sentencing Project, in a news release.

“Fifty years of this failed experiment has created a criminal justice system defined by racism, harsh penalties and cruelty.”

Black and Latinx men are six and 2.5 times more likely to be

imprisoned, respectively.

Further, 1 in 81 Black Americans are in state prison.

During the buildup of mass incarceration, the Sentencing Project noted that between 1972 and 2009, the prison population grew an average of 5.8% annually.

Since then, decarceration has averaged 2.3% each year, with a 14.1% decline in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, officials said.

Decarceration slowed to 1.9% in 2021.

The Sentencing Project reported

New York and other states have closed and repurposed prisons due to decriminalization.

Still, the U.S. remains the world’s most incarcerated nation.

Dr. Ashley Nellis, The Sentencing Project’s co-director of Research, commented in a news release, “The social, moral, and fiscal costs involved with the large-scale, decades-long investment in mass imprisonment cannot be justified by any evidence of its effectiveness.”

Nellis claimed that “misguided changes in sentencing legislation and policy—not crime—account for the majority of the increase in correctional supervision.”

As the nation mourns Tyre Nichols and other police violence victims, the Sentencing Project has brought its campaign front and center.

Nearly three years after George Floyd’s murder, advocates claim Congress has failed to confront the dread

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of racist police killings. Further, advocates have asserted that overcriminalization and mass imprisonment require continual scrutiny and commitment from all levels of government.

Nicole Austin-Hillery, President and CEO of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation (CBCF) said, “It is imperative we realize how a preju-

diced criminal justice system, and the resulting mass incarceration of Black people, is wreaking devastation on our communities.”

“Our society needs fundamental reform to our criminal justice system starting with the policies and suggestions detailed in The Sentencing Project study,” Austin-Hillery said. WI @StacyBrownMedia

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5 The Sentencing Project and a coalition of advocates, professionals, and allies have launched 50 Years and a Wake Up: Ending the Mass Incarceration Crisis in America, a public education campaign. (Bart Everson/ Wikimedia Commons)

50 YEARS AND A WAKE UP

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5 Some of the journalists who attended the training during a group discussion workshop organized by African Water Association (AFWA). (Courtesy Photo)

African Journalists Form Network on Clean Water

African journalists have been called upon to share knowledge as reality about water and sanitation during a workshop organized by African Water Association (AfWA) aimed at capacity building in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire on Feb. 18, The New Times, Rwanda’s leading daily newspaper, reported the following day.

Gilles Djagoun, the senior water program coordinator AFWA, stressed that more information and knowledge still need to be imparted to journalists through professional networks, symposiums, and training.

He believes that AfWA should establish mentorship programs, record the impacts made, and develop plans to boost water plans.

“I have no doubt that the gap of lack of access to clean water should be closed and it's high time African leaders enforced policies to curb dirty water as this will lower the spread of waterborne diseases. Which is why journalists need to continue with sensitisation,” he said. One-quarter of the world’s population – two billion people lack safe drinking water and half – 3.6 billion people lack safe sanitation. The damage to human capital is staggering. In 2019, diarrheal diseases were ranked the eight greatest cause of death in the world, claiming 1.5 million lives worldwide, mainly due to poor water and sanitation.

The burden is particularly harsh on women and girls. For example, lack of personal hygiene facilities in schools leads to school absenteeism, with lifelong repercussions from learning losses, according to an article by the World Bank. AfWA leaders stressed the need for safe drinking water and highlighted the triggers of water pollution especially in lakes and rivers due to use of pesticides in fishing, which is illegal. Fishermen have left the lives of many people in danger. In order for everyone to have clean water, water treatment, filtration and disinfection to kill microbes were emphasized as positive mechanisms.

AfWA encouraged drinking portable water as it presents no risks, however, chemicals like chlorine were warned to use in high measures, but rather maintained at five milliliters as they impose some dangers, noting that high chlorine levels could lower the pH level of the water, thus turning acidic. Journalists were also urged to report illegal water access and unqualified well constructions because they connect sewage to clean water, hence contaminating it. WI

Guyana’s President Ali Introduces New Plan to Boost Food Security In CARICOM

Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) have fully endorsed a new project proposal entitled “Building Food Security through Innovation, Resilience, Sustainability and Empowerment” introduced by Guyana’s President Dr. Irfaan Ali, during the 44 Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government held from Feb. 15-17 in Nassau, Bahamas, The Guyana Chronicle reported on Sunday, Feb. 19.

5 Guyana’s President Dr Irfaan Ali at the opening ceremony of the 44th Regular Meeting of the Heads of Government of CARICOM held in Nassau, Bahamas, Feb. 15 – 17. (Courtesy Photo)

Guyana has pledged $2 million towards financing and implementing the project; this project will also benefit from the $100 million line of credit under the CARICOM Sustainability Agriculture Credit Facility, which uses Republic Bank Limited as a lender and the $28 million in financing that the United States government pledged to Caribbean countries last year.

The plan was introduced as the regional leaders received an update on the progress made by the CARICOM Ministerial Task Force on Food Production and Food Security (MTF). This task force will also oversee the mobilization of resources for the project and its implementation.

The lead Head of Government with responsibility for Agriculture and Agriculture Development in the Quasi-Cabinet, Dr. Ali was commended by CARICOM leaders for his leadership on the agri-food systems agenda.

His new plan includes the expansion of hydroponics, the process of growing plants in sand, gravel, or liquid, with added nutrients but without soil. This is according to CARICOM Chairman and Prime Minister of The Bahamas, Philip Davis, as he gave an update on the progress made on the CARICOM 25 by 25 initiative, during a press conference on Friday in The Bahamas.

Twenty-five by 25 is the regional pledge by CARICOM Heads to increase food security by reducing the regional food importation value by at least 25 percent by 2025. WI

Chase Offers Four Steps To Get Your Financial Fitness In Shape

By Angela Swinson Lee Special to The Informer

It’s the first quarter of a new year and many people like to eliminate bad habits and start a new practice. Now is the perfect time to get your finances in order, according to Angie Roster, a market director for JPMorgan Chase.

Just like the resolution makers who rush to the gym to get fit and skinny by spring, those seeking to get financially fit must first assess where their finances currently stand. “If you want to lose some weight, you have to start by weighing yourself, look at what you’re eating, your exercise regime, and then come up with a plan to start living a healthier lifestyle,” Roster said. “It is the same concept with your finances, if you want to get into better financial shape, you have to start by accessing where you are financially, know what your goals are and then come up with a budget to plan it out.”

Roster said it’s best to start by printing out bank and credit card statements. “This allows you to see what’s there.” She said financial health seekers should then write down their short- and longterm financial goals.

Roster, a mother of four, gave an example of one of her personal short-term goals, which is to save for a vacation for her 20th anniversary. Other goals are college education for her children and retirement.

To assist potential savers in reaching their goals, Chase officers a budget builder worksheet which helps people get a view of their financial picture. “It really is eye opening when you can see how much you spend on those

small things because they really can add up,” Roster said. “If you slowly get in the habit of saving each day or each week, it becomes second nature. It takes time, consistency and discipline.”

Once a budget is created, Roster said it’s important to take note of the extra spending to cut back on. “For example, it might be a want versus a need, such as eating out all the time. Now, I am not saying never eat out, but before you go just remind yourself how much have you budgeted to spend.”

Roster said it may be a good idea cut back a couple of days and bring a bag lunch instead.

To add to savings, Roster suggested that extra money, such as portions of work bonuses and tax refunds, should be put towards savings.

Four steps should be followed when trying to get financially fit, Roster said.

The first thing is to set achievable goals.

“There are so many ways to save in 2023, but first you have to figure out what you’re saving for,” Roster said. “Once you have the vision of what you’re saving for, it’s going to be easier to cut back your spending and start saving for those.”

The second step is to create and

manage a budget. In addition to the budget builder, Chase offers a Wealth Plan, which allows users to see exactly where money is going, even assets from other banks. “Once you have your budget and review it, look at that and adjust it every three months. I recommend doing that because your finances change and your budget should change,” she said.

The third step is to start saving.

“I know it’s easier said than done. Building savings doesn’t happen overnight. You really have to be intentional about putting money aside,” Roster said.

The fourth step is to evaluate your progress.

“Assessing your spending with

what you plan on a regular basis can help you better manage your spending habits, see how are you allocating. If you have to pay taxes or you’re getting a windfall, really look and see where your money is going and how you can budget accordingly.”

Roster said reviewing and updating your budget on a regular basis can help savers reach their goal.

“I would just say more you pay attention to your finances, the easier it will be to make your savings goal a reality,” Roster said.

FOUR STEPS TO GET YOUR FINANCIAL FITNESS IN SHAPE

1. Set Achievable Goals

2. Create and Maintain A Budget

3. Start Saving

4. Evaluate Your Progress

Angie Roster, Chase Market Director

BLACK HISTORY month

Music and Faith Set the Tone for Black Resistance

By Micha Green WI Managing Editor

For this arts loving Bishop's baby, music and faith are intertwined like sugar and sweetness– I can’t have one

without the other. I know theologically speaking, one does not need music for faith, religious and spiritual practices– there are some denominations and churches that don’t even believe in the use of instruments or singing– but again, we’re in Mimi’s musings, and how this brain works, music is one of the key ways I am able to worship God and dive deeper into my faith.

DIVERSITY DIVERSITY HIGHLIGHT

Gospel music sets the tone for most of my days. Since I’m guilty of not attending a specific church every Sunday, music is my praise routine and one of the most intentional ways I practice my Christian faith–in addition to regularly praying. Music is often responsible for some of my deepest prayers, loudest praise and most eye-opening spiritual awakenings.

While I cherish sound as part of my spiritual practice, the interconnectedness between music and faith is Biblical, and for African Americans, ancestral. It’s both in the Bible and our bones.

As the Association for the Study of African American History and Life (ASALH) uplifts “Black Resistance” as its 2023 theme, examining music and faith as sources of power and protest is key. Faith and music, and the intersection of the two, have historically and continue to be integral to Black Resistance.

MAKE A JOYFUL NOISE

Now church, turn your Bible to the Book of Psalms. The title “Psalms,” comes from the Greek word “psalmoi,” and is generally translated to mean “songs,” or “instrumental music.” The words in Psalms are not only meant to be sung, but literally instruct to use music as a form of praise.

Psalm 100: 1-2 (KJV) says: “Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing.”

Then go to Psalm 150: 4-6 (KJV) which says. “Praise him with the timbrel and dance: Praise him with stringed instruments and organs. Praise him upon the loud cymbals. Praise him upon the high sounding cymbals. Let everything that hath breath Praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord.”

MUSIC FROM AFRICA TO THE AMERICAS

In a 2022 Brown University article, Assistant Professor of African studies and music Charrise Barron said the “connection between music and protest and activism in Black American culture predates the founding of the American nation.”

“Black people who were brought to the U.S. through the transatlantic slave trade brought with them traditions of communal music-making,” Barron explained. “Music-making,

for them, wasn’t just something they did as part of religious rituals — it was a part of what they did in community. And so once we began to see Black folks adopting Christianity in the U.S., before the end of slavery, we began to see them mix their music-making practices with the Christian music they were being taught and theologies they were developing. That birthed spirituals and other music that allowed them to express their hopes and frustrations about the situation they were in.”

From “Go-Down Moses,” to “Wade in the Water,” spirituals were religious freedom songs, expressing pain, praise, power and plans of action.

Hilary Daniel, a singer, educator and one of the stars of DC Black Broadway’s April production of “The Giz,” noted that spirituals rooted from the musical tradition of calland-response– which started with African drums, survived the slave trade, and spread across plantations.

“Think about ‘Go Down Moses,’ where the leader sings verses and the chorus replies with each refrain, ‘Let my people go,’ that’s a perfect example of call-and-response,” Daniel said.

“Spirituals, while most consider them simply songs to keep spirits uplifted, [African Americans’] wit allowed for them to find ways to turn these songs literally into freedom,” the singer continued.

Barron unpacked how music was a powerful tool for African Americans to “send coded messages, communicate with allies and even persuade those who weren’t initially on the side of whatever cause they were fighting for.”

Beyond slavery, music and faith are central to Black culture.

Spiritual leaders such as the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Rev. Jesse Jackson, Rev. Al Sharpton and Minister Louis Farrakhan used their religious platforms, teachings and foundations as a means of fighting racism and empowering African Americans, ultimately leading large movements.

Consider Marian Anderson singing “My Country Tis of Thee,” on Easter Sunday in 1939 as form of protest; to marchers linking arms and chanting “We Shall Overcome”; to Kendrick Lamar declaring, “We gon be ‘Alright,’” in 2015,”--these moments show the long tradition of music as a source of power and protest for Black Americans historically and today. WI

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MIMI’S MUSINGS

3 WI Managing Editor Micha Green reflects on the importance of music and faith as keys to Black Resistance historically and today. (Courtesy Photo)

15 Songs of Black Power and Protest

By Micha Green WI Managing Editor

As we wrap up Black History Month, check out this dynamic “Black Power and Protest” playlist in order to jam, bop, and be reminded to fight for justice year-round.

1. “We Shall Overcome” (19th Century)

Starting as a spiritual sung in fields during slavery, “‘l’ll Overcome Someday,'' evolved over the years as a church hymn (1901) and then the Civil Rights rallying song “We Shall Overcome.” With a catchy tune and simple, meaningful verses, such as “We are not afraid,” and “We’ll walk hand in hand,” for centuries the song has served as a message that justice and equity can and will be achieved.

2. “Lift Every Voice and Sing” (1900), James Weldon Johnson

3. “Strange Fruit” (1939), Billie Holiday

4. “Mississippi Goddamn” (1964), Nina Simone

5. “ A Change is Gonna Come” (1964), Sam Cooke

6. “Say It Loud- I’m Black and I’m Proud” (1968), James Brown

7. “Ball of Confusion” (1970), The Temptations

8. “What’s Going On” (1971), Marvin Gaye

9. “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” (1971), Gil Scott-Heron

10. “Get Up Stand Up” (1973), The Wailers

11. "Happy Birthday (1980), Stevie Wonder

12. “Fight the Power” (1989), Public Enemy

13. “Glory” (2015), Common and John Legend

14. “Alright” (2015), Kendrick Lamar

15. “Freedom” (2016), Beyoncé featuring Kendrick Lamar

Check out the full song descriptions on www.washingtoninformer.com.

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Preparing Toda for a Be er Energ F t re

OPC is an independent agency of the District gover nment whic

Sandra Ma a o s-Fr e – present

Contact the Office of the People's Co nsel

Annice M. Wa gner st The 1 People's Counsel 1975 – 1977

Betty A. Noel 1991 - 2010

Fr ederick D. Dorsey 1984 - 1990

Faith as Black Resistance

By Hamil R. Harris WI Contributing Writer

As, then, lay ministers at St. George’s Methodist Episcopal Church, Absalom Jones and Richard Allen became fed up with the blatant disrespect and racism they experienced because of the color of their skin. On a Sunday morning, after being pulled off their knees by white church leaders, Jones, Allen and others ignored demands and walked out of the church in 1787. This led to the beginning of the African Methodist Episcopal Church.

“This year's Black History Month theme is resistance, and there is no greater lasting example of resistance than what Richard Allen did in 1787,” said the Rev. Grainger Browning, pastor of Ebenezer A.M.E. Church in Fort Washington. “Allen’s legacy continues today through movements like Black Lives Matter.

According to historians, the Rt. Rev. Allen was the only person to write an eyewitness account of the

events that transpired in Philadelphia, which were published in 1833.

“When the colored people began to get numerous in attending the church, they moved us from the seats we usually sat on and placed us around the wall, and on Sabbath morning we went to church, and the sexton stood at the door and told us to go in the gallery,” Allen wrote.

“The meeting had begun, and they were nearly done singing, and just as we got to the seats, the elder said, ‘let us pray.’ We were not long upon our knees before I heard considerable scuffling and low talking. I raised my head and saw one of the trustees… having hold of the Rev. Absalom Jones, pulling him off his knees, and saying, ‘You must get up--you must not kneel here.’”

Such stories remind Browning of the ancestors' strength.

“We in the Black church come from a legacy of resistance,” Browning said.

From Philadelphia with Jones and Allen, to a Virginia Plantation

As we celebrate

where Nat Turner, an enslaved person turned preacher, led a rebellion of free and enslaved African Americans in August 1831, literacy and the Bible were the Holy oil that fueled the resistance of African American people.

Once the Civil Rights Movement got in full swing during the mid-twentieth century, faith leaders were at the helm of the fight. Most notably, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., peacefully rallied thousands at a time throughout his fight for social justice. Hundreds of faith leaders actively supported King in the fight for equality.

Today, faith leaders, such as the Rev. William Barber continue the fight in the march towards equity. Barber co-chairs the Poor People’s Campaign, is president of Repairers of the Breach, and founded the Center for Public Theology and Public Policy at Yale Divinity School, is celebrated as an outspoken and spiritual leader. Read the full story www.washingtoninformer.com.

BLACK HISTORY MONTH

in February, we recognize and honor the accomplishments of so many who have helped shape the face and future of our nation.

HARRIET TUBMAN

FREDERICK DOUGLASS

DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.

5 The Rt. Rev. Richard Allen, the first Bishop of the A.M.E. church, is one of the many faith leaders who have contributed to Black resistance. (Courtesy Photo)

BLACK HISTORY MONTH

Black Artists Protested Vietnam War Through Songs

By James Wright WI Staff Writer

While many African Americans had serious reservations about the Vietnam War (1966-1973), Black artists produced songs inspired by activism. The controversial war divided Americans politically, socially and culturally The torn feelings and tragic outcomes are in the numbers: more than 503,000 U.S. military personnel deserted between 1966 and 1973, and according to the American War Library, 7,262 Blacks lost their lives fighting in Vietnam.

Music served a form of protest.

C.R. Gibbs, a District historian, said the songs played an important part of the Black consciousness towards the war.

“The songs educated Blacks about the war,” Gibbs, 73, said. “Even brothers in the barracks were listening to the songs and really taking them in. They were listening for the message.”

