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Fundraising Begins for Fauntroy Family, Pg. 5

YWCA Sees Success in GED Training, Pg.12

Vol. 50, No. 24 Mar. 26 - Apr. 1 2015

Play “Whites Only” Hits Hard on Race, Pg. 27

Local Teens Talk About Selma, Pg. 29

Volunteers provide street cleaning services for 18 commercial districts in all eight wards of the District of Columbia on Sat., March 21. /Photo by Robert Roberts

National Urban League Report: Blacks Remain in Crisis Thousands Gather in D.C. to Address the State of Black America By D. Kevin McNeir WI Managing Editor The words of the celebrated author Charles Dickens, “it was the best of times, it was the worst of times,” may aptly describe the situation that blacks and Latinos continue to face in America.

And in their semiannual report, the “2015 State of Black America,” the National Urban League shows the impact that inequality and injustice still have on the lives of people of color. “We wanted to add fabric and clarity to a dizzying array of numbers and our focus is on education, jobs and justice – the

circle that connects to real opportunity in America,” said Marc H. Morial, president and CEO, National Urban League [NUL]. Morial led a frank discussion last week in Northwest on Thursday, March 19 at the Liaison Capitol Hill where members from the NUL and leaders from the District convened for a

three-day conference. “Our theme this year points to saving our cities. However, on many fronts, Black America remains in crisis and we see justice challenged at every turn. It feeds to community tensions like we’ve seen in Ferguson, Missouri with the death of Michael Brown. That was a spark

but injustice and disrespect have been festering for far too long. People have become hopeless and voiceless and there are Fergusons everywhere.” As the NUL continues to push for closing the divide in economic opportunity, educa-

Celebrating 50 Years of Service / Serving More Than 50,000 African American Readers Throughout The Metropolitan Area

STATE Page 8

“Is Everywhere!”

The CoLumn

By “Mickey“ Thompson Vincent

PEPCO DAY OF SERVICE Almost 100 Mothers, Fathers and their children of the DC Chapter of Jack and Jill, Inc. picked up paint brushes and shovels to help clean up at several of the nonprofits housed at the Town Hall Education Arts Recreation Campus (THEARC) in Southeast Washington, DC. In addition to helping to spruce up the building the volunteers were asked to bring canned goods for a canned food drive to be donated to the Capital Area Food Bank. The Day of Service is in celebration of the Jack & Jill of America, Inc. DC Chapter’s 75th Anniversary. Debbi Jarvis (VP Corp. Citizenship & Social Responsibility PEPCO Holdings, Inc.) with Gina Adams (FedEx SVP of Govt. Affairs & Pres. of DC Chapter of Jack & Jill Inc.)

(L-R) Debbi Jarvis (VP Corp. Citizenship & Social Responsibility PEPCO Holdings, Inc.) & Donna Cooper (President of PEPCO)

Mrs. Gina Adams with her son Spencer

(L-R) Donna Cooper, Joy Dorsey, Denise Sebring & Debbi Jarvis

Denise Sebring (Pres. Boys & Girls Club) (Photo Below)

(L-R) Below Lakiya Briscoe, Tamara Jarvis, Alexis Gallager & Debbi Jarvis

Mrs. Debbi Jarvis with her son

Edmund Fleet (Ex. Dir. THEARC) and his daughter

Young Volunteers Sonya Ali (Ben’s Chili Bowl) & Atty. Erica Bolden

Joy Dorsey & Volunteers

(L-R) Vanessa White, Karen Horton & Malva Reid (Photo Below) Brett Greene with his daughter (L-R) Wendy & Chbe Greene

(L-R) Kellee & Tripp Perkins

(L-R) Cydni Bickerstaff holding her daughter (L-R) Matthew Bailey, Denise Gib-Bailey & Dakara Thompson

(L-R) Karen Horton with her son Earle (Photo Above) Louie White

Alexis Gallagher (PEPCO)

(L-R) Cydni Bickerstaff holding her daughter

Sheila & her son Justin Clark

(Left Photo) Cody, Kai, Chase, with (L-R) Joigie & Ken Tolson with their son (Above Photo) Jennifer, Mom Elaine Camille, Lauren (Mom) & Chip Taylor Jackson Karon, Kambria & ByroneBelow (L-R) Jeffery Catherine Turner, Gabriel Dorsey, Orion Jones, Peri Perkins, Tripp Perkins, & Lillian Auriage (Photo Right) Debbi Jarvis & Staci Turner (L-R) Shanna with her daughter Lillian Aguirre

Calvin Dascent, Jr.

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3/26/2015 – 4/1//2015 PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY Pages 14 – 15

COMMENTARIES Pages 23 – 25

LIFESTYLE Pages 27 – 31

SPORTS Pages 32 – 33

The local chapter of the National Congress of Black Women held its 8th Annual Trailblazers Awards Luncheon at the Wasington Navy Yard Conference Center in Southeast on Sat., March 21. /Photo by Shevry Lassiter

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Women Break the Cycle of Machen Walks, Gray Left Hanging Domestic Violence By Stacy M. Brown and Barrington M. Salmon WI StaffCarol writers By Tia Jones WI Staff Writer

Months into his only term as mayor, When 23-yearVincent C. L.Y. Gray’sMarlow's name surfaced as a old daughter her thecorrupfather central figure in atold far-reaching of her threatened her tion probedaughter and it turned out that this life, and the life of their child, – as well as leaks and innuendo – were she knew something had to be all that was needed to undermine his efdone. Out of her frustration forts to win re-election to a second term with law enforcement's handling Email comments to: as officer America’s ofchief the executive situation, she of decided to capital city. rburke@ start the Saving Promise camNow, with U.S. Attorney Ron paign. washingtoninformer.com Machen, Jr.’s announcement last cycle week “It seems to be a vicious that leaving turn office –my without rethathe’swon't family turning charges of any loose,”an indictment Marlow or said. Marlow shared herGray story with kind against – some arethe moreaudiconence that at Machen the District vinced engaged inHeights a witch Domestic Violence Symposium hunt. on“IMay 7 at the District had heard rumors that heHeights said he Municipal Center. The sympowas leaving and he did nothing (to resiumthe)was by was the solve Graysponsored investigation. This Family and Youth Services his highest profile case,” said Chuck Center of the city of District Thies, Gray’s 2014 campaign managHeights and the National Hooker. “For him to leave this high-profile Up of Black Women. caseMarlow dangling ishas reckless. He has written a already book, smeared Vince Gray’s’ name. He should “Color Me Butterfly,” which is a be able about to say he’ll return indictment or story four generations of throw out theviolence. case.” domestic The book is “He owes to more than Vince Gray, inspired byit her own experiences, he owes it to city. care about and those of He herdoesn’t grandmother, D.C. politics.and He came with his her and mother her out daughter. Sheandsaid time shehimself reads dog ponyevery show, interjected excerpts fromand her book, still into an election altered the she result.” In Memoriam Dr. Calvin W. Rolark, Sr. can nota believe the wordsandcame Thies, political consultant forWilhelmina J. Rolark from her. “Color Me Butterfly” mer talk show host, said he’s incensed at The Washington Informer Newspaper wonMachen the 2007 National “Best what did. THE WASHINGTON INFORMER InPUBLISHER Memoriam Books” Award.that Vince Gray was “He intimated NEWSPAPER (ISSN#0741-9414)Dr.isCalvin Denise Rolark Sr. Barnes W. Rolark, “I was just 16-years-old when published weekly on each Thursday. trying to steal an election. There’s a viWilhelmina J. Rolark my eye first blackened and my Periodicals postage paid at WashingSTAFF cious irony in all this. How does Machen WASHINGTON INFORMER lips bled,” Marlow said. ton,THE D.C. and additional mailing of- NEWSPAPER (ISSN#0741-9414) is published dish out justice? He stole the election of weekly Thursday. Periodicals paidW. at Barnes, Washington, D.C. and additional Denise Editor Elaine Davis-Nickens, presifices. Newsonand advertising deadlinepostage mailing offices. News and advertising deadline is Monday prior to publication. 2014. That’s what he did. It’sHook-Up not up to is Monday prior to publication. Andent of the National D. Kevin McNeir, Managing Editor Announcements must be received two weeks prior to event. Copyright 2000 by The him to decide what the punishment is. nouncements must be received two of Black Women, said there is no Washington Informer. All rights reserved. POST MASTER: Send change of addressRon Burke, Advertising/ Marketing Director weeks event. Copyright 2015 It’s a prosecutor’s job way to present evconsistency in the domestic es toprior The to Washington Informer, 3117 Martin Luther King, Jr. Ave., S.E. Washington, by D.C. The 20032. Washington Informer. All idence and let a judge jury decide.” No part of this publication may be Barnes, reproduced written violence issues areordealt with by Lafayette IV,without Assistant PhotopermisEditor rights POSTMASTER: sionreserved. from the publisher. TheSend Informer Newspaper cannot guarantee the return of Three weeks before the April 1 change of addresses to The rates WashJohn E. De Sports Photo photographs. Subscription are $30 per year, twoFreitas, years $45. Papers willEditor be received Democratic primary, Machen held a not more than 3117 a weekMartin after publication. Make checks payable to: ington Informer, Luther Dorothy Rowley, Online Editor press conference to announce that he’d King, Jr. Ave., S.E. Washington, D.C. THE WASHINGTON INFORMER hammered out a plea deal with local 20032. No part of this publication may Brian Young, Design & Layout 3117 Martin Luther King, Jr. Ave., S.E. • Washington, D.C. 20032 be reproduced without written permisbusinessman, super donor and politPhone: 202 561-4100 • Fax: 202 Bookkeeper 574-3785 Mable Neville, sion from the publisher. The Informer ical kingmaker Jeffrey E. Thompson, E-mail: news@washingtoninformer.com Newspaper cannot guarantee the return Mickey Thompson, Social Sightings columnist www.washingtoninformer.com in which the maverick pleaded guilty of photographs. Subscription rates are to channeling more than $660,000 into Stacey Palmer, Social Media Specialist $45 per year, two years $60. Papers will PUBLISHER a shadow campaign to pay for voter be received not more than a week after Angie Denise RolarkJohnson, Barnes Circulation publication. Make checks payable to: registration drives, materials and other STAFF REPORTERS election efforts for Gray during his 2010 THE WASHINGTON Brooke N. Garner INFORMER Managing REPORTERS Editor Tia C. Jones, Ed Laiscell, run for mayor. Carla Peay Assistant Managing Editor Odell B. Ruffin, Larry Saxton, 3117 Martin Luther King, Jr. Ave., S.E Stacy Brown, Sam P.K. Collins, Eve Ferguson, Ron BurkeD.C. 20032 Advertising and Marketing Mary Wells, Joseph Young Most damning was Thompson’s asWashington, Elton Hayes, D. Kevin McNeir, Dorothy Mable Whittaker Bookkeeper Phone: 202 561-4100 sertion that Gray knew about the shadRowley, Barrington Salmon LaNita Wrenn Administration PHOTOGRAPHERS Fax:John 202 574-3785 ow campaign and met with him at least E. De Freitas Sports Editor Lafayette Barnes, IV, news@washingtoninformer.com Victor Holt Photo Editor John E. De Freitas, Maurice Fitzgerald, twice requesting large sums of money www.washingtoninformer.com Zebra Designs, Inc. Layout & Graphic Design Joanne Jackson, Roy Lewis, Robert to finance his campaign. PHOTOGRAPHERS Ken Harris /www.scsworks.com Webmaster Ridley, Victor Holt John E. DeFreitas, Shevry Lassiter, At the press conference after Roy Lewis,CIRCULATION Travis Riddick , Nancy Shia Thompson’s appearance in federal Paul Trantham court, Machen said it was the tip of INTERNS the iceberg and promised that many Glynn Hill, Marc Rivers, Sarafina Wright more heads would roll. Machen talked about Gray’s purported involvement in 4 / May 15 - 21, 2008 The Washington Informer / www.washingtoninformer.com a scheme in which Thompson funneled more than $2 million in illegal donations to local and federal campaigns over the