Below are a few songs Black artists produced that reflect the emotions

behind the conflict, and, due to their catchy popularity at the time, influenced African American opinions on the war.

“WAR” BY EDWIN

STARR

Released in 1979, “War” by Edwin Starr emerged as one of the most popular anti-war tunes during that era. The Temptations originally recorded it in 1969, but Motown officials opted for Starr’s version for mass distribution because they didn’t want to offend the group’s following among moderate Americans. The Starr version reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1970 and is recognized by music scholars as one of the most popular protest songs ever recorded.

“BRING THE BOYS HOME” BY FREDA PAYNE

“Bring the Boys Home” released

in 1971 by rhythm and blues singer Freda Payne became public at a time when American boys' remains came back to the U.S. in body bags from Vietnam. Payne reportedly thought up the song when she found out that a higher than normal number of soldiers returning in body bags were African American, with the average age at 20-years-old. Payne’s song received a lot of air time nationally but was eventually banned by the American Forces Network, saying it benefitted the enemy.

“WHAT’S GOING ON”

BY MARVIN GAYE

The song, “What’s Going On” got into the hands of Gaye in 1970 after considerable discussion among Motown executives and artists. Gaye tweaked the song by adding a new melody and making other revisions. Gaye’s version was inspired by his concern for the unrest in the country, starting with the Watt’s uprising in 1965. The Vietnam War became a

Diversity Keeps Us Energized

focus in the song due to Gaye’s conversations about the conflict with his brother, Frankie, who served in the military.

“What’s Going On” was nominated for two Grammy Awards in 1972 including Best Male R&B Vocal Performance and Best Arrangement Accompanying Vocalists. In 2004

and 2010, “What’s Going On” was ranked fourth on the Rolling Stone list of “The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time,'' making it the highest Gaye song on the list. The song is included in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll list. WI

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We are proud to support The Washington Informer in celebrating Black History Month and making a difference in our communities.

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5 District native and superstar entertainer Marvin Gaye criticized the Vietnam War through his song “What’s Going On.” (Courtesy Photo/Wikipedia)

HEALTH

The Rising Concern of Heart Health In Black Adults

By Lindiwe Vilakazi WI Staff Writer

The winter season presents a slew of health challenges such as colds, the flu and various respiratory illnesses; but February also marks American Heart Month. With alarming rates in the Black community and the recent on-field collapse of Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin has placed a heavier emphasis on the dire importance of heart health, particularly as it pertains to African Americans across the nation.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Black adults are among those bearing the highest burden of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and the health-related consequences. Although roughly half of all Americans (47%) have at least one of the three risk factors for heart disease, including high cholesterol, high blood pressure and smoking, Black adults are still dying at twice the rate of their White adult counterparts. Heart disease does not abruptly happen, but rather develops over time. The gradual increase of blood vessels leading to the heart becoming more narrow and eventually clogged leads to a host of life-threatening, and at times, fatal, results. Local physicians emphasize some of the key symptoms that signal reasons to be alarmed.

“Heart-related symptoms are pretty common. So lots of people get sharp chest pains here and there. Lots of people get some fluttering in their chest, or palpitations, and a fair number of people will faint,” Dr. Charles Berul, chief of cardiology at

Children’s National Hospital, told WTOP. “So if you get up too fast and get dizzy and faint, that’s not as worrisome. Any of those symptoms with exertion are more concerning.”

The staggering rates highlight major concern as the country is seeing an increasing number of CVD and CVD mortalities among working-age adults (typically within the 35 to the 54-year-old range). Black adults carry the highest “burden” of CVD and closely linked health ramifications across the country.

WARNING SIGNS OF A HEART ATTACK

With heart attacks or symptoms due to cardiovascular disease as one of the leading causes of death in the United States, it is imperative to learn the telling signals of an endangered heart, as well as an active plan of survival if experiencing the horrific illness. Speaking to your doctor to learn your current risks of heart attack and warning signs, and consulting family members to emphasize the importance of calling 9-1-1 in case of emergency are vital checkpoints in keeping yourself and loved ones safe.

The following points outline the physical symptoms to closely monitor if you happen to experience them:

Chest pains: When experiencing a heart attack, your chest will often hurt or feel tightly squeezed and restrained.

Bodily Pains: Usually one or both arms, your stomach, or your back will hurt.

Facial Aches: Pain can occur in either your jaw or neck.

Shallow Breath: A heart attack will take your breath away, if you will, as it will feel difficult to breathe. Dizziness and Sweating: A risk to your heart health can potentially cause one to break out in cold sweats or feel light-headed.

Feelings of Nausea: A common symptom can show as feeling sick to your stomach.

HOW TO GET AHEAD OF YOUR HEART HEALTH

Normalizing healthy lifestyle habits can significantly reduce risk factors such as high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, smoking, obesity and diabetes. Routine practices suggested by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the CDC are sound directives to help regulate heart health, and prevent worsening health conditions such as the following:

Quit Smoking: Smoking is a well-known health hazard as carcinogens and product ingredients greatly increase the formation of plaque in our blood vessels. Cigarette smoke, for example, causes thicker blood and often forms blood clots inside the arteries and veins.

Reduce Intake of Sugary Foods:

Doughnuts, ice cream, sodas and everything sugary in between are an unhealthy impetus for inflammation in our bodies, often leading to excess stress on the heart and blood vessels.

Increase Your Fruit and Vegetable Servings:

Fruits and vegetables are chockfull of antioxidants, which are a great defense in reducing the buildup of plaque and other substances in the arteries.

Have Regular Checkups:

One of the greatest causes of heart attacks and cardiovascular disease is our lack of attention to alarming red flags and proper medical diagnoses to identify the symptoms we are experiencing. Keeping up with your primary care physicians to know your status in terms of blood pressure, blood sugar, blood cholesterol and other measurements are a key tactic to staying two feet ahead of stopping any hazardous health episodes. WI

5 February is American Heart Month. According to the CDC, Black adults are among those bearing the highest burden of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and the health-related consequences in the nation. (Stock photo/Storyblock)

AMERICAN HEART MONTH

Comic Series Teaches Youth How To Save

By Angela Swinson Lee Special to The Informer

The story goes like this. Three friends need $400 for a Queen Bee concert ticket. Sammy gets $100 from his father and is told to invest it. He partners with Katrina, a fashionista and entrepreneur, who makes t-shirts. They make a purchase and sell their product for $20 each and make $1000, more than enough for two tickets.

The third friend, Cash Money Carl, spent all of his money buying clothes and jewelry, and ended up not having enough money for a ticket. Sammy and Katrina encouraged Cash Money Carl to sell the items he purchased, so he can buy a ticket.

He was successful and all were able to enjoy the Queen Bee concert.

Although, it’s relevant today, the story known as, Sammy the Saver, was created four years ago by Carl Brown, director of the DC Small Business Development Center at Howard University.

Thanks to a grant from the Citi Foundation, youngsters across the region can read the comic book about Sammy the Saver while learning about financial literacy. “It’s critically important. “It’s just like teaching them mathematics,” said Brown, a Howard graduate who has run the program for the last seven years. “Don’t seek immediate gratification. If you’re looking to buy something, don’t take your Christmas and birthday money and go out and buy the latest video game. If you really want something big, delay that gratification and get what you want instead of getting things in the interim that may not last.”

Brown said the story came to him one day, and he just wrote it down. “God told me to write this story. I stared writing these stories about Sammy the Saver. That’s not what I wanted to do. I was trying to write a horror movie because I am a big zombie, vampire kind of guy, so I get this thing that says write about financial literacy. I wrote about four or five of them. I wrote them and just put them away.”

The grant is earmarked to promote financial literacy through three components, youth, community organizations and small businesses. The grant is used for workshops from everyday spending to long-term financial planning. Counselors provide money management skills to assist in personal and professional growth.

Sammy the Saver is targeted to kindergarten through eighth grade students. It is one of several workshop series that counselors offer to the community. Brown said he believes the sto-

ries came to him because of the work that he does with small businesses on a daily basis.

“We counsel small businesses on growth and development. I have seen people come in who have a good business, but they don’t have any money. You ask them where is your money going? Well, it’s in the parking lot and it’s on their back,” Brown said. “We need to start earlier on this whole financial literacy piece.”

Brown goes to schools and community events to share the story of Sammy the Saver.

He recalls growing up in New York where he lived near a bank that offered a Christmas Savings Club. Every month he would make deposits and end up with a nice sum of cash at the end of the year. “It teaches them how to count money, how to put a budget together,” Brown said of financial literacy education for the youth. “At the fourth and fifth grade, they are not going to understand credit scores.” Brown saw Sammy the Saver as a way to simply financial literacy for children.

He partnered with Creative Junkfood, a graphics company, to provide the visuals.

“The response has been phenomenal,” Brown said of the feedback from Sammy the Saver.

Brown noted that financial literacy is so critical because many people live above their means, and don’t think about the future. “Why spend $1500 on a car note when a $500 car note does the same thing,” he asked, mentioning many athletes who end up broke less than three years after retirement.

In addition to the Sammy the saver workshops, seminars are given on record keeping, borrowing while black, understanding public service loans and other topics. Sessions are also given on retirement planning for business owners.

All programs are free. For more information about financial literacy training, visit dcsbdc.org or call (202)806-1550. To schedule a session on Sammy the Saver contact Carl Brown at Carl.Brown@howard.edu.

5 Carl Brown, shown at Tyler Elementary, goes to schools and community events to share the story of Sammy the Saver.

3 Youngsters across the region can read the comic book about Sammy the Saver while learning about financial literacy.

Submitted by Washington Gas

Six months ago, Washington Gas teamed up with WUSA9 for our first sponsored Recycle Day. The Sept. 17 event was an overwhelming success, and we heard from many people that they had tons (literally) of items still waiting to be recycled at home.

To help even more old items find a new purpose, we partnered with WUSA9 on Feb. 4 for a second sponsored Recycle Day. Our Springfield, Virginia, location was buzzing as hundreds of vehicles dropped off paper and electronics for a trip to the recycling facility instead of to a landfill.

It’s a proven strategy that little changes can produce impressive results, but the combined totals of these two events have been truly staggering.*

• Paper: 120,000 pounds recycled (60 tons)

The average ream of 8.5” x 11” copy paper contains 500 sheets and weighs about five pounds.* That’s more than 12 million sheets—enough to create a stack as high as nine Washington Monuments. It’s also enough square footage to paper more than 135 U.S. football fields.

• Electronics: 57,000 pounds recycled (28 tons)

During this event, vast heaps of old electronics—such as laptops, phones and small appliances— were diverted from landfills. Considering that a single computer monitor can take thousands of years to decompose, this was a massive win for today’s environment and the planet’s future.

Another benefit of recycling old electronics is that reclaiming materials significantly reduces

Early Spring Cleaning for the District

the higher energy needs of raw mining and first-time refining. For example, steel is 100% recyclable and can be recycled repeatedly into new materials of the same quality.* Similarly, recycling aluminum uses 95% less energy than producing refined metal from its original raw form while saving 14,000-kilowatt hours of electricity.*

During the Feb. 4 event alone, 19,000 pounds of steel and 3,000 pounds of aluminum were recouped from those piles of outdated electronics. Other regained materials included 2,100 pounds of copper, 500 pounds of lead, 90 pounds of arsenic and almost four pounds of gold. (If you were wondering, computer parts contain the most gold among electronics.)*

In the past six months, these two local recycling events have helped divert 88 tons of waste from local landfills and potentially from our rivers and watersheds. Other positive environmental benefits include:

• Metals recouped: 24,000 pounds

than 25% of the 3,800 flowering cherry trees along the National Mall, including the 162 that bloom around the MLK Memorial.* Your recycling efforts enhance our city’s beauty during cherry blossom season and all year long. Our thanks to WUSA9 for being such an outstanding partner. Events like these underscore how daily changes can help reduce waste and pollution. Stay tuned for details on our next recycling day in October 2023 and upcoming Earth Day events on April 22.

ENERGY EFFICIENCY REDUCES ENERGY USAGE

One of our most urgent goals is to help homeowners and disadvantaged communities throughout the District reduce their natural gas consumption. Washington Gas energy-conservation programs include rebates to lower the up-

front cost of high-efficiency equipment; recommendations for small energy-saving actions; easy-to-install DIY measures; whole-home weatherization assistance; and large-scale, customized commercial retrofit projects.

These programs offer proven methods to lower energy costs while increasing reliability and comfort.

SPEAKING OF ENERGY…DO YOU NEED HELP WITH YOUR ENERGY BILL?

Challenging times can strike any family at any time. If you or someone you know needs assistance, you have many options to receive help with your energy bill: installment and automated payment plans, budget planning and more. Visit washingtongascares. com to learn more.

*Sources

WUSA9 (Recycling Days statistics)

Lewan Technology http://bit. ly/3S4hs62 (paper weight)

American Iron and Steel Institute https://bit.ly/3EdYYug (steel recycling facts)

Stanford University http://bit. ly/3YDqrh3 (aluminum recycling facts)

PCC Group http://bit.ly/3YBETGq (gold in electronics)

NationalMall.org http://bit. ly/3Eh67dd (cherry tree statistics)

• Water saved: 130,000 gallons

• Electricity conserved: 518,000 kilowatts

• Greenhouse gas emissions reduced: 81 metric tons

Finally, let’s talk trees! You might have noticed in the graphic above that these two events have saved the equivalent of more than 1,000 trees. Think of that as saving more

The Oval Office is Important to Black History

The White House issued a statement acknowledging February Black History Month. It reads, in part, “During National Black History Month, we celebrate the legacy of Black Americans whose power to lead, to overcome, and to expand the meaning and practice of American democracy has helped our Nation become a more fair and just society.”

Every President occupying the Oval Office has the capacity to govern from the premise that, in the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., “The ultimate test of a man (woman) is not where he (she) stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he (she) stands at times of challenge and controversy.”

As we commemorate Black History Month 2023, I am mindful of the many moments in our history that have occurred in the Oval Office.

In August of 1863, Frederick Douglass, visited President Abraham Lincoln to urge equal pay for Black soldiers. Lincoln and Douglass had one final meeting in March 1865, a month before the President’s assassination.

Mary McLeod Bethune became a trusted advisor to President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his wife, Eleanor. During her many visits to the Oval Office, she played a key role in shaping social and economic policies for Blacks in the 1930s and 1940s.

On June 11, 1963, President John F. Kennedy announced that he would be sending civil rights legislation to Congress. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was signed into law on July 2 by President Lyndon B. Johnson.

Barack H. Obama, on January 20, 2009, became the first Black man to enter the Oval Office as President. Among his accomplishments was the passage of the Affordable Care Act.

On March 29, 2022, President Joe Biden met with Emmett Till’s family before signing the “Emmett Till Anti-Lynching Act” into law. Standing by him in his office was the first female and Black Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harris.

Try Adapting Better Habits This Lent

With Pew Research reporting 65% of adults in Washington, D.C. are Christian, it is likely that many people are marking the season of Lent—the 40 days and 40 nights before Easter.

Lent is important to many in the Christian faith as it acknowledges the various occurrences leading up to Jesus' resurrection, an event and belief that is the foundation of Christianity in itself. Sacred practices happen during the Lenten season and Holy Week, such as Ash Wednesday, Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, and Good Friday– marking the death of Jesus Christ, the ultimate sacrifice for Christian’s sins.

In the same way Jesus sacrificed, Christians often give up materialistic and worldly items or life distractions. Folks have been known to give up food items, alcohol, caffeine, going to a specific place or social media apps.

“Lent is a good time for sacrificing. Let us deny ourselves something every day to help others,” Pope Francis tweeted in 2014.

Denying oneself to help others can also mean giving up a seat for a stranger on the Metro, taking a shorter shower in order to help your partner or roommate get to where they need to go in time, or even biting your tongue at a time when you know a comment won’t help a situation.

Being intentionally about showing acts of God’s love is key during Lent. She might not be a religious leader, but Ms. Lauryn Hill definitely has thoughts on theology: “Everything we do should be a result of our gratitude for what God has done for us,” she said.

On Fat Tuesday or Shrove Tuesday, the day before Lent begins the Pope took to Twitter to talk about the importance of spreading love.

“In God, no act of love, no matter how small, and no generous effort will ever be lost,” Pope Francis tweeted on Feb. 21.

So this Lent, consider adapting a better habit that can help others, as opposed to just giving something up. Spreading love is important year-round and Lent can be a wonderful way to begin a life-long intentional practice.

WI

Informing the Community

I really appreciated reading the story about the community playground that was almost a gas station, but thanks to a few concerned citizens, it was saved. Oftentimes in the news, we always see coverage of “important” people or those with a title, but it’s rare to see true community coverage. Thanks, Informer.

Heidi L. Palmer Laurel, Md.

Readers' Mailbox

TO THE EDITOR

The Big Chill

So awesome to learn about the Polar Bear Plunge in last week’s issue. It’s great to see the cool things happening in the District, especially regarding our environment. I’m adding it to my to-do list, as I would love to be part of the next one.

Jacinta Moore Washington, D.C.

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

Charlene Crowell

CFPB Seeks Rule on Junk Fees to Put $9B

to Blacks and others of modest means for a sitting president to speak to the average person's concerns in the annual State of the Union address.

Back in Consumers' Pockets

Junk fees are hidden and unexpected charges that are often not included in the initial or listed price of a transaction but are added on at the time of the payment.

Amid still-rising interest rates, most families remain financially challenged to make household needs fit into their budgets. For Black Americans whose wealth, according to the St. Louis Federal Reserve, amounts to 25 cents for every $1 of white family wealth, the challenge is especially daunting.

So it is particularly encouraging

"Junk fees may not matter to the very wealthy, but they matter to most folks in homes like the one I grew up in," said President Joe Biden on Feb. 7. "They add up to hundreds of dollars a month. … I know how unfair it feels when a company overcharges you and gets away with it."

"Not anymore."

Guest Columnist

Many consumers are unaware of how junk fees bloat the costs of a variety of goods and services. As a result, the actual costs consumers pay are much larger than expected or advertised. Prepaid card fees, convenience fees, overdraft fees, and late fees are among the myriad of add-on charges that consumers often learn about after

A. Peter Bailey

NFL: No Black Coaches in 1973, Two in 2023

When reading or hearing about the extremely limited number of Black head coaches in the National Football League (NFL), I remember an article titled "Where are the Black Coaches?" in the December 1973 issue of Ebony magazine. Under the title, it stated, "No Blacks lead professional teams; only five have been selected as assistants."

The article reported, "This year in the National Football League, 198 coaches are coaching, approximately 1,118 players. While some 435 players are Black, not a single Black is listed among the 26 head coaches in the League and only 5 Blacks are among the League's 172 assistant coaches. They are Emlen Tunnell of the New York Giants, Willie Wood of the San Diego Chargers, Lionel Taylor of the Pittsburg Steelers, Al Labor of the Cleveland Browns and Earnell Durden of the Houston Oilers."

Guest Columnist

Fifty years later, the question asked by Ebony still hasn't been answered. In the Jan. 11, 2023, issue of The Washington Post, included an article, "The NFL is Down to Two Black Coaches. Will anything change this offseason?" It reported that "A year ago, nine teams came out of the 2022 regular season seeking a new head coach, and only one hired a black man. … Now, as the 2023 NFL hiring cycle gets underway, with at least five head coach openings, the landscape is both numbingly

David W. Marshall

Help Wanted: Math and Reading Tutors

understanding that Baltimore City Schools were in trouble, but the report highlights the depth of a situation that appears to be out of control.

or during transactions.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has a section of its website dedicated to explaining the varying types of junk fees and their respective charges. To learn more about this growing consumer issue, visit https://www. consumerfinance.gov/rules-policy/ junk-fees/.

Further, as the consumer's financial cop on the beat, the CFPB has begun the rule-making process to rein in the financial harms caused by a myriad of fees affecting at least

85% of consumers, according to a 2019 survey by Consumer Reports.

The proposed CFPB rule change would make exorbitant late fees illegal. Based on the agency's estimates, the proposal could reduce credit card late fees by as much as $9 billion per year — even though no additional collection costs are incurred.

"In markets across the economy, junk fees have unfortunately become the norm," noted CFPB Di-

CROWELL Page 49

familiar — the Houston Texans' firing of Lovie Smith on Sunday leaves the League with just two Black full-time head coaches — and subtly altered, at least in theory, both by design and circumstances. Whether that translates into programs won't be known for weeks."

The 1973 Ebony article included comments by two former Black players, Gayle Sayers, a great backfield star with the Chicago Bears, and the aforementioned Emlen Tunnell. Sayers was recorded as

saying, "Coaching is a closed fraternity. Owners and general managers usually hire friends for a head coaching post. But I don't think racism has anything to do with it." Tunnell, the first Black player for the New York Giants, was quoted as saying, "The color of one's skin shouldn't be used to measure the wealth of a man, but it will for the rest of our lifetimes."

One question today is, how many 2023 Black NFL players

BAILEY Page 49

The latest test results from the Maryland State Department of Education for 2022 were released, and the report requires an "all hands on deck" response. My first reaction was one of total disbelief. Then came a sense of sadness, knowing the devastating consequences of what I had just read. It confirmed my previous

Baltimore City's math scores were the lowest in the state. Only 7% of third through eighth graders tested proficient in math, meaning 93% could not do math at grade level. In 23 of the 150 Baltimore schools, zero students tested proficient in math. The list of 23 schools included 10 high schools, eight elementary schools,

three middle/high schools, and two elementary/middle schools. It is not just an inconvenient problem; it has become a major crisis affecting the future of Black communities.

It should be noted that another 20 Baltimore City schools had just one or two students test proficient in math. Unfortunately, this is not a crisis isolated to Baltimore. The city of Chicago had similar results.

Based on data from the Illinois State Board of Education, no student can do math at grade level

in 53 Illinois schools. Of the 53 Illinois schools, 33 schools are in Chicago. The same data identifies 30 schools where not a single student can read at grade level; 22 are Chicago schools. Sadly, there is one Chicago high school where not even one student is proficient in math or reading. The school is in the Little Village section of Chicago, which is plagued by gang violence.

The failure of educational systems is a nationwide crisis. The numbers do not lie, and they tell a

very complex story. While we may become shocked by the discouraging numbers and statistics, each represents children whose lives and futures are seriously jeopardized. The crisis of poor student achievement involves separate school districts nationwide having similar challenges. Since everyone plays a part in a child's education, it comes from multiple sources when breakdowns occur. In some cases, it is the student,

Faye Williams

Revisionism Won't Work!

Among hikers and campers, and even among those who are simply logical thinkers, an old axiom provides the indisputable wisdom, "If you don't know where you are, you won't know where you're going." Stated another way, "Knowing where you are is the first step in successfully achieving a goal or objective."

Anyone who has attempted

land navigation in the outdoors understands the truth of these statements. If you look at a map without knowing where you are, it's impossible to get to another location by design. In that circumstance, only dumb luck will get you where you want to go!

That same logic can be applied to provide a clear picture of the dilemma that many of our youth (and a distressing number of adults) suffer from. It is the foundation of the insidious plot of the likes of Ron DeSantis, Glenn Youngkin and scores of others who

Guest Columnist

wish to mollify African Americans into a state of docile acquiescence by denying them a clear understanding of who they are and their complete story. "If you don't know who you are, you'll never know who you can be." Dr. Carter G. Woodson, Father of Negro (Black) History, said it with different words, but with a clear understanding of that outcome.

Denying Black people an understanding of their identity is as old as our victimization in enslavement. It started on the docks of the Motherland where captives of

Ben Jealous

many different tribes and languages were bound and kidnapped with the recognition that they could not offer organized resistance without a common language — a common identity. It worked then and its legacy has continued throughout our American experience.

Efforts to maintain divisiveness within the Black community offer no surprises. For decades, these efforts have been camouflaged with plausible deniability to refute claims of overt racism. Now, brazenly and without shame, leaders of the Republican Party announce

their true intent to undermine an entire community by erasing the history of a people.

I should not have to explain how enraged I was to learn that DeSantis' Florida Board of Education had reached the erroneous determination that Black History had no "significant educational value." If nothing else, the realities of the economic worth brought to a growing nation by a system of human enslavement should have educational value. There are other

It Shouldn't Take a Fiery Crash and Toxic Spill to Push Action on Railroad Safety

People around East Palestine, Ohio, have been warned not to run their vacuum cleaners.

That was the reality two weeks after a train derailment in the village of about 4,700 people near the border with Pennsylvania that damaged public health and the environment in ways that still aren't fully known.

Pennsylvania's health department has told residents that data from its air quality monitoring "do not indicate a potential for long-term health effects," but if people choose to vacuum after their evacuation they should do so "small amounts at a time and take frequent breaks by walking outdoors." As confusing as those messages may be, Ohioans have gotten even less information from that state's government.

Five of the derailed cars con-

tained nearly 1 million pounds of vinyl chloride, a toxic flammable liquid; other cars carried butyl acrylate, ethylhexyl acrylate, and isobutylene. The spills from the wreck have left a long chemical plume moving down the Ohio River at about a mile an hour. The result has been at least 3,500 fish killed. The train's owner Norfolk Southern said it is removing contaminated soil at the crash site, which can leach toxic chemicals into the water and air, after the Environmental Protection Agen-

cy (EPA) raised questions.

The immediate need is to respond to make sure that harm to people, wildlife, and waters now and in the future are limited to the extent we are able. As a starting point, residents need clear, understandable answers about risks they face and support to which they are entitled. While federal authorities generally defer to state officials in disasters, the simmering mistrust caused by the strange odors residents say they smell, the soreness of their

Florida Just the Latest Battlefield in the Right's War on Education

lege Board to water it down. Now DeSantis, pumped up by what he thinks is his victory over educators, is making noise about going after all AP courses in the state.

if these adults have their way.

what AP credit is all about.

throats, and the aching in their heads seems to cry out for a different response.

The EPA and Transportation Department must ensure that Norfolk Southern meets its obligation to make things right. The Sierra Club's Ohio director Ericka Copeland captured it: "East Palestine and the surrounding communities in Ohio and Pennsylvania deserve full transparency from the EPA, Norfolk Southern,

JEALOUS Page 50

It's been a few weeks since a mess started boiling over in Florida with the rollout of the new AP African American Studies course, and no one involved is looking good: not the state Department of Education, not the College Board, and definitely not Gov. Ron DeSantis, who blasted the course publicly and pressured the Col-

It's sad and infuriating to see the adults behaving like bullies and cowards, pointing fingers and trading accusations, while the ones being hurt are kids. Not just Black kids, who have waited years for a college-level course like this, but all kids — who will be deprived of a chance to learn foundational concepts in modern Black history

The new course omits many contemporary Black thinkers and writers. The core program doesn't cover essential issues like structural marginalization, intersectionality, mass incarceration, reparations or the impact of the Black Lives Matter movement. It's impossible to say students are well-versed in African American studies if these topics are considered optional. It's even more absurd to say these students have attained college-level mastery of the subject, which is

And what gets erased next? Do we teach kids about Martin Luther King Jr. and not Malcolm X? Do we sideline Jesse Jackson? How about erasing Ruby Bridges, the little girl who was the first to integrate New Orleans schools? Ridiculous? Not at all: the far-right group Moms for Liberty really did try to ban a book about Ruby from classrooms, claiming it was too upsetting for kids to read about the white mob that harassed 6-yearold Ruby on her way to school.

College Board officials insist that Ron DeSantis' pressure did not force them to make the changes they made in the AP African American Studies course, and I will give them credit for publicly pointing out the ignorance and political motivations on display at the Florida Department of Education. Regardless, the Board played right into DeSantis' hands. And their decision to remove important material from the core portion

MYRICK Page 50

WILLIAMS Page 50

Svante Myrick

Guest Columnist

E.

EDUCATION

Enrollment Season Compels Conversation about Educational Equity

By Sam P.K. Collins WI Staff Writer

a journey to enroll their child in the public school or public charter school (PCS) of their choosing.

In Northeast, Denise Woodfolk navigated the process with her two grandchildren, both of whom have attended public charter schools through-

out their academic career. When it came time to submit their applications, Woodfolk continued along the public

charter school route, especially when it came to her granddaughter, who will soon enter high school.

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Woodfolk, a DC Public Schools (DCPS) alumna and mother of two DCPS alumni, said she came to this decision after administrators at Coolidge High School, her granddaughter’s byright, neighborhood school in Northwest, didn’t respond to her inquiries, over the phone and in-person, about the in-school academies that piqued her granddaughter’s interest.

Soon after abandoning Coolidge as an option, Woodfolk came upon Washington Leadership Academy PCS in Northeast.

While Washington Leadership Academy had what Woodfolk desired in a school, including college prep academies, advanced STEM courses, and small class sizes, the grandmother expressed her appreciation for how administrators engaged her and other parents and guardians at Capital Village Public Charter School, where her granddaughter is currently enrolled.

Woodfolk said that District public schools, by virtue of being the end all, be all for some parents, rarely make the same efforts to engage them. “I see a lot of parents traveling across the city a lot [to get their children to charter schools.] People whose children have [special-education] issues leave the city completely,” Woodfolk said.

“A lot of people tend to go to the public charters because not only do they get their allotted funding from the city, but they’re able to solicit additional income from different organizations,” she added. “DCPS gets a bad rap, but I don’t think they have the ability to go above and beyond. People go elsewhere, because it’s better for their kids.”

SOUTHEAST PUBLIC SCHOOLS CONTINUE TO BATTLE STIGMA

According to preliminary, unaudited figures collected by the Office of the State Superintendent of Education last November, public schools and public charter schools have nearly an equal share of 96,000 District students.

Out of 249 District schools, fewer than half are public schools -- many of which are by-right, neighborhood schools with guaranteed seating for students in the surrounding community.

In January, the D.C. Policy Center released a report showing that most District students -- nearly three out of four -- opt to leave their neighborhood to attend either an out-ofboundary District public school, a citywide DCPS school or a charter school.

This especially happens during the middle and high school years. Parents in communities located in the eastern portions of the District, frustrated with the lack of specialized programs of their child’s by-right, neighborhood school, often seek public charter schools or application-based public schools in other parts of the District.

That trend has affected the racial and socioeconomic composition of many District public schools.

Out of the nine feeder patterns, Jackson-Reed High School (formerly Wilson High School) has the highest level of in-boundary participation-that’s three times greater than the city’s average. That means students hailing from the mostly-white neighborhoods surrounding Hardy Middle School, Oyster-Adams Bilingual School and Deal Middle School in Northwest will most likely commit to attending Jackson-Reed, their by-right, neighborhood high school.

Among all the feeder patterns, the one leading to Eastern High School most closely represents the District’s racial demographics. Other than Jackson-Reed, feeder patterns with high in-boundary participation are overwhelmingly represented by white students and underrepresented by Black students.

Meanwhile, 80 percent of young people living in neighborhoods with feeder patterns leading to Anacostia High School, Ballou High School, Dunbar High School and Woodson High School choose to attend other high schools.

WI

When the MySchool DC common application and common lottery opened in December, legions of District families once again embarked on

5 District families scramble to get through the school lottery process as teachers, administrators and others notice how many residents east of the river work to send their students to institutions in upper Northwest, as opposed to their by-right, neighborhood schools. (Courtesy photo/dcmoms.com)

Celebrating Black History Month:

Key Moments in the Environmental Justice Movement

By Kayla Benjamin Climate & Environment Reporter

Black activists in the District have spent decades fighting for a cleaner Anacostia and an end to polluting industrial and waste facilities sited in predominantly Black neighborhoods. The national movement for environmental justice (EJ)—led by Black researchers, lawyers and organizers—has deep roots, too. In celebration of Black History Month, check out this timeline of crucial moments.

1968: THE MEMPHIS SANITATION STRIKE

During the Memphis Sanitation Strike, workers fought for increased wages and safer working conditions. Many see it as an early example of an environmental justice fight because sanitation workers served one of the most crucial roles in keeping communities clean and healthy.

The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. helped lead the strike in the days before his assassination.

1979: BEAN V. SOUTHWESTERN WASTE MANAGEMENT CORP.

Black homeowners in Houston, led by attorney Linda McKeever Bullard, filed the first environmen-

tal discrimination lawsuit in U.S. history. They charged a waste management company with violations of civil rights laws for its choice to site a landfill just 1500 feet from a local public school. They lost the case— the company did build the landfill in their community. But it laid the groundwork for future environmental justice fights in the courts.

1982: THE WARREN COUNTY PCB PROTESTS

North Carolina’s plan to dump thousands of tons of soil contami-

nated with the hazardous chemical PCB led to a drawn-out fight that included four years of town hall arguments, three lawsuits and over 500 arrests for civil disobedience. Though the state went ahead with the landfill anyway, the protest served as a national catalyst and has been called “the birthplace of the environmental movement.” After decades of continued efforts by residents, the state agreed to detoxify the site, a project it finished in 2003.

1983: ROBERT BULLARD KICKS OFF

WAVE OF RESEARCH

Dr. Robert Bullard (husband to Linda McKeever Bullard) published “Solid Waste Sites and the Houston Black Community,” examining the location of waste sites in Houston. It was the first comprehensive documentation of U.S. environmental racism. Its publication marked the beginning of a series of important environmental justice studies from academics and government agencies. Dr. Robert Bullard later became known as “the father of environmental justice” for his research and activism.

1991: FIRST NATIONAL PEOPLE OF COLOR ENVIRONMENTAL LEADERSHIP SUMMIT

Held here in D.C., this environmental justice summit brought several hundred Native Americans, African Americans, Latinos, and Asian/Pacific Islanders together. The attendees drafted and adopted a 17-point platform for the national and international movement.

1992: THE OFFICE OF ENVIRONMENTAL EQUITY

The Environmental Protection Agency established the Office of Environmental Equity, later renamed the Office of Environmental Justice.

1994: CLINTON SIGNS EXECUTIVE ORDER 12898

President Bill Clinton signed an executive order titled “Federal Actions to Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations.” The order directed federal attention to racial and socioeconomic disparities in environmental quality and public health, kickstarting decades of EJ-focused efforts at the EPA.

2000: ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE RECOGNIZED AS A GLOBAL GOAL

The United Nations Millennium Summit established international goals for equitable development, and acknowledged environmental injustice as a worldwide issue.

OUR EARTH Page 45

5 Demonstrators hold a casket symbolic of all the lives lost in their community due to environmental racism. The rally started at Freedom Plaza and headed to the White House part of the People vs. Fossil Fuels Campaign in October 2022 demanding a cessation of fossil fuel projects. (Marckell Williams/ The Washington Informer)

LIFESTYLE

Rising Star Rayan Lawrence Reflects on BMF and Influence of 50 Cent

By Stacy M. Brown WI Senior Writer

Rayan Lawrence doesn’t let his success make him arrogant.

Lawrence, who plays K-9 in the hit Starz series BMF (Black Mafia Family), is just enjoying his newfound fame as the show’s new lead character.

“I love this. It’s so cool,” Lawrence told the Informer. “Back in New York, I went to a fashion show, and everyone there loves K-9. Because of what we’re doing with the character, everyone loves me.”

BMF tells the true story of how brothers Demetrius

“Big Meech” Flenory and Terry “Southwest Tee” Flenory, fought their way out of poverty and the war on drugs in Detroit to become cultural and hip-hop game changers.

As the Flenory brothers build a national empire, their pursuit of the American Dream is tied in with themes of family, faith and loyalty.

Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, a business and hip-hop mogul, is the executive producer of the hit show. Starz just announced that it has signed on for a third season of BMF.

The aspect of family creates a great attraction for Lawrence, he asserted.

“I was raised to value family, so it’s been amazing to be a part of this,” Lawrence said. “And to work with 50 Cent again. I worked with him on ‘Power,’ and I’ve been so excited to meet him.