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law enforcement. She said they had come together to bring a sense of uniformity in the way domestic violence victims and survivors are treated. “She's using her own personal story, her own personal pain to push forward,” Davis-Nickens said about Marlow. Davis-Nickens said anyone who reads Marlow's book will “get it.” She said she “putsphoto the Ronald C. Machen, Jr. /Courtesy case in such a way, the average personofcan get it.” She said at the course six years. end the day, the will “Jeffof Thompson’s guiltybook plea pulls help people begin to have a diaback the curtain to expose widespread logue aboutMachen domestic corruption,” said violence. at the time. the event “HisAlso plea present gives the at citizens of D.C.was an Mildred Muhammad, the exinside look at the underground, offwife of John Allen Muhammad, the-books schemes that have corrupted who was sentenced to six consecelection after terms election,without year after year.” utive life parole Gray, 71, has always steadfast in by a Maryland jurybeen for his role in his asserting that heattacks did nothing thedenials, Beltway Sniper in wrong, that Thompson lied tois 2002. adding Mildred Muhammad save own skin. the his founder of After the Trauma, promised that that Gray anMachen organization helpswould the survivors of domestic be indicted, letting one of the violence District’s and their children. more popular mayors in recent years in fear six years. Six twist“Iinlived the wind. Grayfor supporters argue yearsif in fear ishad a long time. It is that Machen enough evidence not an he easy thing come out to indict, would havetodone so long of,” she said. ago and those advocating for fairness Mildred Muhammad said and impartiality are asking that if no people who want to help a indictment comes, who will restore domesticever violence victim must Gray’s good name? be careful of how they go into after alife, 3.5 and year understand investigation, theNow, victim's there’s still no such indictment and very that she may be in “survival little, if any, publicly released evidence mode”. “Before geta criminal. to 'I'm Meangoing showing Grayyou to be to killMachen you,' it started verbal while, walks away as to astart his

“

own private practice. Officials from the U.S. Attorney’s office are tight-lipped, saying through spokesman William Miller only that the investigation is ongoing. But, if that rings as hollow as the promised indictment of a year ago, it’s likely understandable, most Gray supporters said. “Here’s a man, [Machen], who essentially stole the election from Mayor Gray,” said Harvey Satterthwaite, a 69-year-old retired military veteran and Gray supporter who lives in Southeast. “Everyone had to have been suspicious of the timing with the Thompson thing and then nothing from the prosecutor. Nothing. It smelled bad then and it smells even worse now.” Gray, who lost his re-election bid to former Ward 4 Councilmember Muriel Bowser, has taken the high road. He and his spokespeople have declined to comment, although one supporter is pursuing a complaint against Machen because of the timing of what Thies derisively calls “Machen Monday.” Machen hasn’t commented specifically about Gray, but he did release a list of his accomplishments and a parting

threat,” she said. Among the programs Marlow wants to see implemented are stricter restraining order policies, more rights for victim's families to intervene on behalf of a victim, a domestic violence assessment unit coupled with further training for law enforcement agencies, a Child's Life Protection Act and mandatory counseling for batterers. Vincent C. Gray /Courtesy photo “If we are ever going to eradicate domestic violence, statement that included, “I we leavemust this look atconfident both sides coin. position that of my the extraordiWe colleagues need to address bothtothe vicnary will continue pursue tim and the batterer,” Marlow justice and protect the residents of the said. and this great nation.” District Marlow would also like to see Still, it can and has been reported that programs designed to raise Machen has had his sharechildren of missteps.in awareness among Recently, former baseball star Roger public and private schools. She Clemens was forced to settle lawsuit feels children need to be aeducat–edostensibly acknowledging some guilt about domestic violence. – brought by a star against pashim “We have to witness stop being sive-aggressive with poor chilwho claimed he injected the pitcher drensteroids aboutseveral domestic with times. violence,” Marlow Clemenssaid. had appeared before ConMarlow has using worked to break gress and denied steroids which the cycle of abuse in her family, led to Machen lodging charges of and is confident the policies she perjury against the star. Clemens won is pushing for will start that an acquittal on the perjury charges deprocess. spite“I strong evidence against him and plan to take these policies to aCongress second trialand ended in a mistrial implore themafter to Machen’s presented evidencesaid. that change office our laws,” Marlow willhad notbarred stopfrom untilthethese a“Ijudge trial. policies are passed.” However, U.S. Attorney General Eric Tia praised Carol Machen. Jones can be reached Holder at“During tiacaroljones@sbcglobal.net more than five years as United States Attorney for the District WI of Columbia, Ron Machen has distinguished himself as a skilled leader, a devoted public servant, and a forceful champion of justice on behalf of the American people,” Holder said. “Throughout his remarkable tenure, Ron has applied his boundless talent and consummate judgment to protect the safety and security of all Americans in cases involving violent crime, national security threats, and public corruption. As one of Ron’s predecessors as U.S. Attorney in Washington, I know firsthand the unique demands of leading the nation’s largest U.S. Attorney’s Office. But Ron has never been deterred by a difficult challenge, nor slowed in his pursuit of a safer, stronger Washington. There remains some, particularly supporters of Gray, who would beg to differ with Holder. “I can’t sing a man’s praise that pulled L.Y.said Marlow the stunt Machen pulled,” Harold Stringer, a 52-year-old engineer who lives in Northwest. “Elections are for voters to decide, not the D.C. (U.S.) Attorney’s office and Ron Machen. (He) cast the only vote that counted and he knew that. I think he planned for that, and that’s a crying shame.” WI

We have to stop being passive-aggressive with poor children about domestic violence. I plan to take these policies to Congress and implore them to change our laws. I will not stop until these policies are passed.

“

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By Barrington M. Salmon WI Staff Writer@bsalmondc Growing concern for the well-being of the Rev. Walter Fauntroy and his wife Dorothy has led a number of supporters and friends to rally around the couple in their time of need. Fauntroy, 82, has been away in Dubai in the Middle East working on pulling together resources for some projects dear to his heart such as feeding the hungry, moving towards a green world and accomplishing world peace, said his lawyer Johnny Barnes. Beginning Wednesday, March 25, Barnes said, the group, which includes Dr. E. Faye Williams of the National Congress of Black Women; Barry LeNoir of the National Black United Fund; Ward 8 Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner Keith Silver; radio personality and talk show host Joe Madison; the Rev. Dexter Nuttal, pastor of New Bethel Baptist Church; and Denise Rolark Barnes, publisher of the Washington Informer; have led efforts to assist Fauntroy’s family. “We’re raising money to pay off the mortgage on the home the Fauntroys have shared for the past half-century,” said [Johnny] Barnes, who is the couple’s personal attorney. “We’re starting tomorrow to raise money. There will be a series of events not just in Washington but probably all over the country.” “We’re planning to raise funds beginning with a full-page ad in The Washington Informer. We’ll continue with the use of social media, electronic address books and so on. I’ve been very encouraged by the amount of support that we’ve received already. People have just been willing to help because he’s helped so many. His help was given at great personal sacrifice. He made a lot of money in his career but gave most of it away. He was always a source as a member of Congress. He made money speaking all over the country but used it for a necessary good. He didn’t plan for a future. Some would say that’s foolhardy. It’s a fabric we see but most can’t wear.” Fauntroy is a civil rights legend, was a confidante of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and served as a key figure in the city’s quest for autonomy and voting rights. He helped organize the historic March on Washington in 1963 and was active in the Free South Africa and anti-apartheid protests in the

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C O M M U N I C AT I O N S

301.292.9141/FAX 301.292.9142/Mobile 703.819.0920 doris@mcmilloncommunications.com/www.mcmilloncommunications.com

The Fauntroy family during happier times. /Courtesy photo

1980s. While serving as D.C.’s delegate to Congress, he also pastored at New Bethel Baptist Church for many years. In recent months, concern for him has ratcheted up with questions swirling about his whereabouts as well as his mental state. Last week, Fauntroy’s nephew Michael posted this on Facebook: ““I want to thank the many, many people who have reached out to me and the family in genuine friendship and concern regarding recent reports concerning the health and welfare of Rev. Walter E. Fauntroy. My uncle is a man of great faith and determination. He is also a man that has done so much for so many for so long. Whatever circumstances he faces in the winter of his life, we are confident that his great work has created a wonderful legacy that many people appreciate.” “As anyone with an 82-year-old relative traveling alone would be, we are concerned about his well-being. While we are uncertain of his current whereabouts, we remain hopeful that he is well and will return soon to his beloved District of Columbia, the city of his birth and where he built a deep reservoir of good will through a lifetime of service. We ask for his many friends to pray for him and his safe return to the District.” Attorney Barnes, Fauntroy’s former chief of staff when he served in Congress, said he’s in touch with Fauntroy and sought to dispel a number of the rumors. “I have had a regular stream of communication with the congressman by email, sometimes every day, and sometimes by telephone,” he said. “He sounds like the congress-

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man to me. I’ve heard the rumors like you do but I’m a lawyer not a mental health expert. He sounds like the congressman who I worked with for 15 years and have known for more than 30.” There have also been queries about where Fauntroy currently resides. “I believe with all sincerity that he’s in Dubai. He has represent to me his lawyer, and his wife that he’s Denise Rolark Barnes there,” Barnes said. “I have received Independent Beauty Consultant packages from DHL addressed www.marykay/drolark-barnes.com there and I have sent him packages. 202-236-8831 Any income Fauntroy’s receiving is coming from his pension and gifts from friends, he said. Barnes said he’s seen and heard news stories about Fauntroy’s passport being revoked by the State Department and the issuance of a bench warrant in Prince George’s County for a $50,000 bounced check. “Based upon the indicators I have, the suspension of passport is a rumor,” Barnes explained. “He’s had three different passports: dip(301) 864-6070 lomatic, official and personal. He has never said to me, ‘I don’t have a passport.’ On the strength of the rumors, I checked public no-fly lists MCCOLLUM & ASSOCIATES, LLC and he’s not on any of this. Homeland security has a private list. I can’t ADA, Age Discrimination, Benefits, Civil Rights, imagine him being on that no fly list. COBRA, Contracts, Deaf Law, Defamation, Disability Law, I treat that as rumor.” Discipline, Discrimination, FMLA, FLSA, FOIA, “He has indicated on several ocFamily Responsibility, Harassment, HIPPA, OSHA, casions that he’s coming home and he’s changed his mind. I don’t beNational Origin Discrimination, Non-Compete, ‡ Please set all copy in upper and lowercase, flush left as indicated on artwork at these point sizes: Consultant name in 11-point Helvetica Neue Bo lieve that any Beauty potential trouble he Helvetica Neue Consultant in 9-point Light;Discrimination, Web site or e-mail address in 9-point HelveticaAct, Neue Retaliation, Light; phone number in 9-point Helvetica Race Rehabilitation To the Independent might have with would stop Beauty him Consultant: Only Company-approved Web sites obtained through the Mary Kay® Personal Web Site program may Severance Agreements, Sexual Harassment, Torts, from coming home. He doesn’t fear Whistleblowing, Wage-and-Hour, Wrongful Discharge arrest. He genuinely believes he can accomplish his projects where he is. SERVING MARYLAND, DC, & NORTH CAROLINA He’s a dreamer. He lives his life with www.jmlaw.net (301) 864-6070 jmccollum@jmlaw.net the faith of a mustard seed.”WI The Washington Informer Mar 26 - Apr 1, 2015 5

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Black Facts

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March 26 1831 – The founder of the AME Church, Richard Allen, dies at age 71 in Philadelphia. As its first bishop, Allen set the African Methodist Episcopal Church on the path to becoming the first black religious denomination in America to be fully independent of white control. He, in effect, chartered a separate religious identity for African-Americans. He also founded schools throughout the nation to teach blacks. This includes Allen University in Columbia, South Carolina. 1944 – Singer/Actress Diana Ross is born in Detroit, Michigan. She headed the most popular female singing group of the 1960s – The Supremes. 1950 – Singer Teddy Pendergrass is born in Philadelphia. For a period, Pendergrass was the leading sex symbol in R&B music. However, an automobile accident on March 18, 1982 left him paralyzed from the chest down. Pendergrass died Jan. 13, 2010. March 27 1924 – The sensational Jazz singer Sarah Vaughan was born on this day in Newark, New Jersey. 1970 – One of the nation’s most popular current pop stars, Mariah Carey, was born on this day in Long Island, New York. Her parents are of Irish/ African-American/Venezuelan background. She lists as her favorite singers Aretha Franklin and Stevie Wonder.

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ted. March 29 1981 – Dr. Eric Williams, prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago, dies in Port of Spain at 79. Williams was a historian, and his classic work was “Capitalism and Slavery.” March 30 1870 – The 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is ratified, giving blacks the right to vote. Actually, it gave black males the right to vote. It would take the suffrage movement and another 50 years before women (black and white) had full voting rights. But even in the case of black males, the “right” to vote only lasted briefly. With the end of Reconstruction, Jim Crow laws were passed throughout the South, which in effect took away the right of blacks to vote despite the constitutional guarantee. African-Americans did not achieve full voting rights in this country until the mid-1960s. March 31 1980 – Olympic legend Jesse Owens dies at 66 in Tucson,

Arizona. Owens won four track and field gold medals at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, embarrassing German leader Adolph Hitler and undermining his ideology of white Aryan superiority. April 1 1868 – Hampton University is founded during Reconstruction in Hampton, Virginia. The school is now one of the leading black educational institutions in America. 1950 – Surgeon Charles Drew dies at 45 in an automobile accident near Burlington, North Carolina. Drew developed the concept of a blood bank for storing large amounts of plasma. Anyone who has ever received a blood transfusion is indebted to Drew. He had dedicated his life to ensuring that increased scientific knowledge actually led to the betterment of human life. One of his most frequently repeated quotes: “There must always be the continuing struggle to make the increasing knowledge of the world bear fruit in [the form of] increased understanding and the production of human happiness.”

March 28 1972 – The two surviving Soledad Brothers are found not guilty by an all-white jury in the alleged killing of a white guard at the California prison. The other Soledad Brother, revolutionary writer George Jackson, was killed during an August 1971 Marin County Courthouse escape attempt, which also led to charges against college professor and communist Angela Davis. Davis was also eventually acquit-

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AROUND THE REGION INTERVIEWS AND PHOTOS BY ELTON HAYES

VIEWP INT Linda L. Gray

Washington, D.C. While it is a different election year, the issues of importance to me have not changed. I will look for the candidate who will be the best one to continue the growth of our economy and who will continue to have policies that will allow for the creation of more jobs and job training. I will also look for the candidate who will work to improve our country’s infrastructure and education. Health care is also an important issue for me.