LaLa Anthony, Mo’Nique, Steve Harris, and others also appear on BMF.

But playing the role of K-9, a ruthless gang leader aligned with Big Meech, counts as Lawrence’s biggest role to date.

In the past, he has appeared as a guest on shows like Ironside, FBI, and Magnum P.I.

He said that when he was a guest on Blue Bloods, he learned a lot from the famous actor Tom Selleck.

The performer also gives credit to Shiek Mahmud-Bey, who has made a name for himself onscreen and teaches artists like Lawrence through his “Char’Actors” company and “Shiek Studios.” New York, Detroit, Arkansas and Atlanta are all now home to Shiek Studios. Later this year, Shiek Studios will add Shiek University, a school where people can learn how to be a director.

“Shiek is my guy,” the actor said. “We’ve worked together for many years. When we worked on a movie together, I found him very interesting.”

“A director told me about Shiek, so I looked him up and thought, ‘Oh, I get it.’ I wanted to be a part of what he was doing, and I love the way he does his job. He helped

me with auditions and gave me advice on BMF.”

Lawrence said Mahmud-Bey taught him a lot, such as to be true to the characters he portrays.

“‘Be honest and sure of yourself, and be present, ready to listen and answer,’ that’s what he said to me,” Lawrence explained.

That advice worked out well.

Lawrence said he was moved to learn more about the history of slavery while he was working on the show “Underground.”Lawrence said normally he stayed away from those stories because they were traumatizing.

During the 2016 presidential election, “Underground was being filmed.

Lawrence recalled that they filmed a pivotal scene on the day that Donald Trump was elected president.

“One of the most important scenes was shot on the day Donald Trump was elected,” Lawrence said. “We had a scene about the right to vote. It was very dramatic, and we were in Atlanta. I played an abolitionist, and I must tell you that in the scene we shot that day, I really did throw some punches. There was so much tension.”

Admitting he got bored in his first career as a model, saying “all I did was take pictures all day,” Lawrence doesn't plan on abandoning acting anytime soon.

“I started looking into characters to figure out how they thought, and I love the process,” Lawrence asserted. “After all these years, I still love the process, including going to auditions.”

While he said he hasn’t had a chance to see much of the Motor City yet, Lawrence said he also gleans insight for his current character by filming in Detroit.

“We stayed at the Motor City Casino Hotel,” he said. “It’s a great and unique experience, but I’ve seen run-down houses where you can buy a house for $900, but no one seems to take advantage of that,” Lawrence said.

“It’s sad because there are many things that could be done.”

WI @StacyBrownMedia

3 Actor Rayan Lawrence plays K-9 in the hit Starz series BMF. (Courtesy Photo)

Arts to Check Out as Black History Month Wraps

By Brenda C. Siler WI Contributing Writer

MUSIC

Igmar Thomas’ Revive Big Band,led by the former band leader for Lauryn Hill and Nas, returns to the Kennedy Center’s Studio K for two performances on Friday, Feb. 24. This multigenerational ensemble performs music from Black American culture combining jazz, hip-hop, funk, soul, blues and gospel. Joined by singer and composer Bilal, the Revive Big Band brings new music from a forthcoming debut album. More information is on the Kennedy Center website www. kennedy-center.org

EXHIBITIONS

“The Utopia Project: Inspiration for Creative Activism,” now at the Anacostia Community Museum (ACM), will close on March 1. Based on individual experiences, this interactive exhibition asks visitors to imagine their utopia inside an immersive “Dream Space.” Objects, photos, and stories from the ACM collection are featured throughout the gallery, turning abstract ideas into real-world examples of communities making a difference. This project was created in collaboration with The Center for Artistic Activism. ACM is located at 1901 Fort Place SE, Washington, D.C. 20020, and is open daily, 11:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Visit the website for more information. https://anacostia. si.edu

Phillips@THEARC presents the work of photographer Dee Dwyer in “Wild Seeds of the Soufside.” A proud Southeast, D.C. native Dwyer, has been hailed as “The Visual Voice for the People.” Her black-and-white photography is compelling, showing kids to adults living their everyday lives in Southeast. The exhibition’s concept was inspired by the book “Wild Seed” by Octavia E. Butler. On her website, Dwyer says, “Art, to me, is ‘Life.’ I use photography as a form of art. It is a way to stop time and reflect on a moment that can possibly shift history going forward.” This exhibition will be on view at Phillips@THEARC, 1801 Mississippi Ave, SE, Washington, D.C., until May 11. Museum hours are Wednesday and Thursday, 10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.

Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) presents “Reckoning: Protest. Defiance. Resilience.” Visitors will see how visual art has been used in protest, commentary, escape and perspective for African Americans. This exhibition includes stories of injustice, resistance and courage. “Reckoning” attempts to open the door to understanding how artists and photographers have used their creativity to pay tribute to those we have lost. Some names lifted through this exhibition are Eric Garner, George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. The journey in this exhibition goes from defiance to resilience to grief, mourning, hope and change. “Reckoning” is on view at Smithsonian NMAAHC until April 1.

TELEVISION

A celebration of Black talent and productions on Broadway will pre miere on PBS, Tuesday, Feb. 28. “Black Broadway: A Proud History, A Limitless Future.” This concert special salutes iconic musicals per formed by a group of top musical the ater talent. Musical theater actors on this national television show include D.C.’s own Nova Payton singing “I’m Here” from “The Color Purple,” a show in which she starred at Signature Theatre in suburban Virginia. Also featured on “Black Broadway” will be Norm Lewis, who was recently in Soldier’s Play” at the Kennedy Cen ter. Lewis, an Emmy, Tony, and SAG Award nominee, will sing “I Got Plen ty O’ Nuttin’” from “Porgy and Bess” and “Waiting For Life” from “Once On This Island.” Stephanie Mills, who played Dorothy in the original Broad way run of “The Wiz,” will sing her showstopper hit “Home.”

The Howard University and Mor gan State University Choirs will per form in “Black Broadway.” Guest conductors are Dr. Eric Conway from Morgan State University, Brittany Chanell Johnson and Dr. Eric Poole from Howard University, and Sean Mayes from Broadway’s “Hadestown” and “Michael Jackson: the Musical.” All are accompanied by the American Pops Orchestra, founded by Music Director Luke Frazier, who has pro duced several concerts that have aired on PBS. “Black Broadway” was filmed at Howard University’s Cramton Au ditorium.

Check television listings for the local PBS station airing this show on Feb. 28. See a preview video at https:// youtu.be/HmWeZU6x5-w.

The 54th Annual NAACP Image Awards will air live on Saturday, Feb. 25, at 8:00 p.m. on BET. In addition to the live broadcast, NAACP will also recognize winners virtually in non-televised Image Awards categories on Feb, 20-23 on www.naacpimageawards.net.

Congressman Bennie G. Thompson (D-Miss.) will be honored with the prestigious NAACP Chairman’s Award. Civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump will receive the Social Justice Impact Award, and Gabrielle Union and Dwayne Wade will be honored with the President’s Award for their work in public service. WI

With

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Join our innovators and risk-takers who set the pace for discovery.

our synergy of talent, resources and support, MoCo is the ideal location for your business success. Learn more at thinkmoco.com

June 1

Charlie Puth

June 4

Signature Theatre and Wolf Trap Present Broadway In The Park Lea Salonga

June 16

Steve Miller Band

June 22

Tickets On Sale Now!

Frieze Art Fair: New Highs in the Popularity of Contemporary Art

By Andrew S. Jacobson WI Contributing

Los Angeles is an American cultural stronghold. Tinseltown is mostly known for the entertainment business, but has established a rapidly expanding art market. While celebrity helps to pique interest throughout the Frieze Art Fair, the jury is out as to whether the local market is able to sustain recent gallery expansion.

Within the past year, LA has seen more than ten major gallery spaces open. However, increased square footage does correlate with sales. Because the culture of Los Angeles supports media and marketing, rather than taking New York’s approach of associating value with canonisation, it appears that those who market best are most successful.

Compared to previous editions, the lines for the Fair were larger than ever. Upon arrival, visitors were quickly assimilated to several woman-owned galleries: Chela Mitchell Gallery (Washington, DC), Anat Ebgi (Los Angeles), and Hannah Traore Gallery (New York).

While the art market in Los Angeles proved to be hot at different levels, it is unclear how it will evolve. What clearly emerged from the crowded opening, was contemporary art’s popularity. Its perception as a lifestyle experience attracts celebrities, and individuals outside of art professionals and collectors. The question the art world demands: Will they become buyers?

Read the full article on www.washingtoninformer.com WI

Tedeschi Trucks Band Vincent Neil Emerson

June 27 + 28

Marisa Monte Portas Tour with Special Guest Rodrigo Amarante

June 30

Star Wars: Return of the Jedi in Concert National Symphony Orchestra

July 8

July 27 + 28

Diana Krall August 12 Sting September 1 + 2 Australian Pink Floyd 50th Anniversary of Dark Side of the Moon September 6

5 A piece featured in Chela Mitchell Gallery’s (Washington, D.C.) show as part of Frieze LA. (Courtesy Photo)

4 Featured in Frieze LA was REGULARNORMAL’s (New York) presentation of Melissa Joseph’s Lugano (Silvia), 2022 Carved stained porcelain 10 x 8 x 1 in. 25.40 x 20.32 x 2.54 cm. (Courtesy Photo)

you could see a face?

In 1924, the American sculptor Gutzon Borglum was invited to the Black Hills in South Dakota to turn a mountain into an enormous sculpture. When he looked at one of the mountains, he saw that he could carve the faces of four of our presidents there.

Who is carved into Mount Rushmore?

Four presidents were chosen to be carved into Mt. Rushmore. Unscramble the name of each president. The clues will help you.

The first president of the United States.

Third President of the United States and author of the Declaration of Independence.

Grow a Picture

You can make a small picture larger in much the same way Borglum and Ziolkowski expanded small sculptures into mountain-sized ones.

Look at the small drawing of Crazy Horse. It is drawn in a grid of small boxes.

To the right is a grid with larger boxes. Copy the drawing of Crazy Horse, one box at a time, and you will make a drawing that is larger than the original. One box is done for you.

Our 16th President ended the Civil War and slavery.

The people of South Dakota hoped the monuments would attract tourists to their state. And attract tourists they do. Nearly 3 million people visit Mt. Rushmore and the Crazy Horse Memorial every year.

Crazy MemorialHorse

The 26th U.S. President helped to grow the country at home and abroad. A mountain in the Black Hills is being carved into the shape of a man. It is a giant carving of Crazy Horse, a fearless and famous Lakota war leader.

Carve Out the ABCs

Choose one page of the newspaper. Find five or more words and write them on another sheet of paper in ABC order.

Standards Link: Identify cause and effect using visual cues.

When finished, the Crazy Horse Memorial will be the biggest sculpture in the world.

Chief Standing Bear and other Native American chiefs invited sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski to carve the Crazy Horse Memorial out of a mountain. Work began over 70 years ago, and it will take many more years to complete it.

Memory Buddies

Play this game with a buddy. Choose a picture from the newspaper. Study the picture for one minute. Then cover the picture and take turns telling each other everything you can remember about it.

If I Were President

Imagine that you have been elected President of the United States. What would you do? What would you change?

MOTSHA FEFEJORSN DOORTHEE VELSTROEO

ARMAAHB COLLNNI

Mt. Rushmore

2023 by Vicki Whiting, Editor Je Schinkel, Graphics Vol. 39 No. 13

The Black Hills are filled with wildlife. Prairie dogs romp and play in the fields and meadows. Can you find the prairie dog that looks different than all the others?

review wi book

"Sink: A Memoir"

By Joseph Earl Thomas

c.2023, Grand Central Publishing

$28

256 pages

Terri Schlichenmeyer WI Contributing Writer

What, were you born in a barn?

You think you're some kind of hyena, cackling over there? Running around like a herd of elephants, like a bunch of wild mustangs, like a herd of buffalo, stomping and bellowing. Simmer down. Were you raised by wolves? Or, as in the new memoir, "Sink" by Joseph Earl Thomas, is life just all kinds of bull?

Mika always got what she wanted, which was a good.

The truth was that Joey wanted an Easy-Bake Oven but he knew that if he asked for it, Popop would call him a sissy, or worse. So Mika got the Oven, Joey used it, and he used it to hide a notebook that he filled with drawings of sea serpents and cobras and lists of people he hoped would die.

At the top of the list was Popop. Joey wrote his name in small print, over and over.

Popop wasn't really Joey's grandfather; he was the man Joey's Ganny lived with and he had complicated ties with Keisha, Joey's mother, who supposedly visited Popop in prison once. She only came around when she needed a place to do drugs or when she dropped off another baby at their overcrowded Philadelphia house. Joey didn't like Keisha much.

Ganny wasn't around all the time, either, really; when she was, she made sure Joey and Mika had real food because they were always hungry. Popop bought food but how was a kid supposed to cook it? Just saying they were hungry made Popop turn mean but Joey could run faster than Sonic the Hedgehog, which only made Popop madder.

Could Joey help it that he was a gentle boy? Was it his fault that he didn't want to be tough, that he just wanted his Pokemon cards and Sega cartridges? And the games his "Aunt" Tia played with him? He wasn't sure about those games; grown-ups should probably never see them.

Who would blame a boy for living inside his own drawings?

For many readers, "Sink" is going to take some getting used to.

Written in third person, this memoir opens with physical abuse, drugs and prostitution, three things that never abate. They're a constant undercurrent floating the entire rest of the story of "Joey" as he grows up, and to say that this tale has very little sunshine is to put it mildly.

That'd be hard to take, if it weren't for author Joseph Earl Thomas's sparkling prose.

Joey was a nerdy kid surrounded by people who wouldn't tolerate it — and yet, there's joy in his imaginary life. Thomas uses that to give Joey a place to hide, and as a relief, to pause the story and allow for a rush of breath. There are times when the adult-you might wonder how anyone survived that. Let the kid-Thomas show you.

Beware that four-letter words heavily populate this narrative, and that while it's a cringer, it's also sometimes funny and sweet. It's true that you'll like "Sink" but it can be a bit of a wild read. WI

horoscopes

ARIES You'll feel like you're on top of the world-extra creative, fired up, and ready to pitch exciting passion projects at the start of the week. Make sure to call a meeting with higher-ups to go over plans that allow you to lean into your artistic impulses. Or if you're feeling like putting work on the back burner temporarily, you might decide to enjoy a spontaneous activity with loved ones or someone special. Lucky Numbers: 3, 5, 36

TAURUS As the week gets underway, you'll be focused on perfecting your daily routine. Whether that means experimenting with a new workout plan, checking out that meal delivery service, or making a point to check in more with your loved ones, you'll want to take steps and make changes that will bolster your emotional, mental, and physical well-being. Lucky Numbers: 8, 31, 46

GEMINI Steel yourself for delays and setbacks that could feel maddening in the moment early in the week. While you'd prefer not to have to slow down, this period can present the opportunity to go back to the drawing board on everyday to-dos that were left unfinished or unresolved. You might also find you're apt to pick up a wellness routine that previously served you well. Later, the stage is set for pleasure and fun if you're willing to go with the flow. Being spontaneous with loved ones can make for sweet memories. Lucky Numbers: 1, 30, 43

CANCER At the beginning of the week, you might be inspired to revisit a beloved activity that landed on the back burner (think your favorite art form or playful hobby), reconnect with a former lover, or revisit your first date with your sweetheart. When it comes to the pastimes that bring you joy right now, what's old is new again and can not only have you feeling nostalgic but also offer you a new, magical perspective on relationships and pleasure. Lucky Numbers: 5, 22, 52

LEO You could find yourself compelled to reflect on your roots and elements in life that bring you a sense of security as the week starts. You might find that you're driven to reconnect with a loved one who you've fallen out of touch with or revisit a recent game plan for bolstering work/life balance right now. Lucky Numbers: 24, 28, 41

VIRGO You might find it more challenging to connect with colleagues and friends or cross everyday chores off your list early in the week. Delays, glitches, and miscommunications might abound, but do your best to slow down. Lucky Numbers: 10, 25, 29

LIBRA As the week begins, you'll do well to go back to financial projects that might require loose ends to be tied up. Getting clearer on your goals, zeroing in on investments that might need to be tweaked, making sure your ducks are in a row in terms of your security, and keeping an eye on cash flow are all wonderful, productive ways to make the most of this time. Lucky Numbers: 1, 11, 35

SCORPIO You might be inspired to revise big-picture personal goals at the start of the week. If a certain game plan that you've been sticking to out of habit is no longer serving you, this period could require you go back to the drawing board to finesse it or perhaps even change course entirely. Make sure you tune in to your intuition, and you'll know how to best proceed. Lucky Numbers: 12, 16, 40

SAGITTARIUS You'll want to feel like part of a team that's out there making a difference for your community and the world early in the week. If there's a volunteer effort or charitable cause you've been wanting to lend your energy to, this can be a great moment to dive in. Lucky Numbers: 12, 28, 39

CAPRICORN Early in the week, you might reconnect with colleagues you fell out of touch with or pick up on a group project that was left unfinished. These opportunities could set you up for a refreshed perspective and ultimately, a team win. Lucky Numbers: 7, 9, 29

AQUARIUS You might do well to revisit an ongoing conversation with a higher-up at the start of the week. If you previously discussed taking on more responsibilities or advancing your career by stepping inor taking the reins on a key project, you might do well to circle back and present your case now. Later, you might be fed up with the mundane routine of everyday life and feel compelled to get out of your comfort zone. At the same time, your curiosity and desire to soak up knowledge are soaring. Take advantage of it by planning future travel or signing up for a course that allows you to hone your skill set. Lucky Numbers: 6, 16, 27

PISCES Zeroing in on your deepest desires and making a play for them can feel liberating and empowering as the week gets underway. You'll be reflecting on the ways your closest relationships fulfill your needs (or not) and thinking on the best, most productive ways to express your feelings. This can be a lovely time to trust your intuition, not to mention a moment that's ripe for relationship bolstering. Lucky Numbers: 17, 18, 41

Bard Wins First Boys DCIAA Championship, Dunbar Girls Victorious Again

By Edward Hill Jr. WI Contributing Writer

When Bard High School Early College DC opened in 2019, few people outside of the Congress Heights area knew about the fouryear public school that offers students the opportunity to take twoyears of tuition-free college courses in liberal arts and sciences following their freshman and sophomore years. Even fewer people knew that they had a basketball program. Well, they know now.