Glynroy Strachan

Washington, D.C. One of the biggest issues that will also be a cornerstone issue for me will be the economy. There are still a lot of people looking for jobs, and some have just given up. It’s a painful issue in any community. That will be a key issue. Another issue will also be the physical health of the nation, and that’s health care. That issue was a pivotal one for a lot of people during the last election, and it will continue to be a key issue. The economy and health care are two issues that I will monitor when it comes to candidates in 2016.

REPUBLICAN SENATOR TED CRUZ ANNOUNCED MONDAY THAT HE WILL RUN FOR HIS PARTY’S NOMINATION FOR THE 2016 PRESIDENTIAL RACE. NOW THAT CANDIDATES ARE STARTING TO ANNOUNCE THEIR INTENTIONS TO RUN, WHAT ISSUES ARE OF IMPORTANCE TO YOU AS YOU CONSIDER WHO WILL GET YOUR VOTE?

Michelle Carrington

Takoma Park, Maryland I am very concerned about domestic issues. I’m not saying that we shouldn’t be involved in foreign issues, but I think we need to focus a little more on things that are going on at home – like police brutality and other social inequalities. I am also concerned about shifting power to one party. The House and Senate are already controlled by one political party, and the White House could also be controlled by that party. It would make me a bit nervous if that happened because of their views on a lot of the things I just mentioned that are important to me.

Katrina Williams

Annapolis, Maryland I will be looking for the candidate who will offer more help to members of the middle class. There are some good programs that have been put in place, but they really don’t help the middle class as they were initially intended to do. It seems likes the middle class struggles more than those from lower and upper classes. We saw this with the Affordable Care Act. Yes, it was a great idea, but some of us can’t afford it. I also will look for the candidate who will be focused on tackling issues that are happening here in the United States. We have our own issues that need to be addressed.

Yvonne Kiah-Johnson

Washington, D.C. I am looking for the candidate who places an emphasis on taking care of veterans after they have served in the military. I have two daughters who were in the service. I would like a candidate who will stand up and speak on the behalf of veterans on issues like Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and who will advocate for veterans to get the benefits they deserve once they finish their military service.

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Mar 26 - Apr 1, 2015

AROUND THE REGION

National Urban League president and CEO, Marc Morial, presents highlights from the “State of Black America 2015,” during the organization’s recent three-day conference in Northwest. /Photo by Shevry Lssister

STATE from Page 1 tion, health, social justice and civic engagement, the 2015 NUL Equality Index, a quantitative tool, documents the extent of black-white and Hispanic-white achievement gaps in states across the country. The data came from 70 metropolitan statistical areas, or metro areas, from across the U.S. Slight increases were seen in the areas of social justice and health but the gap has widened between blacks and whites when it comes to unemployment and homeownership. If having a whole pie would mean full equality with whites, blacks, according to the report, are missing about 28 percent of the pie. Whites, the report says, are used as the benchmark because the history of race in America has created advantages for whites that persist in many of the outcomes being measured. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser spoke to the audience about the challenges facing the District and her vision for the place once referred to as “chocolate city.” “I can talk about affordable housing which is your focus here today but you can’t afford housing without a good-paying job,” Bowser said. “It’s important to focus on all of our citizens and to put programs in place that close the gaps – particularly in housing and education. Too often I see young black boys falling further behind – we must put them on the right path so they can live out their dreams.” “We all know the pressure that the middle class in America faces today –just imagine the pressure that the poor undergo each and every day. This report

8 Mar 26 - Apr 1, 2015

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and this meeting of like-minded citizens help us understand where we are. And that’s crucial because you have to know where you are in order to get where you want to go,” she said. George Lambert, president and CEO of the Greater Washington Urban League said his chapter stands on the vanguard of bringing opportunity to black youth and adults in the District. “Our longtime mission has been to empower lives and to change communities for the better,” he said. “We use all kinds of vehicles in order to reach out to and engage our youth. And we have great support from leaders of this community. We don’t always share our stories of success but we’re working hard to make this a better place for all of us,” said the D.C. native. During their stay in Washington, D.C. last week, NUL members had the chance to speak with District civic and business leaders, as well as elected officials, visiting Capitol Hill and the White House before concluding with their legislative session and president’s report last Thursday. The first “State of Black America” report, published 39 years ago, came about when Morial’s predecessor, Vernon Jordan, witnessed then-president Gerald Ford, deliver his State of the Union Address. In that speech, while Ford spoke to the recession and high unemployment, he failed to mention the challenge facing urban areas, the poor or blacks. That’s when Jordan decided to develop his own report – one that looked at the state of Black America and which, he believed, would stand as a commentary on the state of the nation. T. Willard Fair, president and CEO of the Miami-Dade Urban League [Miami, Florida],

said that while the report paints a clear picture of the status of blacks in America it doesn’t clearly define the steps that need to be taken to bring about full equality. “You have to look at the reasons and the circumstances why unemployment remains so high for blacks in the U.S. and why the achievement gap continues to widen,” he said. “And it’s not due to racism. There are hundreds of jobs posted in the Miami papers every week. People can’t get jobs because they don’t have the skill set to match those opportunities.” “For others, they lack the motivation to get out there and work due to generational attitudes which believe it’s better to stay home, to get food stamps and to live on a monthly check. The emotional and psychological damage that blacks have to face and which needs to be overcome has to do with our values – it’s as much an intellectual affair as anything else,” Fair said. Consider the 10 metropolitan areas in America with the highest unemployment rate: Toledo, Ohio ranks #1 at 22.6 percent, followed closely by Chicago, Sacramento, Las Vegas, Cleveland, Detroit and Grand Rapids, Michigan – all at a clip of over 20 percent. Morial noted that San Francisco ranked last among the 70 cities polled with a staggering income gap between blacks and whites. “San Francisco is one of the most beautiful cities in America. But can you believe that the median income for blacks in San Francisco is $39,902 compared to $95,285 for whites? What’s more, the rates of unemployment fail to include those who

STATE Page 9

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LATE MORTGAGE? UNPAID PROPERTY TAXES OR CONDO FEES? NEED HELP SORTING IT OUT? Free assistance is just a phone call away. Take control. Make the call. 202-265-CALL (2255) or 855-449-CALL. Housing Counseling Services, Inc. is a HUD approved, non-profit housing counseling agency and operates the DC Mortgage Help Line funded by the DC Department of Insurance, Securities, and Banking (DISB). With one call you can be scheduled with a housing counselor who can help you understand your options or arrange for you to receive the free legal help you need. 202T. Willard Fair, the longtime president and CEO for the Miami-Dade chapter of the National Urban League, said blacks need more advanced skills if they are to be ready for today’s and tomorrow’s jobs. /Photo by Shevry Lassiter

265-CALL. That’s 202-265-2255. Take control. Make the call.

Reparations Study Group The next Reparations Study Group session will be Thursday, April 9, 2015 from 6 pm to 8 pm at the Southeast Public Library 403 7th Street, Southeast, 20003 The series features discussion sessions and research on “The Debt America Owes Black Descendants of Slaves.”

Youth from Tucson, Arizona, traveled with National Urban League mentors to participate in this year’s spring conference, held in Northwest March 25 through March 27. /Photo by Shevry Lassiter

STATE from Page 8 have given up or who have not applied for government assistance within the last 30 days and who therefore aren’t counted. Blacks make up 6 percent of San Francisco’s population but account for 38 percent of those killed by police. This is the tale of two Americas,” he said. Morial added that the NUL does have a list of recommendations in order to fix some of the problems facing blacks. “We know the power of action and have gathered here in D.C. for a call to action,” he said. “We need a targeted, large-scale

summer youth and adults jobs bill; we want greater focus on passing the Voting Rights Act and Amendment; we need greater police reform and accountability; we need a transportation infrastructure bill with a targeted jobs component; we must have more consistent education standards with equity and excellence at scale; and we demand comprehensive justice reform.” “We’re at a point where we must push, lead, educate, empower and build bridges – we must change the course of history. We must be our greatest advocates,” Morial said. WI The full “State of Black America” report can be seen by visiting stateofblackamerica.org

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This sessions meeting topics will include: Status of H.R. 40 Reparations- Legal or Legislation Way? Advantages of White Privilege The Southeast Library is located on Capitol Hill across from the Eastern Market subway stop. RSVP (202) 547-4125

April 12, 2015 Alexandria, VA

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Mar 26 - Apr 1, 2015

AROUND THE REGION

Quality printErs 202-291-6565

printers@verizon.net

301 Kennedy st., NW - Washington, Dc 20011

MEnus, postErs BannErs & signs

prograMs/BooKlEts rush service & dEsign EnvElopEs, BrochurEs & nEwslEttErs

EvEry door dirEct Mailing sErvicE

10 Mar 26 - Apr 1, 2015

United Medical Center Unveils Mobile Health Clinics

United Medical Center (UMC) recently announced that it will be launching a comprehensive Mobile Health Clinic Service to address the healthcare needs of residents in Southeast Washington, D.C. and parts of southern Prince George’s County, Maryland. United Medical Center is the only hospital east of the Anacostia River that provides healthcare services to this particular segment of the region’s population. Its mobile clinic concept was developed as a response to the growing need to provide more proactive and aggressive healthcare services to these individuals in the hospital’s primary service area, who suffer from significant health disparities. In most cases, by the time these individuals seek out healthcare services, their conditions have reached a critical point and the medical services needed are more costly than what they may have originally received, had they sought care on a timely basis. UMC’s Mobile Health Clinic will be a source of accessible, affordable, proactive, and reactive care. In the District of Columbia, residents who live in Wards 7 and

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Mobile health clinics, like the one pictured above, will soon be seen throughout the District, helping those who are more often underserved receive quality health care. The new initiative has been led by United Medical Center and illustrates their continued commitment to the community. /Photo courtesy United Medical Center.

8 have higher rates of health risk factors, unhealthy lifestyles, higher rates of chronic disease, poor health status and premature mortality, according to a 2013 D.C. Department of Health report. It was also indicated that the highest prevalence of heart disease occurs in both of these wards. The first mobile clinic vehicle in the hospital’s fleet will be ready and operational within the next few weeks. Staffed by nurse practitioners and medical tech-

nicians, the 38 foot long and 12 foot wide Mobile Health Clinic will circulate throughout the community providing services such as testing, screening and immunizations. In addition, the mobile clinic will also provide diagnosis and treatment services, as well as health education information to allow patients to locate and make informed decisions on primary care physicians and specialists. WI For more information go to united-medicalcenter.com.

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BRINGING INTERNET ESSENTIALS TO MORE COMMUNITIES.

Four years ago, Comcast started a program called Internet EssentialsSM to bridge the digital divide. Today, it’s the nation’s largest and most comprehensive broadband adoption program. Over 1.8 million low-income Americans have connected to the Internet at home via Internet Essentials. Through the transaction with Time Warner Cable, Comcast will bring the transformative power of the Internet to millions more low-income people from New York to Los Angeles. Together, we’ll provide faster Internet, better video experiences, more On Demand choices, more competitive services for medium-sized business, more secure networks, diverse TV programs for more audiences and an expanded Internet Essentials program. Find out how we can do more together at comcastcorporation.com/together

COMCAST + TIME WARNER CABLE TOGETHER IS BETTER FOR MORE PEOPLE.

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Mar 26 - Apr 1, 2015

AROUND THE REGION

YWCA Sees Success in GED Training for Underprivileged By Sarafina Wright WI Intern The YWCA – National Capital Area has seen great success, with its GED training program graduating its biggest class ever, 22 students, in 2014. In 2010, the YWCA NCA implemented its adult literacy and GED program to address the dismal literacy rates among adults in the District. “We started with 13 students, and now we serve over 100 each fiscal year. We got started to support the community’s needs. The YWCA wanted to do what it could to support adult literacy,” said Angela Hughes, manager of program operations. The students in the program are mostly unemployed or underemployed. Many of the students were not able to get their high school diploma for reasons

such as family issues, learning disabilities and teenage pregnancies. “We have students as young as 18 up to 60-plus. We also have international students. Some are seeking to finish their education, while others are in the program because the U.S. does not recognize their education from their country,” said Hughes. Along with GED training, the program offers job shadowing, customer service certification and general life skills support. “We have a holistic approach. We have a culture of safety and comfort. It’s a wraparound approach. There is a student advisory board, guest speakers, roundtable lunches. All of these things contribute to the positive environment, said Hughes. The adult literacy and GED program is mainly funded by the Office of the State Superintendent of Education, along with

/Courtesy photo

private donations. “We have certified full-time teachers during the day teaching our students the subjects on the GED such as language arts, math, science and social studies. Then we have part-time evening teachers who volunteer their time,” said LeAnn Harley, man-

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA HOUSING AUTHORITY REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP) FOR PROFESSIONAL ARCHITECTURAL & ENGINEERING SERVICES RFP NO. - 0018-2015

ager of marketing and advocacy communications. Recently, the GED requirements have changed, making the test harder. The reading and writing sections have merged as one to become language arts. The math section now includes some geometry. Also, the GED test is now completely computer-based. This proposes challenges for the successful program, but the manager of program operations is optimistic. “We try to embrace new things and familiarize our self with the new test. We work on testing anxiety, computer literacy and building confidence. There won’t be that much of an adjustment; we just have to teach new things,” said Hughes.

The students who graduate from the program have to first register and then test to see where they are academically, and the final step is passing the GED exam. The program aims to help its students with life after the GED by providing job announcements and job training. One 54-year-old resident in the program said she is happy she took the long-overdue step. “My experience here has helped me a lot. My education has improved, and I have received my certification in customer service. I know I will face the workforce with more confidence in the future.”WI

THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA HOUSING AUTHORITY (“DCHA”) is seeking to solicit sealed bids from qualified, professional Architectural/Engineering Firms to provide architectural and engineering services. The exact nature and extent of the services will vary as detailed within the above mentioned solicitation.

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL DOCUMENTS will be available at the District of Columbia Housing Authority Procurement Office, 1133 North Capitol Street, N.E., Suite 300, Office of Administrative Services, Washington, D.C. 20002-7599 (Issuing Office); between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, and on the DCHA website at www.dchousing.org beginning Monday, March 23, 2015.

SEALED PROPOSALS ARE DUE: Thursday, April 23, 2015 @ 11:00 a.m. at the Issuing Office identified above. Please contact Lolita Washington, Contract Specialist at 202-535-1212 for additional information. Angela Hughes. /Courtesy photo

12 Mar 26 - Apr 1, 2015

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Taking Great Care of ‘Our Kids’

Submitted by DC Child and Family Services Agency (CFSA) At age 13, Sella entered foster care. Her low marks and upcoming repeat of seventh grade were two signs that she might not graduate from high school. But, when the DC Child and Family Services Agency (CFSA) conducted an educational assessment of DC children in foster care in 2014, Sella showed she has the potential for a bright future. A CFSA educational specialist stepped in to help Sella understand what she needed to do to succeed. Together, they met with the school, which got Sella’s teachers on board. Sella found out she could get help with homework after school — a significant benefit since she did not like to carry her heavy books to and from school. With encouragement and support from CFSA, her school, and her foster parent, Sella’s work began to improve. “Even as we’re bringing fewer children into foster care, we’re doing more to encourage their healthy developmental progress,” says Marie Morilus-Black, CFSA deputy director of Well Being., Well Being is just one column in the CFSA Four Pillar strategic plan that also includes: keeping families together and removing children only as the last resort, starting to plan for a safe exit the moment a child enters foster care, and returning children to parents or another permanent home as quickly as possible. The Well Being pillar covers education, health, mental and behavioral health, domestic violence response, substance abuse treatment, and learning of life skills. “A government agency will never make the best parent,” according to Morilus-Black. “But while children are in our care, we have an obligation to do the very best we can for them. Everyone on a child’s service team has an important role to play, especially foster parents, as they spend the most time with children.” This difficult time in a child’s life can severely undermine their ability to learn. To help maintain familiar surroundings, CFSA has been able to

keep 93 percent of foster children in their same school this year. Of CFSA’s team of educational specialists, four are specifically dedicated to supporting older foster youth in graduating from high school and going on to college. CFSA realizes that educational success is affected by many factors, and that removal from home is often only the latest in a series of traumas that children coming into care have experienced. Abuse, neglect, homelessness, neighborhood violence, and other ordeals cause hurts that can last a lifetime — unless CFSA, foster parents, and others intervene effectively. CFSA works to address issues proactively. Before entering foster care, every child gets a medical screening at CFSA’s 24-hour in-house clinic. Early identification of medical needs leads to prompt follow-up appointments. CFSA’s team of 15 nurse care managers helps social workers, foster parents, and birth parents understand children’s medical issues and how best to care for them. For example, for children diagnosed with asthma, CFSA’s nurse care managers have taught many foster parents how to manage the symptoms so that children can sleep through the night, attend school regularly, and enjoy more activities. CFSA is leading the District in becoming the first public child welfare system where treating trauma is the centerpiece of serving children and families. A five-year federal grant has supported training in recognizing and treating trauma for over 3,000 social workers, foster parents, attorneys, counselors, and other professionals so far. The insight and skills of a traumacentered approach are transforming the agency’s ability to help children move beyond emotional and behavioral difficulties and thrive.

CFSA staff members (from left) Cheryl Durden, Administrator for, Health Services, Marie Morilus-Black, Deputy Director for Well Being, and Leslie Gross Director for Well Being, talk over how best to integrate the many CFSA initiatives providing quality care for children in the District foster system.

www.fosterdckids.org

DC Families for DC Kids

Foster

Our community AND our children need us to step forward as foster parents. Do it to keep our kids safe and our neighborhoods strong.