Under the construction of highly respected Head boys basketball coach and Athletic Director Malcolm Battle, the school has served notice that it is a power to

EQUITY from Page 1

Edwith Theogene, the senior director for Racial Equity and Justice at the Center for American Progress, said in a statement.

Theogene said the order contains key directives to launch a new annual process to strengthen racial equity and support for underserved communities.

Further, Theogene asserted that the order strengthens community partnerships and engagement to be more proactive and meaningful; and invests in underserved communities, including by expanding procurement opportunities for socially and economically disadvantaged businesses.

“It improves economic opportunity in rural and urban communities, addresses emerging civil rights risks, such as algorithmic discrimination, and promotes data equity and transparen-

be reckoned within the DC Intercollegiate Athletic Association (DCIAA) basketball landscape after winning the league’s boys basketball championship.

The program made quick strides, last year, capturing the AA level of the DC State Athletic Association (DCSAA) state championship– doing it with a team of underclassmen.

Remarkably, the team's success occurred with the prospect of not having a gym and playing all their games on the road.

But Battle, who experienced measured success at Caesar Chavez before coming to Bard, had a plan.

Then this year, it all came together for the Falcons, who played

cy,” Theogene continued. “Moreover, the directive empowers federal equity leaders across the federal government and establishes a White House Steering Committee on Equity.”

When signing the order, the president pointed out what his administration had already done.

“My administration’s commitment to fairness has led to better decisions and more fair results,” the president said. “We have delivered the most equitable economic recovery in memory, and, driven by the expanded Child Tax Credit, we cut child poverty to its lowest rate on record in 2021, including record low Black, Latino, Native American, and rural child poverty.”

He said the economy had created nearly 11 million jobs, and the federal government has brought down unemployment nationwide – particularly for Black and Latino workers, whose

against schools such as Theodore Roosevelt, Jackson Reed, Dunbar and Coolidge. The upstart Falcons served notice they came to dominate throughout the season schedule. Then, Bard knocked off heavily favored and defending DCIAA champions Jackson Reed in the semifinals, 71-65, setting the stage

unemployment rates are near 50-year lows.

Administration officials noted continued racial disparities in wealth, housing, crime and education.

Biden has said those disparities reflect decades of discriminatory policies.

On his first day in office two years ago, the president signed an executive order recognizing long-standing disparities and pledging that the government would remedy them.

The new executive order comes as African Americans and others observe Black History Month.

It amends the previous order, making the initial review he requested in January 2021 an annual requirement for federal agencies.

The reviews aim to increase access

EQUITY Page 40

that featured four players with between seven and 10 points, the Falcons were not to be denied and were able to secure their place in DC basketball history with the title.

"It is very gratifying when you can achieve this championship after our journey," said Battle. "There have been a lot of challenges that we have been through to get here. With having no gym, playing all our games on the road and trying to get these young men to buy in, is something people don't see. But at the end of the day, this is the result. I am so happy for them and for our community."

Ward 8 Councilmember Trayon White (D) was in attendance along with at-Large Councilman Kenyan McDuffie.

"Bard showed what can happen when a team can sacrifice and buy into one goal," said White. "Bard makes Ward 8 proud."

DUNBAR MAINTAINS THEIR REIGN

In the girls championship, Dunbar (17-4) kept it close early and trailed 22-21 at the half.

for its first venture into uncharted waters.

The DCIAA championship at Coolidge had all the ambience of D.C. High School basketball, as a standing-room only crowd gathered to see if this Bard program was for real in a game against McKinley Tech. The Falcons took an early lead and then threatened to put it away early when it opened a 28-18 halftime advantage.

But the Trainers (24-6), which had its best season in recent years and had advanced to the finals by virtue of an upset win over highly ranked and favorite Theodore Roosevelt, rallied and managed a workable, 38-30 deficit headed into the final stanza.

The Trainers’ charge was led by their senior do-everything guard, Terrell Webster who willed his team all year. Scoring on a variety of three-pint bombs and slick Euro steps to the basket, Webster did all he could to help his team stay close. He finished with a gamehigh 22 points, 14 rebounds, three assists, two blocks and a steal.

But with game MVP, senior guard DeAngelo Fogle hitting all the big shots to stem any McKinley Tech runs, and a team balance

The young Coolidge (17-8) team appeared in position to take control when it opened its biggest lead at 38-33 at the end of three quarters. Then the defending champ, Crimson Tide began to assert themselves on the scoring of sophomore guard Emorean Thomas and the inside presence of junior forward London Grey. The duo combined to score 18 of their team's 22 fourth quarter points.

"We just stayed the course all season," said Dunbar Head Coach Jermaine Clark. "We have been here before so they never panicked."

Grey led with 20 points and 16 rebounds. Thomas contributed 16 points, four assists and four steals while converting on eight of nine from the free throw line, five of five in the final stanza.

The young Colts, who start two freshmen and a sophomore, were led by senior Daniya McClure-Warren who led all scorers with 23 points, and freshman Josslyn Derricott with 10 points, 12 rebounds and a game-high six blocked shots.

All four teams await the selections for the upcoming DCSAA championships which gets underway, March 3-5.

WI

5DeAngelo Fogle of Bard was named MVP after leading his team to its first-ever championship. (Jonae Guest/The Washington Informer)

CAPTURE the moment

Environmental Justice at the Smithsonian’s Anacostia Community Museum

Katrina D. Lashley Program Coordinator

This year Smithsonian’s Anacostia Community Museum celebrates the year of Our Environment, Our Future. It has been eleven years since the museum invited its community partners to engage in explorations and conversations around our relationship with the Anacostia River. This year we invite the community to explore the impact of women’s environmental leadership along the Anacostia through the exhibition to Live and Breathe: Women and Environmental Justice in Washington, DC which opens to the public on May 19. Curated by Dr. Rachel F. Seidman, the exhibition is the next step in the museum’s ongoing exploration and documentation of women’s environmental leadership which launched in 2018 with the Preparing the Next Generation Summit.

3 Participants at the 2018 inaugural WEL summit attend an afternoon workshop.

lunch.

Photograph by Susana Raab, Anacostia Community , Anacostia Community Museum Archives, Smithsonian Institution

Over the years our Women’s Environmental Leadership program (WEL) has grown to include oral histories, community forums, lectures, and the publication Women, Environmentalism, and Justice. WEL was developed with the intention of having women leading in environmental spaces meet not only as professionals but also people. Who am I? What communities do I represent? How do I define environment? How do I do this work? Why do I do this work? What is at stake? Programming is guided by the themes of mentorship, education/ training, and leadership. Central to our collaboration has been the insistence that our various convenings and conversations be multigenerational. Many of the women whose leadership and impact we’ve highlighted have their earliest memories of becoming engaged in community activism and advocacy though the mentorship of loved ones. They point to parents, aunts, uncles, grandmothers, neighbors, and colleagues who have shaped their connection to place, their sense of power, their understanding of their right to ask questions and work to effect meaningful change in the face of a multitude of social justice issues. Could, we wondered, WEL provide another space and platform where mentorship and network building take place?

The launch of the Environmental Justice Academy (EJA) in March of this year, is one attempt to engage young women and non-binary youth of color ages 14-18 in an exploration of environmentalism as a form of civic engagement…civic stewardship. Using the Anacostia watershed and its communities as a lens through which they can explore how concepts of community, justice, and environment intersect to impact every aspect of daily life, EJA will use a STEAM framework to engage the cohort in an exploration of the environmental issues impacting their communities. Students will explore pathways to understanding and acting on realities which shape the health

The hybrid program (most of the spring sessions will be virtual with a two week in-person summer session) will introduce students to women who are leading in a multitude of environmental spaces at local, regional, national, and international levels. Through presentations, discussions, and field trips, students will explore environmental justice issues along the Anacostia through the pathways of policy & advocacy, arts & culture, faith, and inclusive leadership (women and youth). Over the course of the summer sessions, academy participants will focus on one environmental issue impacting the Anacostia and its communities, exploring causes, historical and present-day impacts, histories of community activism and advocacy, and possible next steps. They will also draft twelve EJ Principles essential to achieving an equitable, healthy, and sustainable Anacostia watershed.

3 Participants in ACM’s Urban Ecology Engagement Initiative take part in a Saturday morning field trip with ACM partners.

Photograph by Susana Raab, Anacostia Community , Anacostia Community Museum Archives, Smithsonian Institution

As Our Environment, Our Future unfolds, EJA sits in a larger context of ACM’s next phase of its environmental work. In addition to the opening of To Live and Breathe in May and the next growing season of our Urban Garden workshops, our Urban Waterways project enters the first phase of its transformation into the Center for Environmental Justice as Smithsonian’s Anacostia Community Museum. EJA, like all of ACM’s environmental work over the past 55 years, is rooted in the museum’s legacy of inviting stakeholders of all ages to explore active histories of community connection to and stewardship of place, recognizing the expertise and potential of our younger community partners, and collaborating with our various partners to envision the future and catalyze change.

5 A 400 rose wreath placed on the gates of the White House symbolizes the number of years of chattel slavery and oppression of African Americans in the United States. (Marckell Williams/The Washington Informer)

Photograph by Susana Raab, Anacostia Community , Anacostia Community Museum Archives, Smithsonian Institution

3 Some attendees at the 2019 WEL summit gather at

5 A 40-mile walk from Baltimore to the District of Columbia led by Rev. Robert Turner to bring attention to HR-40 and a call for reparations. (Marckell Williams/ The Washington Informer)

5 Rev. Robert Turner, senior pastor of the Empowerment Temple AME church, walked 40 miles from Baltimore to the White House on Feb. 20 to call attention to the failure of the United States government to grant reparations for the enslavement of African Americans. Standing with Rev. Robert Turner (left) are Dr. Ron Daniels and Kamm Howard. (Marckell Williams/The Washington Informer)

RELIGION

Silver Spring Pastors Remembers

Under-Awarded Veterans

By Hamil R. Harris WI Contributing Writer

On December 7, 1941, Doris Miller was serving as a cook third class aboard the battleship West Virginia when the Japanese launched an attack on Pearl Harbor.

Even though Japanese torpedo bombers would sink his ship, Miller manned an anti-aircraft machine gun for which he had no training and shot down four to six Japanese planes.

While Miller survived the attack, 23 months later, in November of 1943, Miller would be killed while serving aboard an escort carrier in Liscome Bay after it was sunk by a Japanese submarine during the Battle of Makin in the Gilbert Islands.

While Miller was awarded medals for his action and two ships have been named after him, the Rev. Elwood Gray, retired pastor of Peace in the Valley Baptist Church in Silver Spring, Maryland, said Miller was never

awarded the nation's highest honor for heroism, though he made the ultimate sacrifice, dying in the line of duty.

“Doris Miller took a machine and lost his life and they still refused to give him the Congressional Medal of Honor,” said Gray, an Army veteran who knows too well about how African Americans are often slighted from getting awards they justly deserve.

“My father, for being in combat, received a bronze star in WWII, but after doing research he should have received the Silver Star,” Gray said. “There was blatant racism during WWI. Remember Woodrow Wikson was President and he showed ‘Birth of Nation' at the White House.”

For the last five years, Gray has worked with ROTC units at Howard University, Morgan State, Towson State and George Mason, as they research service records of members of the military in order to get their just rewards. “These students are doing what we call Pre-

EQUITY from Page 38

to federal programs, services and activities for disadvantaged communities.

“These transformative achievements have advanced the work of building a more equitable nation,” Biden asserted. “Yet, members of underserved communities – many of whom have endured generations of discrimination and disinvestment – still confront significant barriers to realizing the full promise of our great nation.”

Last week Gray was recognized for his work during the 23rd annual Buffalo Soldier Memorial Dinner, held at Morgan State University.

Former Maryland State Delegate Clarence “Tiger,” Davis, a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Vietnam Veterans of America, and regional co-ordinator for the National Association for Black Veterans, moderated the event.

The Buffalo Soldiers were African American servicemen who mainly served on the Western frontier following the American Civil War. In 1866, six all-Black cavalry and infantry regiments were created after Congress passed the Army Organization Act. Their main tasks were to help control

any person or community is denied freedom, dignity, and prosperity, our entire nation is held back,” Biden continued. “But when we lift each other up, we are all lifted up.”

the Native Americans of the Plains, capture cattle rustlers and thieves and protect settlers, stagecoaches, wagon trains and railroad crews along the Western front.

American Minority Veterans Research Project and the National Association of Black Veterans sponsored the event.

LITTLE KNOWN BLACK MILITARY HISTORY

In February 1945, the U.S. Army sent 855 Black women from the Women’s Army Corps (WACs) to England and France to clear the backlog of mail.

The 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, known as the Six Triple

The new order also directs federal agencies to have equity teams and name senior leaders who would be accountable for increasing equity and addressing bias.

Eight, was the only all-Black woman battalion to serve in Europe during WWII.

“When they sent the sisters over to England they straightened the entire thing out,” Gray said.

By war’s end, the Six Triple Eight had cleared over 17 million pieces of backlogged mail ensuring the troops stayed in touch with their loved ones back home. The last of the women returned home in March 1946, but they too were never fully recognized until recently. In March 2022 the Department of Defense announced the Six Triple Eight would receive a Congressional Gold Freedom.

“We honored Army Col. Edna Cummings because she led the effort to get women of the Six Triple Eight the Congressional Gold Medal,” said Davis. “This is real Black history and not just hero worship.”

Gray said researchers have also found that before the Normandy invasion, “there were Black soldiers with boots on the ground,” who worked with the French Army because they were not acknowledged or valued in the U.S.

HELPING VETERANS BOUNCE BACK

The faith leader and researcher said his group is working with the Veterans Administration to restore three row houses in the 2600 block of West Fairmount in West Baltimore that will serve poor veterans in need of housing.

“These are our soldiers,” Gray said. “As I drove through Baltimore and looked at how some people were living, my heart was broken. We have to go into the community and help the people to help themselves.”

WI

partner with communities affected by systemic discrimination.

for all Americans, doubling down on his promise to advance racial equity throughout the federal government. (Adam Schultz/

The president said the federal government is responsible for removing “barriers,” preventing minority advancement.

“It is imperative to reject the narrow, cramped view of American opportunity as a zero-sum game. When

The president declared that his administration must take additional action across the federal government – in collaboration with civil society, the private sector, and State and local government – to continue the work begun with his initial order to combat discrimination and advance equal opportunity, including by redressing unfair disparities and removing barriers to government programs and services.

Biden insisted that racial equality and helping communities that don’t get enough help are not one-time projects.

The president is “doubling down,” on the promise he made on his first day in office “to put fairness at the center of how this government runs,” according to Chiraag Bains, Biden’s special assistant for racial justice and equity.

The order recognizes that attaining equity is not a one- or two-year undertaking, and it makes official Biden’s promise that government processes be open and accessible to all.

Uplifting the order as a “generational commitment,” Bains noted there is room for improvement in how often and how effectively federal agencies

Moreover, the new order formally establishes the president’s aim of increasing federal procurement expenditures going to small and disadvantaged enterprises by 50% by the year 2025.

Under the order, agencies must also focus on new civil rights threats, such as discrimination in automated technology and access for people with disabilities and those who speak languages other than English.

It also includes a push to improve collection, transparency, and data analysis to help improve equity.

“By redoubling our efforts, the federal government can help bridge the gap between the world we see and the future we seek,” Biden stated. WI

5 Former Maryland state Del. Clarence “Tiger” Davis (D) and the Rev. Elwood Gray, retired pastor of Peace in the Valley Baptist Church at the 23rd Annual Buffalo Soldier Banquet. (Courtesy Photo) sumptive Research,” Gray said.

5 The Biden Administration issued a second executive order to extend and strengthen federal programming to enhance equity

Wikimedia Commons)

To bring together northern and southern Black Baptist churches, back in 1895, more than 2,000 clergy attended a meeting in Atlanta. At the time, the three largest conventions of the day were the Baptist Foreign Missionary Convention, the American National Baptist Convention and the National Baptist Educational Convention. The three of them merged to form the National Baptist Convention of the United States of America. Among the delegates was Rev. A.D. Williams, pastor of the Ebenezer Baptist Church and grandfather of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., according to the African American Registry website. However, the more involved Black churches sparred against the racial intolerance and violence targeted against them, the more the churches and their members were punished. Within the church, the Presbyterians and Episcopalians also saw the division of their memberships into white and Black denominations. As my pastor's sermon this past Sunday, "The Most Segregated Hour," pointed out, each of the two Black churches having some 100,000 members by 1900.

In 1908, The Christian Index published the "Colored Methodist Bishops' Appeal to White America-1908." In their statement, church leaders responded to the surge of mob violence and lynching occurring across the country, denouncing Jim Crow laws and terrorism waged against Blacks and imploring the country to suppress the spread of anti-Black violence. As anti-Black terrorism proliferated into the 20th

WITH LYNDIA GRANT

History of Large Black Churches in America

century, Black churches grew increasingly vehement in their calls for the castigation of racial violence. Also, on Sept. 15, 1915, the National Baptist Convention of America was formed.

In Black churches, African Americans were consistently exposed to social, political, and economic opportunities that all members could seek and have equally. The symbolic structure of African American churches confirmed Black preachers as religious and community leaders. The sermons of many Black preachers expounded messages of Christianity analogized to the daily experiences of Blacks. Thematic expressions of overcoming oppression and "lifting while climbing" were first articulated in church sermons.

During the last century's civil rights era, Black churches were well-established social and political power bases for African Americans. Some churches and their organizations were completely opposed to this political struggle, while others participated passionately, organizing rallies, protests, and marches, while teaching Christianity and community involvement.

In the late 1940s, '50s and '60s, the Black church functioned as the institutional center for Black mobilization. They provided an organizational base and meeting place for African Americans to strategize their moves in the ongoing fight against racial segregation and oppression. As Black churches became an epicenter of the social and political struggles for Black equality, they increasingly became targets for racially motivated violence, such as burning Black churches.

The bombing and burning of Black churches during this time translated into an attack upon the core of civil rights activism and the larger Black religious community. The

most infamous example of racist American church destruction occurred on Sept. 15, 1963, when the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, was firebombed. The explosion was felt by the entire Black community. Four children were killed in the attack, several others were injured, and a community's sense of security within their church was forever traumatized.

Like many other churches bombed before and after, the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church was a Black church, and this act signified the depths to which racial hatred could fall. Though the Ku Klux Klan was implicated in this crime, members of the KKK were not the only ones. Unfortunately, this was not an isolated incident. Let it be known that these racially motivated arsons did not destroy the souls of Black communities — with all of the turmoil and abuse African Americans have endured, this is just another day.

In 1988, the National Missionary Baptist Convention of America was formed. In the 21st century, the Convention movement of the African American Baptist Church has undergone several changes. The Black church is also at a crossroads due to "white flight," gentrification and systemic capitalism. WI

RELIGION

The Miracle Center of Faith Missionary Baptist Church

Archbishop Dr. Michael C. Turner, Sr. Pastor Senior Pastor

The Miracle Center of The Faith Missionary Baptist Church 501 Hampton Park Boulevard Capitol Heights, Md 20743

Office 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”

Pilgrim Baptist Church

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

Crusader Baptist Church Isle of Patmos Baptist Church

4001 14th Street, NW Washington, DC 20011

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

Service and Times

Sunday School: 9:30 AM

Sunday Morning Worship Service: 11:00 AM

Communion Service: First Sunday Prayer Service/Bible Study: Tuesday, 6:30 PM www.blessedwordoflifechurch.org

E-mail: church@blessedwordoflifechurch.org

Campbell AME Church

Rev. Dr. Henry Y. White

2562 MLK Jr. Ave., SE - Washington, DC 20020

Adm. Office 202-678-2263

Email: Campbell@mycame.org

Service and Times

Sunday Worship Service: 10:00 AM

Sunday Church School: 8:45 AM Bible Study

Wednesday: 12:00 Noon

Wednesday: 7:00 PM

Thursday: 7:00 PM

“Reaching Up To Reach Out”

Mailing Address : Campbell AME Church 2502 Stanton Road SE - Washington, DC 20020

Turning Hearts Church

Virgil K. Thomas, Sr. Senior Pastor/ Teacher 421 Alabama Ave. SE Washington, DC 20032

Phone: 202-746-0113

Fax: 301-843-2445

Service and Times Sunday School: 10:15 AM

Sunday Worship Service: 11;15 AM

Children’s Church: 11:15 AM

Tuesday Bible Study: 6:30 PM

Motto : “A Great Commitment to the Great Commandment”

Website: www.turningheartschurchdc.org

Email: gr8luv4u2@gmail.com

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

Services and Times

Sundays: 10:00am Worship Services

Bible Study: Wonderful Wednesdays in Worship and the Word Bible Study Wednesdays 12:00 Noon; 6:30 PM (dinner @ 5:30 PM)

Sunday School: 9:00 AM – Hour of Power

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

Twelfth Street Christian Church

Reverend Dr. Paul H. Saddler Senior Pastor (Disciples of Christ) 1812 12th Street, NW - Washington, DC 20009

Phone: 202-265-4494

Fax: 202 265 4340

Service and Times

Sunday Worship Service: 11:00 AM

Communion every Sunday: 11:00 AM Sunday School: 10:00 AM Bible Study Tuesday: 12 Noon

Pastor’s Bible Study Tuesday: 6:30 PM

Motto: “Discover Something Wonderful” Website: 12thscc.org / Email: Twelfthstcc@aol.com

Mount Carmel Baptist Church

Reverend Dr. Paris L Smith, Sr. Senior Pastor 901 Third Street N.W. Washington, DC. 20001 Phone (202) 842-3411

Fax (202) 682-9423

Service and Times

Sunday Church School : 9:00 AM

Sunday Morning Worship: 10:10 AM

Bible Study Tuesday: 6: 00 PM

Prayer Service Tuesday: 7:00 PM

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

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

Services and Times

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

Sunday Morning Worship: 10:45 AM

Tuesday: 7:00pm/Kingdom Building Bible Institute

Wednesday , 12:30 PM Mid-Day Bible Study

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

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

Mt.

Zion

Baptist Church

Reverend John W. Davis Pastor

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

Fax: 202-726-9089

Service and Times

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

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

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

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

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

Street

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

Greater Mt. Calvary Holy Church

with us...

& Evangelist

C. Owens – Co-Pastor 610 Rhode Island Avenue, NE Washington, DC 20002 (202) 529-4547 office • (202) 529-4495 fax

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

Sunday Youth Worship Services:

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

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

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

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

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

Services and Times

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

Mount Olivet Lutheran Church

headline and photo for LIF - MALCOLMXDAY

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

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

“Friendliest Church in the City”

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

Rev. Cheryl J. Sanders, Th.D.

Third

Church of God

Bishop Lanier C. Twyman, Sr.

St. Stephen Baptist Church

Reverend William Young IV Pastor

Covenant Baptist United Church  of Christ

St Marks Baptist Come Worship

Bishop Alfred A. Owens, Jr.; Senior Bishop

Susie

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

Blessed Word of Life Church

Sr. Pastor

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

Service and Times 9:00 a.m. – Sunday School

a.m. – Worship Service

Wed. Noon: Dea. Robert Owens Bible Study 7 PM Pastor’s Bible Study

Ordinance of Baptism 2nd Sunday, Holy Communion 4th Sunday

Mission: Zion shall: Enlist Sinners, Educate Students, Empower the Suffering, Encourage the Saints, And Exalt our Savior. (Acts 2: 41-47) www.zionbaptistchurchdc.org

St. Luke Baptist Church

Rev. Aubrey C. Lewis Pastor

1415 Gallatin Street, NW Washington, DC 20011-3851

P: (202) 726-5940

Service and Times

Sunday Worship: 11:00 AM

Sunday School: 9:15 AM

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

Bible Institute: Wednesday - 1:30 PM

Prayer Meeting: Wednesday - 12:00 Noon

All Nations Baptist Church

Rev. Dr. James Coleman Pastor

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

Service and Times

Sunday Church School – 9:30 AM

Sunday Worship Service – 11:00 AM

Holy Communion – 1st Sunday at 11:00 AM

Prayer – Wednesdays, 6:00 PM

Bible Study – Wednesdays, 7:00 PM

Christian Education / School of Biblical Knowledge

Saturdays, 9:30 AM – 11:00 AM, Call for Registration

Website: www.allnationsbaptistchurch.com

All Nations Baptist Church – A Church of Standards

Israel Baptist Church

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

Lincoln Park United Methodist Church

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"

Mount Moriah Baptist Church Eastern Community Baptist Church

Emmanuel Baptist Church

Reverend Christopher L. Nichols Pastor

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

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

Service and Times

Sunday Worship: 8:00 AM & 10:45 AM Baptism/Holy Communion: 3rd Sunday Family Bible Study Tuesdays – 6:30 PM Prayer Service: Tuesdays – 8:00 PM www.emmanuelbaptistchurchdc.org

Dr. Earl D. Trent Senior Pastor 623 Florida Ave.. NW - WDC. 20001 Church (202) 667-3409 / Study (202) 265-0836

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

Service and Times

Sunday Worship Services: 10:00 AM Sunday Church School: 8:45 –

Matthews Memorial Baptist Church

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

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

Service and Times

Worship: 11 AM

School: 10 AM Wednesday Mid-Week Worship, Prayer & Bible Study: Wed. 7 PM

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

“Real

Website: www.easterncommunity.org

Email: ecc@easterncommunity.org

St. Matthews Baptist Church

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

Service and Times

Sunday Worship Experience: 10:15am

Sunday School: 9:00am

Holy Communion: 3rd Sunday Morning

Noontime Bible Study: Tuesday @ 12:00pm

Prayer Meeting/Bible Study: Tuesday @7:00pm

Theme: "Building On A Firm Foundation"

Email: revprbstmbc@gmail.com

Website: www.stmatthewsbaptist.org

Rehoboth Baptist Church

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

P: (202) 561-1111 - F: (202) 561-1112 Service and Times Sunday Service: 10:00 AM Sunday School for all ages: 8:30 AM

Sunday Baptism: 10:00 AM 2nd Sunday Holy Communion:10:00 AM

Tuesday: Bible Study: 6:30 PM

Prayer Meeting: 7:45 PM

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

Historic St. Mary’s Episcopal Church

Foggy Bottom Founded in 1867 728 23rd Street, NW Washington, DC 20037

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

Service and Times

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

Wednesdays: 12:10 p.m. - Holy Eucharist

www.stmarysfoggybottom.org

Email: stmarysoffice@stmarysfoggybottom.org

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

Promised Land Baptist Church

Rev Kevin A. O'Bryant Pastor

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

Service and Times

Sunday Worship 10:30 am

Zoom: zoom.us/;/2028828331

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

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

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

First Rising Mt. Zion Baptist Church

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

Fax: (202) 289-4595

Service and Times

Sunday School for All Ages: 8:00 AM

Sunday Worship Services: 9:30 AM

Midday Prayer & Bible Study: Wednesday 11:30AM

Evening Prayer & Bible Study: Wednesday 7:00 PM

Laymen's League: Thursday 7:00 PM

Email: Froffice@firstrising.org

Website: www.firstrising.org

“Changing Lives On Purpose “

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

Service and Times

Sunday Worship Service: 10:00 AM

Wednesday Bible Study: 7:00 PM

Friday Evening Service: 7:00 PM ; Last Friday

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

Pennsylvania Ave. Baptist Church

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

Noon

Email:mthoreb@mthoreb.org

Website:www.mthoreb.org

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

Rev. Keith W. Byrd,

Zion Baptist Church

Rev. Lance Aubert

Elder Herman L. Simms

Sermon On The Mount Temple Of Joy Apostolic Faith

Christ Embassy DC

Rev.

Commandment Church

Dr. Lucius M. Dalton

Damion

Rev.

The Rev. E. Bernard Anderson Priest

VENDORS from Page 1

change. Stuart said she welcomes that change, especially for her family and other Black Washingtonians working for a slice of the economic pie in a city that has become nearly unrecognizable.

“I pour into the community and have youth coming up to chat with us and ask for community service hours,” Stuart said. “The police harass us and lie about people being mad at us, [but] it doesn’t affect us because we have people vouching for us. Our supporters talk and get the police away. We need to stick together so we can take over.”

In early February, the D.C. Council Committee on Public Works and Operations sent the Street Vendor Advancement Amendment Act to the Committee of the Whole.

If passed, the Street Vendor Advancement Amendment Act removes criminal penalties for street vending and allows the mayor to establish sidewalk vending zones. The legislation also waives licensing-related civil citations for vendors who obtain an individual sidewalk vending license or register with a sidewalk vending zone manager.

Other aspects of the bill include the significant reduction of licensure costs, abolishment of criminal background check requirements for vendors applying for their license and the removal of barriers that prevent licensed vendors from selling multicultural food and whatever else they cook in their home kitchen.

D.C. Councilmember Brianne Nadeau (D-Ward 1), who chairs the Committee on Public Works and Operations, co-introduced the Street Vendor Advancement Amendment Act with D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson (D) earlier this year. The bill has elicited the support

have citations, you have to pay them. It costs several thousand dollars to get through the licensing process. It’s not meant for a low-volume operator.”

HISTORICAL SITE from Page 1

cance as a sacred site.

of ANC 1A (Columbia Heights and Park View neighborhoods), which recently passed a resolution expressing support for the decriminalization of street vending. The resolution cited data and recommendations from the DC Police Reform Commission and Beloved Community Incubator with the American University Washington College of Law.

This has been Nadeau’s third introduction of the legislation that was, in part, inspired by a District youth’s violent encounter with MPD while vending with her family.

In 2019, District police officers confronted then 14-year-old Genesis Lemus while she was selling plantain chips and corn atole. They inquired about a vending license and threatened to call the Child and Family Services Agency on Genesis’ family. During the encounter, an officer grabbed Genesis’ brother and pushed her to the ground, which she later said caused a significant knee injury.

Genesis later filed a complaint about the incident. Meanwhile, street vendors and advocates coalesced around Genesis, her mother and others who had been harassed by MPD, oftentimes at the behest of the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs, for vending along 14th Street in Northwest.

Nadeau, who had already been in communication with street vendors and advocates for years, said that the Street Vendor Advancement Amendment Act seeks to address the numerous hurdles that street vendors experience while trying to make a dollar.

“For a while, MPD stood down but we’re hearing that enforcement is ramping up,” Nadeau said. “The Department of Licensing will call MPD to ramp up, especially with young people and people of color. It’s difficult to become a licensed vendor. If you

Street vending has been a path of economic freedom for Black people and other marginalized groups for hundreds of years. In the early 1800s, Alethia Browning Tanner and Sophia Browning Bell sold produce in Lafayette Park in downtown D.C. to purchase their freedom and that of numerous enslaved family and friends. Street vending has since become a main source of income for returning citizens, immigrants from Africa, the Caribbean and Central America. Various laws over the last few decades have increased the barrier of entry for street vendors and confined street vending to certain parts of the District, which in turn has decimated the pool of street vendors by the thousands.

Even so, many people, like a local couple known as Rose and Lovely, continue to set up shop in Columbia Heights to make their living. Since 2021, Rose and Lovely have been selling copper and crystal jewelry under Emporium Dynasty and KeKe’s Kreations.

The couple, hailing from Norfolk, Virginia, moved to the D.C. area in search of economic opportunities. Before establishing roots in Columbia Heights, they sold their wares in other parts of the District, including Malcolm X Park in Northwest.

For Rose, the allure of street vending lies in the low startup costs for someone like; he also considers himself and others like him who haven't found much success navigating the traditional job market.

Since learning the craft of jewelry making from his uncle five years ago, Rose has been able to support his family and maintain some consistency in his life. He recently took his craft to the next level when he enrolled in the Baltimore Jewelry Center, a community arts education space.

Rose said immersing himself in the hustle culture of Columbia Heights has inspired him beyond comprehension.

“I hear a lot of people say this reminds them of New York where they can set up shop to advance their business,” Rose said. “Having this spot saved my life. Without this opportunity, I would be doing something else. It has kept me out of trouble and out of jail when I wasn’t able to prove who I was [with government ID]. I still paid for a tent. When there’s a way, you have to make a way.”

WI

@SamPKCollins

On President’s Day, community members celebrated this milestone during a tour of the Mount Zion-Female Union Band Society Cemetery led by Lisa Fager, executive director of the Black Georgetown Foundation.

“I am confident in my faith that this gesture [the D.C. Council resolution] is proof that we will no longer be neglected,” Fager said.

Since 2005, the Black Georgetown Foundation, formerly known as the Mount Zion-Female Union Band Society Historic Park Foundation, has managed the preservation and commemoration of the two cemeteries.

Responsibilities include cemetery property surveys and boundary marking, tree canopy maintenance, restoration of headstones and memorials, and genealogical research about those interred on the cemetery grounds.

During the Feb. 20 ceremony held at the cemetery, Nana Malaya Rucker-Oparabea led visitors in the pouring of libation and veneration of ancestors. Names heard emanating through the sacred grounds that morning included that of James Newton, the Black Georgetown Foundation’s late photographer and the late D.C. Mayor Marion Barry.

Fager later highlighted President George Washington’s connection to Mount Zion-Female Union Band Society Cemetery and the burial site’s use as a stop on the Underground Railroad. In 2018, it received a designation as a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) site of memory, in association with the “Routes of Enslaved People” project.

“We’ve been doing this for a long time,” Fager said as she went on to acknowledge the congregants of Mt. Zion United Methodist Church who were gathered at the burial site. “Today, we’re celebrating Mt. Zion Cemetery.

It started in 1808, burying Blacks and whites. This is the only cemetery for people who were born and died enslaved. Many of them had no markers.”

The Cemetery’s inception dates back to 1808, when Dumbarton United Methodist Church purchased the Methodist burial ground.

Nearly a decade later, the free and enslaved Black members of Dumbarton left that church and started what was then known as Mt. Zion Methodist Episcopal Church. In 1879, Mt. Zion Methodist Episcopal Church leased the burial site from Dumbarton.

In 1832, a group of free Black women started the Female Union Band Society. They later purchased a plot of land adjacent to Mt. Zion Cemetery that would also become an African-American burial ground. Today, at least 8,000 people are estimated to be buried at Mt. Zion Cemetery and the Female Union Band Society Cemetery. Mount Zion-Female Union Band Society Cemetery counts among the oldest remaining African-American cemeteries in the D.C. metropolitan area. In 1975, they were added to the District of Columbia Inventory of Historic Sites and the National Register of Historic Places.

D.C. Councilmember Anita Bonds (D-At large), who introduced the resolution honoring Mount Zion-Female Union Band Society Cemetery before the council earlier this month, said the District must recognize the entirety of its Black history.

“Georgetown was its own thriving subdivision before George Washington decided it would become part of one history,” Bonds said on Monday at Mount Zion-Female Union Band Society Cemetery. “I want everyone to see that we have such a document [recognizing the cemetery] and that every council member signed on to it, so all of our ancestors signed on.”

Ronald Walton, an alumnus of

5 Since 2021, Rose and Lovely have been selling copper and crystal jewelry on the streets of Columbia Heights under Emporium Dynasty and KeKe’s Kreations. (Photo by Marckell Williams)

5 Community members gather at the Zion-Female Union Band Society Cemetery to celebrate passage of a ceremonial resolution recognizing the cemetery as a sacred site. (Shevry Lassiter/The Washington Informer)

HISTORICAL SITE Page 45

Duke Ellington School of the Arts and organist at Mt. Zion United Methodist Church, said he gained a deep appreciation for Mount Zion-Female Union Band Society Cemetery since learning about the people buried there.