2 0 2 . 6 7 1 . L OV E

To learn more about how CFSA supports District children in their care and to find out how you can become a foster parent to help children like Sella thrive, call 202-671-LOVE (5683) or visit fosterdckids.org.

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Mar 26 - Apr 1, 2015

PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY

Exelon, Pepco Merger Moves Forward

Agreement Reached with Montgomery, Prince George’s counties By Dorothy Rowley WI Staff Writer Despite pushback last year from residents and community leaders opposed to the creation of a “monopoly power company” in the D.C. region, the Chicago-based Exelon Corporation and Pepco Holdings recently moved forward on an agreement with Montgomery and Prince George’s counties regarding a merger proposal presented a year ago. The settlement agreement, which must still meet approval of the Maryland Public Service Commission, was filed in April 2014, and signed by officials from Montgomery and Prince George’s counties, as well as representatives from several advocacy organizations. “This agreement is a good deal for Montgomery County,” said Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett. “Our residents deserve a top-performing utility that is accountable to customers. Exelon and Pepco Holdings are committing to reduce both the frequency and duration of outages and to bring Pepco’s reliability into the top quartile, or face financial penalties if they fall short.” Pepco Holdings includes Atlantic City Electric, Delmarva Power and Pepco – and nearly 75 percent of the company’s Maryland customers live in the

two counties. The agreement, which is expected to be completed later this year, designates that a portion of a proposed $94.4 million customer investment fund go toward the provision of $36.8 million in bill credits. The remaining $57.6 million will benefit energy-efficiency program. The agreement also involves the California-based Alliance for Solar Choice, which represents the nation’s major rooftop solar companies, and includes provisions for TASC to improve cooperation among solar developers and Pepco Holdings. “[TASC’s part of the agreement] will add further transparency and ease to the interconnection process for distributed-generation resources in Pepco and Delmarva Power territories,” said Chris Crane, Exelon president and CEO. “On the commercial side of our business, we operate 33 megawatts of solar in Maryland, including the state’s largest solar facility, and we are in the process of developing 285 to 300 megawatts of additional clean generation statewide, including a mix of wind and solar.” The merger will also bring together Exelon’s three electric and gas utilities – BGE, ComEd and PEPCO – and Pepco Holdings’ three electric and gas utilities – ACE, Delmarva Power and Pepco – for the creation of a lead-

ing mid-Atlantic electric and gas utility. “We are pleased to have reached this settlement agreement, which will deliver significant, direct economic and reliability benefits to all of Pepco and Delmarva Power’s customers in Maryland,” said Crane. “It also represents our commitment to further modernize our grid to incorporate more renewable and distributed generation, increase reliability and protect consumers through effective cost-containment measures.” But according to a report released in January by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, while the agreement would threaten D.C.’s renewable energy efforts, it would also subject customers to rate increases. To that end, D.C. Councilmembers Mary Cheh (D-Ward 3), Elissa Silverman (I-At Large), and Charles Allen (D-Ward 6) have stepped to the plate voicing their concerns among those of residents who’ve expressed doubts over the merger. In a recent letter addressed to the D.C. Public Service Commission, the council members pointed out that it appears that Pepco and Exelon would be the only real beneficiaries of the agreement. “The District could be worse off, far worse off, if the deal is approved,” they wrote.

Several groups that opposed the merger of the two giant power companies last year have now come aboard with the plan. /Photo courtesy chesapeakeclimate.org

While some advocacy groups have since come aboard with terms of the merger, others that have remained opposed. They stated during protests last year that the merger would forfeit much of the progress already made toward keeping Maryland’s energy utilities in the public interest. “It will grant Exelon a near-monopolistic business model, while also restricting Maryland’s ability to transition to a renewable, affordable and efficient electricity grid. As the state moves toward a cleaner, more locally-owned electricity grid, Exelon’s buy out of PHI will only ensure that the public’s voice is less needed,” they said at the time, in a statement. Nevertheless, Leggett noted that Exelon and Pepco have agreed to make major investments in technology and innovation that will not only create jobs, but also help elevate the energy, environmental and economic policy goals of Mont-

gomery County and the state of Maryland. Prince George’s County Executive Rushern Baker also chimed in, alluding to increased job opportunities and energy assistance for low-income customers. “This agreement not only deals with the importance of reliable electric service, but also addresses some of my highest priorities [such as] promoting jobs in Prince George’s County, creating pathways out of poverty and ensuring that our residents will enjoy the provision of energy service under stronger and more stringent reliability standards,” said Baker. “Exelon and Pepco will partner with us on workforce development, preparing our public school students for advanced careers in the sustainable energy sector and putting Prince George’s County at the forefront of creating an advanced energy industry.” WI

Experienced Telemarketers Needed

Universal Benefits Mid-Atlantic Division, Inc. is an established Life Insurance Marketing firm located in College Park, Md. We are seeking experienced telemarketers. Job training and materials will be provided. Previous outbound telesales, sales experience is preferred. We offer Great pay, plus bonuses to our dedicated employees. Email your resume to: HicksAndAssoc@Aol.Com or Text your Name and number to: 240-441-7850

14 Mar 26 - Apr 1, 2015

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PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY EDUCATION BRIEFS Roosevelt High wins Debate Competition

Jared Dyer has been on the Principal’s Honor Roll throughout his entire high school career. /Photo courtesy PGCPS

by Dorothy Rowley WI Staff Writer

‘Scholar of the Week’ Jared Dyer, a Frederick Douglass High School senior with a 4.12 grade point average, has been named a “Scholar of the Week.” Jared excels in advanced placement courses that include English, history, biology and psychology. His extracurricular activities include membership in the National Honor Society and as a member of Douglass’ swim and debate teams. The aspiring author, who’s been

on the Principal’s Honor Roll throughout his entire high school career, hopes to have several books published, both fiction and nonfiction before the age of 20, and is currently putting the finishing touches on his debut novel. Jared, who is also a church group leader, has applied to the University of Maryland College Park and the University of Maryland in Baltimore County. In addition, he will apply to Kent State University, Frostburg State University, and the University of Central Florida, with plans to major in biology and minor in journalism.

In its third season, the Eleanor Roosevelt High School debate team defeated more than 120 teams to win the championship title at the recent National Liberty Bell Classic Debate Tournament hosted by the University of Pennsylvania. Vinai Rachakonda and Donovan Harvey, both juniors at the Greenbelt, Maryland school who debated on the topic “Economic Globalization Benefits Worldwide Poverty Reduction,” won four out of six preliminary tournaments. That qualified them for eliminations in which they won all six debates. “Winning the pre-tournament debates was beyond exciting,” said Vinai. “We were exhausted, but incredibly happy to make the finals and then, ultimately win.” During the three-day tournament, Vinai and Donovan spent approximately 35 hours presenting arguments for both sides of their topic. Student judges selected the winning arguments from extensive

research, evidence preparation and the development of case studies. Their win earned both students one of the two bids needed to qualify for the prestigious Tournament of Champions to be held in April at the University of Kentucky.

Students Encouraged to Apply for Scholarships

Students from North Brentwood, Maryland are encouraged to apply for the Maryland Black Mayors Inc. Scholarship, which awards $500 to a resident entering college or a technical school in 2016. North Brentwood Mayor Petrella Robinson said the award –however small -- can help students pay for college expenses. “Everybody is looking for money because college is so expensive,” Robinson said in an interview where she added that students should apply to “take the burden off the parents.” Applicants must have a GPA of 2.3 or higher, submit two letters of recommendation and complete an essay on the topic “Change: Mov-

ing Beyond Ferguson.” Applications are due April 1 and are available on the North Brentwood website, http://www.northbrentwood.com/, under “News & Events.”

‘School-to-Work’ Program Pays Off The “School-to-Work” program at Crossland Evening High School has helped Lovie Simmons, a high school senior from District Heights, Maryland, land a job at TGI Fridays. Lovie, who graduates in May, has been hired at the restaurant’s District Heights location. The program focuses on preparing students college- and career-readiness training and to interview with a partnering business. Lovie, the fourth student hired by TGI Fridays through the program, said in a statement that she’s “grateful” for the School-to-Work program because she’d been “looking for a job for a long time.”WI

National Black Memorabilia, Fine Art & Crafts Show April 11-12, 2015

Saturday: 10 AM – 7 PM ** Sunday: 10 AM – 5 PM

Montgomery County Fairgrounds

16 Chestnut Street ** Gaithersburg, MD 20877 “31st Year Celebrating African American History & Culture”

• Purchase Black Memorabilia, Fine Art & Crafts from vendors including slavery artifacts, books, paintings, prints, stamps, advertisements, kitchen collectibles, coins, Civil War, civil rights, toys, dolls, political, jewelry, sports, entertainment, textiles, photos & more.

• View Educational Exhibits including Slavery Artifacts,

Buffalo Soldiers, Jim Crow, Black Panther Party, Marcus Garvey, Tuskegee Airmen, Malcolm X, George Washington Carver, Granville Woods, Rubin Hurricane Carter & others. • Meet and Obtain Autographs from Negro League Baseball Players, Tuskegee Airmen and other celebrities.

“An Educational Experience For The Whole Family”

Prince George’s County Saturday, April 25, 2015 Watkins Regional Park

Washington, D.C. Saturday, May 2, 2015 Nationals Park

For more information on a walk near you, please visit marchforbabies.org Prince George’s Co. presenting sponsor:

Washington, D.C. presenting sponsor:

Admission: $7, Students admitted free All Indoors – Good Food – Free Parking

(301) 649-1915 ** www.johnsonshows.com Ljohnsonshows@aol.com facebook.com/blackmemorabiliashow

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Mar 26 - Apr 1, 2015

BUSINESS BUSINESS EXCHANGE

The “Race Together” Project

Marlo Furniture To Give Away Millions in Free Furniture Marlo Furniture has a pitch that could result in millions of dollars of free furniture for it’s customers.. The 60 year old DC-area furniture chain promises to refund all purchases made between March 30th and April 6th if the Baltimore Orioles end up playing the Washington Nationals in the World Series. Purchases made between March 30 and April 6 could add up to millions of dollars so Marlo Furniture will fund the refunds through insurance. The refunds will be issued in October if Baltimore and Washington meet in the World Series, regardless of who actually wins. What are the odds of a Beltway Series? It’s far from a long shot. Both of the teams made the playoffs in two of the last three seasons. Last year, each won their division. For 2015, Las Vegas odds makers have made the Nats the favorite to make the fall classic, and the Orioles are not far behind. “We’re funding the refunds with insurance because we think there is an excellent chance that,” Baltimore and Washington will meet in the World Series this year” said David Biddison, Marlo Furniture General Manager, Baltimore native and avid sports fan. “We’d like nothing better than to issue millions in refunds this October” Marlo Furniture’s promotion is similar to other promotions centered on big sporting events. Last year, Gallery Furniture in Houston, Texas, gave away $7 million in furniture after the Seattle Seahawks won the Super Bowl, and a furniture store in College Station, Tex., refunded more than $1 million in purchases when Texas A&M beat South Carolina. In 2004, Boston area residents were treated to $10 million in refunds by Warren Buffet-owned Jordan’s Furniture when the Red Sox won the World Series. If you want something to cheer about all season, buy your furniture from Marlo Furniture between March 30th to April 6th. If the Orioles and the Nationals get to the World Series, you’ll get a nice windfall in October. Marlo Furniture operates showrooms in Rockville, Laurel, Forestville, Alexandria and Fredericksburg. For more information, visit www.marlofurniture.com.

16 Mar 26 - Apr 1, 2015

The Washington Informer

The ‘Race Together’ Project In this country the only thing more mockable than a white liberal trying to do the right thing when it comes to race is when a corporation burdened by alternating priorities and conscious, tries to get a piece of the righteous action. - Tony Norman, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz recently took on America’s most polarizing political issue, race relations. In an initiative to stimulate conversation and debate about race in America, Starbucks published a full page ad in The New York Times with the caption “Shall We Overcome?” in the middle and the words “RaceTogether” with the company logo on the bottom right. The “Race Together” enterprise has garnered much ridicule for Schultz and Starbucks. Many, via social media, have met the campaign with skepticism, complaining that the company “overstepped” its boundaries. The campaign’s mockers call it “tone-deaf,” “insensitive” and “naïve.” Racial inequality is not a topic mainstream Americans are readily willing to discuss. But Schultz and USA Today president and publisher Larry Kramer should cast advertisements and community-oriented programs here. Black publishers and their readers will be decidedly more receptive to stimulating conversation, compassion and action around race in America.The two businessmen say that “over the next year” they plan to “use our strengths to help our readers better understand the underlying issues that have brought us to this place … to ignore, dismiss or fail to productively engage our differences is to stifle our collective potential.” “How have your racial views evolved from those of your parents?” is one of the questions posed in campaign materials. Schultz and Kramer said in a joint statement: “We plan to do just that, using all of our strengths in publishing and in stores across America to help Americans learn about each other and rise above bias.” People in the mainstream, or those seeking entry into it, in essence want no part of dis-

By William Reed cussions about race. American political and media leaders advocate “colorblindness” as they seek to play down or outrageously deny obvious facts about racism. A Tweet regarding the initiative read that when the Starbucks’ server presents a bill that totals $5.45, the customer should respond “You can just put that on my reparations tab. Thanks.” Many whites and “colorblind” Americans trivialize the issue of race. The majority of whites in America don’t think racism is still a significant problem. A study by a Harvard University professor found that 16 percent of whites agree that there is “a lot” of discrimination in the U.S., as compared with 56 percent of Blacks. Schultz may have more empathy for Blacks’ problems. Born to a Jewish family in 1953, Schultz has a net worth of $2.3 billion. The former owner of the Seattle SuperSonics seems to have progressed above the fray of the nation’s imbedded racism. Schultz’s Starbucks and Kramer’s USA Today are hoping that those who mocked the campaign will have to eat their words. The project is a yearlong effort designed to stimulate conversation, compassion and positive action regarding race in America. It will include a website and a series of special newspaper supplements. The print effort is being overseen by USA Today staffer Nichelle Smith and Derek Murphy, the newspaper’s executive vice president and general manager, both of whom are African-Americans. “Race Together’s” planned activities include efforts to expand into urban neighborhoods, hire 10,000 “opportunity youth” over the next three years, and produce advertising on the campaign.

REED Page 17

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Three Find Business Together Enriching Local Women Push Healthy Skin Products By Stacy M. Brown WI Contributing Writer As mothers, daughters, sisters and aunts, Tehma Hallie Smith, Ronae Brock and Michelle Davenport said they were bothered by the possible side effects connected to chemicals in the products they were using. Realizing that they make purchasing decisions for skin care products in their homes and that they’re responsible for their use on their babies and families, the three women said they began to give more thought to the toxins. “We understood the science and reasoning behind why preservatives and other chemicals were being used; however, we felt that there had to be a better way,” Smith said. So, they came up with a product line of their own and started Earth’s Enrichments, a local organic body and skin care company that prides itself on being health conscious and environmentally friendly. Smith said Earth’s Enrichments, whose slogan is “Enriched by Earth … Deserved by everyone,” offers premium U.S. Department of Agriculture-certified organic skin care products that are made with the best ingredients. Their products, which include organic bar soaps, sugar scrubs, bath salts, body balms, and lip balms, do not contain petroleum, artificial coloring, artificial fragrances or preservatives. “As we ventured out on the journey to create skin care products which were uncompromising, healthy and luxurious, we took a year and a half to research the skin care market,” said Smith, a District-area resident and a graduate of Lincoln University who also holds an entrepreneurship and new ventures master of business administration from Pennsylvania State University and a Juris Doctorate from the Temple University Beasley School of Law.

REED from Page 16 “Race Together” should be viewed as an opportunity to begin re-examining how we can create a more empathetic and inclusive society — one conversation at a time. Black newspaper publishers and readers of their

cross fingers fight global warming.com

Tehma Hallie Smith, Ronae Brock and Michelle Davenport Johnson have created and successfully run a healthy skin products business./ Photo Courtesy of Earth’s Enrichments.

“This led us to look into natural and organic soaps and other skin care products. We could easily read and understand these ingredients. We could also do research and find out about the soothing and healing properties that these ingredients provide. We were sold,” she said. Her partners also used their vast knowledge and talents to help create the business, which has been thriving since it began in 2012. Brock spent six months in France studying at the American University in Northwest, and she has worked at Personal Products Company and McNeil Consumer Products Company, subsidiaries of Johnson & Johnson. As product director, she was responsible for marketing adult Tylenol, Tylenol PM and Sesame Street Vitamins. Johnson, whose background includes manufacturing and government contracting, once served as a vice president of a military supplier corporation. “Starting and growing a business is very time-consuming and demanding,” Smith said. “So, as entrepreneurs and family wom-

en, it can be very challenging balancing work and family life. That is why we are glad that we have each other to rely on and help take some of the pressure off one another during various hectic times both at work and at home.” Smith said goals for the company include increasing its online sales, expanding retail and creating new product lines such as hair care, men’s products and specialty soaps. She said she realizes that all of this takes time, effort and, most of all, patience. “To own your own business, you must plan and have patience. In planning you must research the market that your business is in, you must pull together a great team with expertise that can assist you in starting your business, and you must create a solid foundation for your business as it is today and a strong strategy for the future of your business,” Smith said. “Then you must be patient. Success does not happen overnight.”WI For more information about Earth’s Enrichments, visit www.earthsenrichments.com.

publications should be included in the campaign’s advertising and subject matter content. Urban forums can facilitate ways for black Americans to eliminate barriers to social justice and economic equality that continue in their communities. A product that could come out of the campaign could be build-

ing business relationships so that Starbucks coffee shops can become as common in America’s black communities as are liquor stores.WI

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William Reed is publisher of “Who’s Who in Black Corporate America” and is available for projects via busxchng@his.com. The Washington Informer

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Mar 26 - Apr 1, 2015

NATIONAL

Black Press Week Returns to District With a series of workshops, gala events, special tributes and strategy meetings, the National Newspaper Publishers Association [NNPA] once again returned to Washington, D.C. for Black Press Week 2015. This year’s theme, “Preserving the Legacy for Future Generations,” brought focus to the kinds of challenges that face the black press and the black community. Events from Wednesday, March 25 through Friday, March 27 in-

cluded: a media lab rededication at Howard University’s School of Communications; a black publishers enshrinement ceremony honoring Francis Page, Sr., publisher, Houston Newspapers and Ludwald Orren Pettipher Perry, M.D., publisher, Tennessee Tribune; a statesmen for justice luncheon featuring keynote speaker, Congresswoman Maxine Waters; the Torch Awards dinner; and the state of the black press in America and in the world luncheon, moderated by Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr., president and CEO, NNPA. Look for our complete coverage of these and other related events in next week’s edition of The Washington Informer.