For nearly a year, Walton has been working with the Alliance of New Music-Theatre to produce an opera about Mount Zion-Female Union Band Society Cemetery that he’s scheduled to perform later this year. Such an experience introduced him to the stories of Gracey Duckett, an enslaved woman who worked at the Dumbarton House.

Walton also recounted learning about Female Union Band Society member Mary Burell and the Rev.

Joseph Cartwright, one of the first preachers at Mt. Zion Methodist Episcopal Church. He said such stories have inspired him to assist the Black Georgetown Foundation in its efforts to preserve history.

“We have to show up for the cause and do the work. We have to act to save the ground,” Walton said. “The history was lost and it’s found again. We have to keep telling the stories of the people buried here and maintain the land and documents. We must even share the story of the real Georgetown and the stories of the 272 people who were enslaved.”

For the rest of the story visit washingtoninformer.com

WI @SamPKCollins

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2010: WHITE HOUSE FORUM ON ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE

Obama Administration agency heads and other leaders met for a day-long event to discuss environmental justice goals and strategies.

2014: FLINT, MICHIGAN SWITCHES ITS WATER SUPPLY

The predominantly-Black city of Flint, Michigan changed where it sourced its drinking water as a cost-saving measure. Major failures in water treatment led to severe contamination, including with dangerously high levels of lead. Relentless local activism brought the issue to light, including in the national news, which sparked renewed conversation about environmental racism across the country.

2021: BIDEN SIGNS EXECUTIVE ORDER

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The Biden administration has made environmental justice a high-profile priority. His executive order, titled “Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad,” created the Justice40 Initiative, which requires agencies to direct 40% of all benefits from certain federal investments to disadvantaged communities.

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5 Ronald Walton, an alumnus of Duke Ellington School of the Arts and organist at Mt. Zion United Methodist Church, has been working with the Alliance of New Music-Theatre to produce an opera about Mount Zion-Female Union Band Society Cemetery that he’s scheduled to perform later this year. (Shevry Lassiter/The Washington Informer)

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Notice To Principle Is Notice To Agent; Notice To Agent Is Notice To Principle, Ht: 5’9, Wt: 172, Nationality: American National, Gender: Male. On and for the record I am Charles of the family Samuel (Man) New Yorker(nation), I’m in the private, on the Land Jurisdiction in the Continental United States Republic, my right to contract and NOT contract is inviolable. Attention Public Officials New York State Attorney General, Federal Trade Commissioner(s), USPS Postal Inspector General, SSA Inspector General, HHS Inspector General (HHS Secretary & OCSE Commissioner) there is fraud, scam, waste, abuse, identity theft by constituents within the aforementioned departments by way of personage, usufruct and barratry. Public officials 1. identify who you are 2. what is your principle 3. who is the real party of interest 4. who understands this matter 5. by what authority you move in this matter. The SSA have a debt on their property the SSN noncustodial parent CHARLES SAMUEL (Ens Legis) is grammatically incorrect there’s no Nexus/Joinder, I am a flesh and blood Man, parties attempting to contract are improper. SSA take care of your created debt(scheme) blatant war against the United States of America constitution or go into default judgment and/or be charged for high crimes, treason and sedition. Fraud upon a private for-profit corporation Bronx County NY foreign court case PA32455T1 due to violation of due process, duress, coercion, word and language fraud and fictitious conveyance, separation of powers doctrine, lack of personal, subject matter, geographic jurisdiction and improper venue etc. I’m accepting Oaths and bonds, I’ve received irreparable injuries and demand remedy in law, dismissals of bonds, securities and full compensation. Furthermore, breach of contracts of Oaths of office, nonperformance of duties and obstructing the peace and security of a Free State. An unrebutted Affidavit stands as TRUTH in commerce, rebuttals shall be point by point in an AFFIDAVIT under penalty of perjury sign by (2) two witnesses no later than 30 days and/or aforementioned will be held commercially liable in their private/ public capacity. No blanket statements, send Affidavits to my email: Charles.s47@yahoo.com and/or for my physical mailing address. All my natural unalienable rights reserved. Real Land North America. 2/2/2023

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", [LOWELL T ALLEN, LOWELL T. ALLEN, L ALLEN, LOWELL A, LOWELL ALLEN, L.T. ALLEN, LT ALLEN, L T ALLEN, LTA, LT, LA,

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2, The Lieber Code, Hague Conventions of 1899 & 1907, The Geneva Conventions, and all natural laws governing American Citizens, and hereby declare and proclaim my nationality in good faith as a: Mississippian. I am that I am: "Lowell Terry Allen© ", from this day forward, in harmony with my Nationality / Status / Jurisdiction, shall be known as: "lowell terry allen©".

Notice of White Flag Surrender: as "hors de combat", pursuant to The Geneva Conventions, Article III, as a minister of yhwh's covenant, and Internationally Protected Person. Notice of: LAWS AND CUSTOMS OF WAR ON LAND (HAGUE, IV), ARTICLE: 32, 45, 46, & 47. Notice of Claim pursuant to Public Law 87-846, TITLE

II, SEC. 203. Notice of Bailment Merging of Legal Title with Equitable Title: This order is to preserve legal and equitable title, and to reserve all rights, title, and interest, in the property, Re: Mississippi State Department of Health and Vital Records: 123-69 015972: " LOWELL TERRY ALLEN© ", is as a special deposit order, conveyed to " lta Christian 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:" lowell terry allen© ", nom deguerre: " Lowell Terry Allen© ", as a special deposit order in lawful money. This special deposit is to be used exclusively for the benefit of: "lta Christian 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.

HOMESTEAD PUBLICATION

Be it known to All courts, institutions, cooperation’s, banks, tax collectors, STATE OF CALIFORNIA, STATE(s) OF, and all other artificial and commercial entities, this PUBLIC NOTICE is presented to All and  is NOTICE to the world that One, :rickey-martin: :gilliam and wife :barbara-louise: :gilliam:,  do lawfully secure all interest, rights and title entitled to both as Constitution Assignees, and both, by this present do perfect their private status as UNEMBARRASSED FREEHOLDER.  :rickey-martin: :gilliam and wife :barbara-louise: :gilliam:,  declare  and proclaim  full right of undisputable HOMESTEAD claim to distinct land within the seven square leagues in Los Angeles County, Huntington Beach, California Republic Constitutionally granted and protected by Law. The above is the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth, so help me God. Any man, or woman who wishes to dispute this claim of rights must do so on their unlimited liability under the penalty of perjury.

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Probate Division

Washington, D.C. 20001-2131

2023 ADM 000059

Athel Q. Liggins aka Athel Quentin Liggins Decedent

Edward G. Varrone, Esq. 1825 K Street, NW Suite 1150

Washington, DC 20006

Attorney

NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE

TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

Silvia Liggins-Mackel, whose address is 14825 Phillips Oak Drive, Spenceville, MD 20868, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Athel Q. Liggins aka Athel Quentin Liggins who died on 11/30/2022 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 8/9/2023. 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 8/9/2023, 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: 2/9/2023

Silvia Liggins-Mackel Personal Representative

TRUE TEST COPY

Nicole Stevens Register of Wills

Washington Informer

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Probate Division

Washington, D.C. 20001-2131

2023 ADM 000040

Ernestine M. Harper Decedent

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

Gina D. Harper, whose address is 5316 2nd Street NW, Washington, DC 20011, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Ernestine M. Harper who died on November 23, 2022 with a Will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment (or to the probate of decedent’s Will) shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 8/9/2023. 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 8/9/2023, 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: 2/9/2023

Gina D. Harper 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 000363

Beverly McLaine Nickens

Decedent

Antoine Wade, Esquire 4400 Stamp Rd., Suite 207 Temple Hills, MD 20748

Attorney

NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE

TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

Steven S. McLaine, whose address is 115 Burholme Dr., Hamil

ton, NJ 08691-3336, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Beverly McLaine Nickens who died on November 8, 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 8/9/2023. 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 8/9/2023, 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:

2/9/2023

Steven S. McLaine

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 801

Verna R. Myers Decedent

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

Jacqueline D. Rogers, whose address is 1421 Peartree Lane Bowie, MD 20721, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Verna R. Myers who died on June 16, 2022 without a Will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 8/9/2023. 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 8/9/2023, 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: 2/9/2023

Jacqueline D. Rogers Personal Representative

TRUE TEST COPY

Nicole Stevens Register of Wills

Washington Informer

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

2023 ADM 000038

Nellie Clark Decedent

Louvenia W. Williams, Esq. 9701 Apollo Drive #301 Largo, MD 20774

Attorney

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

Priscilla A. Anderson, whose address is 4021 9th Street, NW #301, Washington, DC 20011, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Nellie Clark who died on October 8, 2022 without a Will, and will serve without Court supervision.

All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 8/9/2023. 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 8/9/2023, 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: 2/9/2023

Priscilla A. Anderson

Personal Representative

TRUE TEST COPY

Nicole Stevens Register of Wills

Washington Informer

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

2023 ADM 000048

Charlie Frank Burney aka Charles F. Burney aka Charles Burney Decedent

NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE

TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

Edna Hawkins Burney, whose address is 2220 Tucker Drive, Columbus, GA 31907, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Charlie Frank Burney aka Charles F. Burney aka Charles Burney who died on June 6, 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 8/9/2023. 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 8/9/2023, 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: 2/9/2023

Edna Hawkins Burney Personal Representative

TRUE TEST COPY

Nicole Stevens Register of Wills

Washington Informer

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

2023 ADM 0092

Eddie Lee Baxter aka Eddie Lee Baxter Jr.

Decedent

Julius P. Terrell 1455 Pennsylvania Ave., NW Suite 400 Washington, DC 20004

Attorney

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

Michelle Baxter, whose address is 1422 Potomac Ave., SE Washington, DC 20003, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Eddie Lee Baxter aka Eddie Lee Baxter Jr., who died on 7/5/2022 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 8/9/2023. 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 8/9/2023, 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:

2/9/2023

Michelle Baxter Personal Representative

TRUE TEST COPY

Nicole Stevens

Register of Wills

Washington Informer

LEGAL NOTICES LEGAL NOTICES

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131

2023 ADM 000017

Will Roger Giles, Sr. Decedent

NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE

TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE

Deborah Ann Giles, whose address is 428 Oakwood Street, SE, Washington, DC 20032, was appointed Personal Representa

tive of the estate of Will Roger Giles, Sr. who died on 7/27/2022 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 8/9/2023. 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 8/9/2023, 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:

2/9/2023

Deborah Ann Giles

Personal Representative

TRUE TEST COPY

Nicole Stevens Register of Wills

Washington Informer

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131

2023 ADM 153

Randolph K. Milam

Decedent

Andre O. McDonald, Esq.

10500 Little Patuxent Parkway

Suite 420

Columbia, Maryland 21044

Attorney

NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE

TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

Paul W. Milam, whose address is 4877 Pepperwood Court, White Plains, Maryland 20695, was appointed Personal

Representative of the estate of Randolph K. Milam who died on October 28, 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 8/23/2023. 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 8/23/2023, 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:

2/23/2023

Paul W. Milam

Personal Representative

Nicole Stevens Register of Wills

Washington Informer

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Probate Division

Washington, D.C. 20001-2131

2023 ADM 000071

Sharon Gardiner-Johnson Decedent

NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE

TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

LaToya D. Foster, whose address is 3639 Commodore Joshua Barney Dr., NE, Washington, DC 20018, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Sharon Gardiner-Johnson who died on November 13, 2022 without a Will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment (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 8/16/2023. 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 8/16/2023, 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.

LEGAL NOTICES LEGAL NOTICES

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131

2022 ADM 001201

Adenia G. Taylor aka Adenia Gill Taylor Decedent

Tamara Jones, Esq.

The Legal Courthouse, PLLC 6218 Georgia Ave., Suite 1-682 NW Washington DC 20011 Attorney

NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE

TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

Seshmi Taylor, whose address is 4114 Moffre Dr., Bolling Springs, SC 29316, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Adenia G. Taylor aka Adenia Gill Taylor who died on June 23, 2022 with a Will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment (or to the probate of decedent’s Will) shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 8/16/2023. 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 8/16/2023, 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: 2/16/2023

Seshmi Taylor Personal Representative

TRUE TEST COPY

Nicole Stevens Register of Wills

Washington Informer

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Probate Division

Washington, D.C. 20001-2131

2023 ADM 000070

Helen E. Smith

Decedent

NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE

TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

Julius Holman Jr., whose address is 5008 North Capitol Street, NW, Washington, DC 20011, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Helen E. Smith who died on 12/19/2022 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 8/16/2023. 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 8/16/2023, 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: 2/16/2023

Julius Holman Jr. Personal Representative

TRUE TEST COPY

Nicole Stevens Register of Wills Washington Informer

LEGAL NOTICES

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Probate Division

Washington, D.C. 20001-2131

2023 ADM 000143

Austin Allen McFadden Decedent

Suren G. Adams, Esq. Adams Law Office, LLC

4201 Northview Drive, Suite 401 Bowie, MD 20716

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

Donna Hopewell, whose address is 3605 Daffney Court, Upper Marlboro, MD 20772, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Austin Allen McFadden who died on November 24, 2022 without a Will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 8/23/2023. 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 8/23/2023, 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: 2/23/2023

Donna Hopewell

Personal Representative

TRUE TEST COPY

Nicole Stevens Register of Wills

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA PROBATE DIVISION

Washington, D.C. 20001-2131

2023 FEP 000012

November 29, 2021

Date of Death

Hartmann Josef Schoebel aka Hartmann J. Schoebel

Name of Decedent

NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT OF FOREIGN PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE AND NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Hartmann Axel Schoebel, whose address is 440 Sequoia Avenue, Palo Alto., CA 94306 was appointed personal representative of the estate of Hartmann Josef Schoebel aka Hartmann J. Schoebel, deceased, by the Probate Court for Cuyahoga County, State of Ohio, on 5/5/2022.

Service of process may be made upon Katherine Curley

3934 Legation Street, NW Washington, DC 20015 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.

3705 Brandywine Street NW, Washington, DC 20016.

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:

2/23/2023

Hartmann Axel Schoebel

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 000902

Joseph M. Duckett aka Joseph Maurice Duckett Decedent

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

Worthie F.; LaVonde A. and Devon L Duckett, whose addresses are 1670 Fort Dupont Street SE, WDC 20020, were appointed Personal Representatives of the estate of Joseph M. Duckett aka Joseph Maurice Duckett who died on April 10, 2016 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 8/23/2023. 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 8/23/2023, 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: 2/23/2023

Worthie F. Duckett

LaVonde A. Duckett

Devon L. Duckett

Personal Representative

TRUE TEST COPY

Nicole Stevens Register of Wills

Washington Informer

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Probate Division

Washington, D.C. 20001-2131

2023 ADM 0105

Thelma Green

Decedent

Julius P. Terrell 1455 Pennsylvania Ave., NW Suite 400

Washington, DC 20004

Attorney

NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE

TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

Kathy McDaniel, whose address is 7114 Chapparal Drive, District Heights, MD 20747, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Thelma Green who died on 12/21/22 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 8/23/2023. 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 8/23/2023, 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:

2/23/2023

Kathy McDaniel Personal Representative

TRUE TEST COPY

Nicole Stevens Register of Wills

Washington Informer

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

2023 ADM 000117

Joyce D. Warner-MacKall aka Joyce Warner-MacKall aka Joyce Warner aka Joyce Mackall Decedent

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

Morris Warner Sr., whose address is 2319 Napoleon Ave., New Orleans, LA 70115, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Joyce D. Warner-Mackall aka Joyce Warner-MacKall aka Joyce Warner aka Joyce MacKall who died on 10/26/2022 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 8/23/2023. 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 8/23/2023, 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: 2/23/2023

Morris Warner Sr. Personal Representative

TRUE TEST COPY

Nicole Stevens Register of Wills

Washington Informer

LEGAL NOTICES LEGAL NOTICES LEGAL NOTICES LEGAL NOTICES

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Probate Division

Washington, D.C. 20001-2131

2023 ADM 000086

Charles E. Lancaster, Jr. Decedent

NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE

TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

Loryn M. Lancaster, whose address is 1706 Lang Place, NE Washington, DC 20002, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Charles E. Lancaster, Jr. who died on March 23, 2021 without a Will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 8/23/2023. 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 8/23/2023, 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:

2/23/2023

Loryn M. Lancaster

Personal Representative

TRUE TEST COPY

Nicole Stevens

Register of Wills

Washington Informer

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Probate Division

Washington, D.C. 20001-2131

2023 ADM 000142

Delores F. Rogers

Decedent

NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE

TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

Leroy Greer, whose address is 2726 Lorring Drive, Apt. 103, District Heights, MD 20747, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Delores F. Rogers who died on June 11, 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 8/23/2023. 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 8/23/2023, 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: 2/23/2023

Leroy Greer 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 001143

Annie M. Davis

Decedent

NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE

TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

Kiesha L. Davis, whose address is 4506 3rd Street SE, #D Washington, DC 20032, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Annie M. Davis who died on March 15, 2021 without a Will, and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 8/23/2023. 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 8/23/2023, 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: 2/23/2023

Kiesha L. Davis

Personal Representative

TRUE TEST COPY

Nicole Stevens Register of Wills

Washington Informer

In God We Trust. Declaration of Nationality. Notice of Whitc Flag Surrender. Notice of Special Appearance : am that I am: "Jermaine DcEdward Lucas", in full life, in propria persona, sui juris, in solo proprio, Ilaqdar by natural issue, the beneficiary and heir of: " JERMAINE DEEDWARD LUCAS corp.sole Dba.: "JERMAINE D. LUCAS", [LUCAS, JERMAINE D., J., LUCAS, LUCAS„J., MAINGO, TOCOPACA INIIIA JERMAINE], 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 unalienable, allegiance to 'Ille Moorish Empire, Al Maghreb Al Aqsa, Estados al Marikanos, Societas Republicae Ea Al Maurikanuus Estados, "Ihe Constitution for the united States of America, Article Ill Section 2, The Lieber Code, Hague Conventions of 1899 & 1907, 'Ille Geneva Conventions, [ United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples l, 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: " Jermaine I)eEdward Lucas ", from this day forward, in harmony with my Nationality / Status / Jurisdiction, shall be known as: “tocopaca iniha jcrmaine de lucas bey Notice of White Flag Surrender: as "hors de combat", pursuant to The Geneva Conventions, Article Ill, 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, '111LE 11, 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 FLORIDA BUREAU of VITAL STATISTICS : STATE FILE NUMBER, 109-1984-019149 " JERMAINE DEEDWARD LUCAS ", is as a special deposit order, conveyed to "Tocobaga Maroon Moorish American De Lucas Bey 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: " tocopaca iniha jermaine de lucas bey ", nom deguerre:" Jermaine DeEdward Lucas", as a special deposit order in lawful money. This special deposit is to be used exclusively for the benefit of: " Tocobaga Maroon Moorish American De Lucas Bey Trust ", an Inter Vivos Unincorporated Divine Grantor Trust. 'Illis deposit is not to be commingled with general assets of any bank, nor depositary / trustee agent / bailee donee / debtor. "Illis deposit is not limited to, but including: discharge and set off, of any and all outstanding liabilities as accord and satisfaction. Inter alia enact fuit. All Rights Reserved. Deo volente.

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Probate Division

Washington, D.C. 20001-2131

2023 ADM 166

Estate of Veronica Wisdom

NOTICE OF STANDARD PROBATE

Notice is hereby given that a petition has been filed in this Court by Clarence Lee and Lorna L. Washinton for standard probate, including the appointment of one or more personal representatives. Unless a responsive pleading in the form of a complaint or an objection in accordance with Superior Court Probate Division Rule 407 is filed in this Court within 30 days from the date of first publication of this notice, the Court may take the action hereinafter set forth.

Admit to probate the will dated June 24, 1996 exhibited with the petition upon proof satisfactory to the Court of due execution by affidavit of the witnesses or otherwise

Date of first publication: 2/23/2023

Glenda M. Wheeler Allen, Esq. Law Office of Glenda M. Wheeler 808 E Street, NE, Suite A Washington, DC 20002 Petitioner/Attorney:

TRUE TEST COPY

Nicole Stevens Register of Wills

Washington Informer

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Probate Division

Washington, D.C. 20001-2131

2023 ADM 000157

Estate of Michael Shillingford

NOTICE OF STANDARD PROBATE

Notice is hereby given that a petition has been filed in this Court by Andrew Huff 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: 02/23/2023

John Noble 451 Hungerford Dr. Rockville, MD 20850

Petitioner/Attorney:

TRUE TEST COPY

Nicole Stevens Register of Wills

Washington Informer

Notice (for publication) This publication certifies the existence of one man assuming the role of head for his house. Notice the man to be mature and to act of sound mind as the bearer for all good deeds.  Notice “See” United States foreign relations manual 8 FAM 505.2-1 Endorsement Code Procedures the Bearer IS ALSO KNOWN AS (L-L GIVEN NAMES) (L-L SURNAME).

Bearer uses an assumed name in addition to their legal name.

II

Name LE VERN LAMONT LAWRENCE

The address of the known place of business is Post Office Box 584, Lanham MD 20703 note:I Le Vern Lamont, of the Lawrence come forth as the executor public and private for the name LE VERN LAMONT LAWRENCE.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, perpetually.  The original known place of existence for the entity known as LE VERN LAMONT LAWRENCE is:  Prince Georges County Hospital, 3001 Hospital Dr, Maryland 20785, the agent for this entity is a living, breathing and comprehensive man, notice I am original to the land mass referenced by given names Maryland, America, and Amexem, North America.

III Notice I the bearer, am that I am reflection of man. Having power of attorney in fact for Le Vern Lamont Lawrence and for my new court commissioned named change as Le Vern Lamont El, in esse. Notice by this publication an act of good deeds assume the role of executor, guardian, conservator, and power of attorney over the following names estates and trusts as caretaker for all legal names: JAMARI LAMONT LAWRENCE, JOE’L NICHOLAS LAWRENCE, DESTINY ELISA LAWRENCE, CHANCE QUALEE LAWRENCE, NOAH TYRALL LAWRENCE, HARMANI LOVE LAMONTEE GLOVER, LAVENIA LA’RAYNE LAWRENCE.

IV Copyright notice for stramineous homo. This copyright notice informs any potential use, usage, users, of any constructive use thereto any legal names created for my paramount use may be a direct violation for using the expressed intellectual property protected by this notice. Any user of the names expressed heron shall be protected by this notice intended to protect all intellectual property and not to interfere with any commercial activity regarding trafficking or employment thereto. I intend to uplift humanity and help all my fellow mankind. In propria persona, sui juris, proprio solo, proprio heredes, in esse.  Notice any unauthorized use thereof hereon without my express, prior, written authorized permission signifies the users unauthorized users’ consent. Notice that use will imply your debt obligation to any injury, damages, loss, etcetera. In the amount of $500,000 per use, plus time material and additional cost. Notice this publication is not expressed to take advantage of anyone for anybody. I redeem IAW 12 USC 411 and 412.

V Special indorsement i grantee "accept" and "certify" that i am of sound mind over the age of majority. I notice all parties living and robotic that i claim all proceeds exceeding $1 USD for good cause and for non-failure to state claim for which relief can be granted. Relief can be granted by thy appointing all public and private officials, officers, commissioners and each agent or employee fiduciarily responsible to settle this matter without recourse. Sincerely, manager, real party of interest, non-commercial, not trafficking, not understanding anything commercial. Notice I claim all extensions of credit from the cradle to the grave. All extensions of credit exceeding one dollar go back to LE VERN LAMONT LAWRENCE TRUST. Notice I am not trading with the enemy nor am I an ally to any enemy of the state of the union, so be it.

VI

Declaration of nationality

Notice of Special Appearance: I am: lawrence, le vern lamont© in full life, in proprio, by natural issue, the beneficiary and heir of: LAWRENCE, LE VERN LAMONT© corp.sole Dba: LE VERN LAMONT LAWRENCE© having reached the age of majority, being aboriginal to the north Americas and south-western shores of Africa, the Atlantic Islands, the continental Americas, being duly sworn, hereby affirms to declare my intention to be as my pedigree subscribes, as an: shabtau Moorish American moslem national, but not a citizen of the United States. I declare permanent, and inalienable, allegiance to the Moorish Empire, Societas Republicae Ea Al Maurikanuus Estados / United States Republic, The Constitution for the united States of America, Article III Section 2, The Barbary Treaties, International Law, United Nations Declarations on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and all Natural laws governing moors and herby Declare and Proclaim my nationality as an: shabtau Moorish American moslem national. Any and all facts contained  in this publication, are fully applicable to any and all private tribal issue offspring of: lawrence, le vern lamont©, my wives, Nunc pro Tunc, not limited to but including: 1. octavia cassandra, lawrence©, the beneficiary and heir of Noah Tyrell, Lavenia Le’Rayne, Oliyah Pearsall, Kasey Pearsall© corp sole, Dba: OCTAVIA LAWRENCE© I am: lawrence, le vern lamont© from this day forward, in harmony with my Nationality /Status /Jurisdiction, shall be known as “le vern lamont le©”. Notice of 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: LAWRENCE,LE VERN LAMONT© corp.sole DBA.: LEVERN LAMONT LAWRENCE TRUST©, Board of Trustees: L. Lawrence Chairman of the & Re: Noah Tyrell, La Venia Le’Rayne,Jamari Lawrence, Joe’l Lawrence, Destiny Lawrence, Chance Lawrence, Harmani Glover©,corp sole Dba: JAMARI LAWRENCE, JOE’L LAWRENCE, DESTINY LAWRENCE, CHANCE LAWRENCE, NOAH LAWRENCE, LA VENIA LAWRENCE, HARMANI GLOVER©, etc., to the depositor and or in the capacity as Guardian/: el, le vern lamont© nom deguerre: lawrence,le vern lamont©. 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: el, Le Vern Lamont© nom deguerre: lawrence, le vern lawrence© as a special deposit order in lawful money. This special deposit is used exclusively for the benefit of: LE VERN LAMONT LAWRENCE TRUST, to be used exclusively for the benefit of THE BOOK OF LEVERN TRUST, a private foreign Islamism ecclesiastical trust. Notice, the direct living beneficiary in flesh as people and in person having rights in name(s): octavia-cassandra; jamari lamont lawrence, joe’l nicholas lawrence, destiny elisa lawrence, chance qualee lawrence, noah tyrell lawrence, la venia le’rayne lawrence of the house Lawrence and now officially known as house of EL This deposit is not to 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, all outstanding liabilities accord and satisfaction. All that which provides for me also provides for my wives and offspring vice versa. In addition, common law copyright JAMARI LAMONT LAWRENCE, JOE’L NICHOLAS LAWRENCE, DESTINY ELISA LAWRENCE, CHANCE QUALEE LAWRENCE, NOAH TYRELL LAWRENCE, LA VENIA LE’RAYNE LAWRENCE, HARMANI LOVE-LAMONTEE GLOVER, KASEY MICHELLE PEARSALL, OLIYAH CALI PEARSALL, OCTAVIA CASSANDRA LAWRENCE ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © common law, in esse; Notice we are in union and good faith with the United States, the United States of America, and the United Nations we are not sovereign citizens.

rector Rohit Chopra in announcing the proposed rule. "These junk fees aren't subject to the normal forces of competition. They're often charged for so-called services that a consumer never wanted and are set at levels far beyond the true cost. Junk fees inflate prices and chip away at monthly budgets by obscuring part of the price from comparison shopping, making it difficult for Americans to shop around.

"When we asked people to submit their comments on and experiences with junk fees, we were inundated with stories from thousands of individuals about being charged fees for things that weren't in their control, like in the case of surprise overdraft fees," continued Chopra. "Many Americans believe these fees are just plain wrong."

The proposed rule-making is based on earlier CFPB research released last year that found that in only one year, 2020, credit card companies charged $12 billion in late fees alone. Card

BAILEY from Page 30 share the positions attributed 50 years ago to Sayers and Tunnell? Another question is whether they have the "me, myself and I" atti-

MARSHALL from Page 28

parent, teacher, school board member, school administrator, or teachers union representative. In other cases, it may be a lack of school funding, bad policy decisions, or government bureaucracy. While school districts debate the pros and cons surrounding "social promotion," kids are given passing grades and promoted to the next grade level despite having limited or no ability to perform academically. How do these students ever academically catch up? Do they ever?

Often, social promotion becomes a school district policy rather than a teacher's decision. There are so many dedicated and passionate teachers and administrators in our schools, but they can eventually become frustrated, overwhelmed, and burnt out. We can easily place blame on the two-year impact COVID-19 had on school systems, but student achievement failures were preCOVID issues. The pandemic

interest rates generate a separate revenue stream.

Other key findings from this report found that cardholders in majority-Black areas paid more in late fees for each card they held with major credit card issuers in 2019. People in areas with the lowest rates of economic mobility paid nearly $10 more in late fee charges per account compared to people in areas with the highest rates of economic mobility.

While acknowledging the bureau's earlier efforts to rein in high-cost overdraft fees, Nadine Chabrier, a senior policy counsel with the Center for Responsible Lending, says more must be done to protect consumers from other costly junk fees.

"These charges wreak havoc on household budgets," Chabrier said.

"We applaud President Biden for highlighting their harm. … We are encouraged that the consumer bureau announced it will take additional steps, and we urge the bureau to place strong limits on the size and frequency of these fees."

More support for eliminating

tude expressed by too many Black folks today. If today's Black NFL players do share the positions attributed to Sayers and Tunnell, a question about the lack of Black head coaches will still be relevant

worsened the crisis, but it didn't create the problem. The students and teachers are the ones who are on the front line when it comes to education, but are they receiving the necessary support from outside of the classroom? Are students getting the needed support at home?

Marietta English, a former president of the Baltimore Teachers Union, says poverty presents students with so many challenges that it can be difficult for them to keep up in school. She says without a support system, students will never make it.

"If you look at everyone who has succeeded [and has] come from poverty, there was someone there to support them and help them through this process," said English.

According to a Maryland Department of Agriculture Poverty Profiles report from 2018, the child poverty rate in Baltimore City was 33%. Rev. Jesse Jackson often reminded us to "keep hope alive." How do we, as a commu-

these budget-busting fees came from Rep. Maxine Waters, the ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee and its former chair.

"I was pleased to hear President Biden call out junk fees by name, and double down on the administration's commitment to limit hidden fees and surcharges in a number of industries," stated Waters on Feb. 8, the day after the State of the Union address. "[W]e have long helped lead the fight to shine a bright light on these types of harmful junk fees and have advanced legislation to ensure consumers are not nickel and dimed out of savings that could go towards buying a new home or starting a small business.

"Thanks to the leadership of Director Chopra, the CFPB is helping to advance these efforts to put more money back into consumers' pockets. I, and consumers across the country, can't wait for this rule to be finalized as soon as possible," Waters added.

50 years from now. On the other hand, if the players work together and are backed by serious Black folks, that question will be irrelevant.

nity, keep hope alive amid what appears to be a hopeless crisis? The support system English is referencing must come from outside the classroom. Teachers are often mandated to teach grade-level material to students who are years behind. Overall, students cannot catch up.

In many cases, it must be accomplished outside the school despite not having parental support at home. The community must fill the void by providing more math and reading tutors. With the help of tutors, students can learn and catch up at their own pace, apart from the pressures of the classroom setting, giving a child some hope where there currently is none. The Maryland and Illinois reports are separate SOS distress calls to alert those in our Black and brown communities. Our Black churches, HBCUs, fraternities and sororities, nonprofit organizations, and businesses need to form partnerships with struggling schools by providing tutors in a crisis that will only worsen. WI

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WILLIAMS from Page 29

essays that delve more deeply into the economics of enslavement, but the outline at History.com (https://www.history.com/news/ slavery-profitable-southern-economy) provides a clear picture of what we have meant to what is really important to this nation — the acquisition of wealth.

It has been offered by these white revisionists that the teaching of Black History should begin in the year 1970 for any substantive learning to occur. Those of us born in the '40s, '50s and '60s are dramatically aware of the scope of our history which would be eliminated. Where then is Dr. King, Malcolm X, Rosa Parks, SCLC, the Black Panther Party, Mary McLeod Bethune, the civil rights movement, Brown v. Board, Em-

JEALOUS from Page 29

and state leadership. … Residents deserve to be able to safely return to their homes and access drinking water without the risk of everyday activities like vacuuming exposing them further to these chemicals."

Moving forward, we need to do more to protect people and places from hazardous materials that move in more than 2 million freight cars each year.

To be fair, reports show that freight rail spills happen less often than spills from trucks or planes. But we know those trains don't run through posh suburbs. They run through places like East Palestine, a working-class white village where median household income is about two-thirds the

MYRICK from Page 29

of the course had the same effect in the end: Kids don't get exposed to it and their freedom to learn is shortchanged. All of us should demand that the College Board revise the curriculum to more accurately reflect the contemporary Black experience. And at the same time, we should set our sights on removing politicians like DeSantis. Because he is hell-bent on building his right-wing political brand, today's battlefield in the Far Right's war on education is Florida; but it won't stop there. It will be fought in Virginia, and

mitt Till, the Tulsa Massacre, the Little Rock Nine, Charles Hamilton Houston, Daisy Bates, the thousands of nameless others who sacrificed life and limb for the freedoms denied by this country, and those who overcame what were designed to be insurmountable obstacles to freedom and success.

White America is caught in a web of irreconcilable differences. Their discomfort with the truth is an obvious nexus. While they profess a nation founded on principles of justice and equity, their history and current actions belie this notion. They claim that no student/person should be made to feel uncomfortable with history, but I believe that to be a deception. When the aim is the erasure of history, the real goal is the extermination of the spirit.

WI

Ohio average. They are places that historically get overlooked.

The best news is we already know what to do. While the cause of the Ohio derailment hasn't been determined officially, reports indicate a wheel bearing in the car that caused the accident overheated; there are sensors for that we can require. Similarly, we can replace braking technology that dates back more than a century with newer brakes that even Norfolk Southern said cuts stopping distances by 60%.

Anyone who saw videos of the burning cars after the crash or the huge cloud of smoke when vinyl chloride was burned off to prevent an explosion may shocked to learn that the wrecked train wasn't designated a "high-hazard flammable train," which would trigger additional safety steps and

Texas, and states across the country. Ambitious politicians like DeSantis in Florida and Glenn Youngkin in Virginia smell opportunity in this environment. It's up to us to use the power vested in us by our representative democracy to stop them.

Maybe because I have served in office myself and have spent many years mentoring young elected officials, I will always have an unshakable faith in the power of representative democracy to solve problems and improve lives. I really believe that whatever mess elected officials have gotten us into, voters and true public servants can get us out. Those of us

more notice to state and local officials. This is an easy step to take.

These remedies have been proposed before. The railroad industry calls them too costly. But that claim must be weighed against nearly $200 billion in stock buybacks and dividends for the nation's biggest rail companies since 2010 as they also cut their workforces.

We can start by restoring brake system and other safety rules rescinded during the Trump administration. Once we push for all these common-sense measures to protect ourselves and our neighborhoods, we should start asking another question — what was going to happen to all those toxic chemicals once they reached the rail yard where they were headed?

WI

about threats to education need to wield our power at the ballot box against anti-education politicians. Or run for office ourselves. It might be a seat on the school board, or a local legislature, or a state office. Or higher.

That's what I hope will come out of this disaster in Florida: not just the ultimate defeat of truly terrible officeholders but the elevation of truly good ones, who get into public service because they see a wrong to right. People we can count on to make inclusive education and opportunity a reality for all students, because all students have that right. WI

White America is caught in a web of irreconcilable differences. Their discomfort with the truth is an obvious nexus.

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