Invitation to Bid Project: AACC – Humanities Building Renovations | Project Location: 101 College Parkway, Arnold, MD 21012 Bid Date: Monday, April 6th, 2015 11am Requesting Subcontractors with the following certifications: MBE, SBA, SDB, WOSB, SDVOSB, WBE For more information contact Michelle Evans in writing, mevans@forresterconstruction.com or Fax 866-405-1913 No calls please.

18 Mar 26 - Apr 1, 2015

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Mar 26 - Apr 1, 2015

HEALTH

Charity Assists Resident With Multiple Myeloma

Organization Helps Pay Medical and Travel Expenses By Stacy M. Brown WI Contributing Writer Raymonna Jean was diagnosed in 2013 with multiple myeloma, a type of cancer that affects the bone marrow. With not much knowledge of what lay ahead and even less money to seek the kind of care needed to treat the disease, Jean turned to Good Days From CDF, a nonprofit organization that’s dedicated to helping ensure that no one living with a chronic condition has to choose between getting the medication they need and affording the necessities of everyday life. The organization has helped residents in the District, Balti-

more and other cities around the country. “They have made living with this so much easier because when you don’t have money on hand, it’s tough,” said Jean, a former nurse whom Good Days From CDF assisted with travel and medical expenses after she learned about the charity while traveling to Arkansas from the District to seek treatment. The organization, which used to be known as the Chronic Disease Fund, helped pay for Jean’s co-pays, which they said are quite expensive. They were also able to foot the bill and provide financial assistance for the extensive traveling involved for Jean’s doctor’s visits.

Good Days from CDF helps patients with chronic diseases to pay for their medical insurance co-pays, travel and other expenses. /Photo courtesy of Good Days from CDF

“We help patients suffering from chronic medical conditions who have limited financial means get access to the medications they need,” said the or-

Dr. Gilbert Daniel, Internal Medicine and Maribel Torres, RN, Chief Nursing Officer

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ganization’s executive director, Clorinda Walley. “Our program helps qualified patients pay their insurance copays so they can get immediate access to prescription medications that will give them relief from pain and suffering,” she said. Founded in 2003 and based in Plano, Texas, Good Days From CDF provided patients with more than $200 million in assistance last year, a figure Walley said still falls well short of what’s needed. “I think even if we had $400 million, it wouldn’t have been enough,” she said. On average, those who received assistance earn about $39,000 a year, but with co-pays and co-insurance payments eat-

ing up as much as $12,000 from their incomes, the patients are left with tough choices. “In a lot of cases, it’s ‘Do I buy my medication, or do I eat?’ or ‘Do I pay my mortgage or feed my family?’” Walley said. “Education is another key to this, and we must educate people about their diseases and their options.” With help from partners like Aetna, ACS, CVS Caremark, Walgreen’s and various donors, contributions are made through a number of sources and Good Days From CDF is able to assist patients with chronic illnesses. By partnering together and staying true to its core values of integrity, efficiency, dedication and compassion, Good Days

CHARITY Page 21

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20 Mar 26 - Apr 1, 2015

The Washington Informer

Good Days from CDF Executive Director Clorinda Walley also has battled a chronic illness. /Photos courtesy of Good Days from CDF.

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HEALTH

Mayor Muriel Bowser (left to right), Gaspar Romero, brother of the late Monseñor Oscar Romero and Cardinal Donald Wuerl smile after the unveiling of a sculpture of Monseñor Romero at the Archbishop Romero Apartments in Mt. Pleasant on Saturday, March 21. This will be the first building in the U.S. to be dedicated to the late human rights activist of the Catholic Church who will soon be canonized into sainthood by the Pope. On March 12, 2008, a fire destroyed the Deauville Apartment building located at 3145 Mount Pleasant Street, NW and the Meridian Hill Baptist Church. It was considered the worst fire in Washington, D.C., in over three decades, destroying 85 apartments and leaving over 200 people homeless for weeks. Residents returned to this building in 2014. /Photo by Nancy Shia

CHARITY from Page 20

From CDF helps improve the lives of millions of chronic disease patients across the nation, company officials said. They are hoping to put a dent in a cold but true fact, that millions of Americans are forced to go without medications that can better their lives, Walley said. Although most chronic disease patients have valid insurance, it’s estimated more than 30 percent of them cannot afford the high costs of their treatments, and Good Days From CDF is working to change that. “While helping patients get the medicine they need is what we do, helping them have more Good Days is our goal. We take pride in building long-term relationships with our patients and offer a support system that extends far beyond financial assistance,” she said. “In this light, our organization underwent a name change, from the Chronic Disease Fund to Good Days From CDF. It’s a transition which reflects our evolution as a foundation, befits the optimism in our strength and identifies the core of our goals.” Walley said she’s also a chronic disease patient. “For me, the work we do at Good Days isn’t just business – it’s personal. Like many of you, I was diagnosed with a chronic disease in 2007,” she said. “I understand the struggle you and your loved ones are going through. The emotional strain of the unknown, coupled with the financial burden, can be too much for one person to bear. That’s why I’m here. And that’s why Good Days is here.”WI For more information about Good Days and to apply for assistance, visit www.gooddaysfromcdf.org or call 972608-7141.

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All proceeds to benefit The Wayne K. Curry Lung Cancer Disparity Awareness Fund and FAME- Foundation for the Advancement of Music & Education, Inc. (FAME), a 501(c) (3) nonprofit.

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Mar 26 - Apr 1, 2015

EDUCATION

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Explore a list of upcoming community events including festivals, art and cultural events, workshops, classes and neighborhood meetings, sporting events and tournaments in and around DC, Maryland and Virginia on our online community calendar at www.washingtoninformer.com. If you have an event you would like to include on our community calendar, please email the details and attach a jpeg document (if available) to news@washingtoninformer.com. Please include your name, email address and daytime phone number.

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Black, Latino Graduation Rates Improve Urban League Officials Say Plenty of Work Still Remains By Stacy M. Brown WI Contributing Writer Two reports released within moments of each other have served to highlight how African-Americans and Latinos have overcome many obstacles in order to strive toward success. However, the fine print of each of those reports – one by the National Urban League and the other from the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics – provides a reality check that the American dream remains deferred for individuals of color. “There is that America that is too black and too brown which seems to be stuck on the other side of this great American divide,” said Marc Morial, president and CEO of the National Urban League in New York, which issued its “State of Black of America 2015” report on March 19. “I must use the word ‘crisis,’” Morial said during a news conference announcing the new report in the District, where he also noted that seven metro areas in the country had a 20 percent rate of black unemployment. The Urban League’s report noted that more of the nation’s blacks and Latinos have health coverage and fewer are victims of crime. However, the overall wealth and employment still revealed stark disparities relative to whites. The report creates an “equality index” that used certain measurements to compare the well-being of black and Latinos to whites in the areas of economics, health, education, the justice system and civic engagement.

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS Videographer Two Rivers Public Charter School invites all interested parties to submit proposals to provide videographer to document best teaching practices. The complete RFP can be obtained by contacting Khizer Husain at procurement@tworiverspcs.org. Responses are due April 17, 2015. 22 Mar 26 - Apr 1, 2015

The Washington Informer

African-Americans and Latinos are graduating at a higher rate than they did a year ago, according to the Department of Education. /Photo Courtesy of BET

With 100 being total equity, the overall black index stood at 72.2, up from 71.5 a year ago. Net worth stood out entirely, with African-Americans claiming a net worth of $6,000 and Latinos $7,000. White Americans reported a net worth of more than $110,000. “As this recovery develops, too many people are being left behind,” Morial said. The U.S. Department of Education trumpeted its report, which revealed that graduation rates for black and Latino students increased by nearly four percentage points from 2011 to 2013, outpacing the growth for all students in the nation. Also released on March 19, the education report revealed that the gap between white students and black and Latino students receiving high school diplomas has narrowed. With the nation’s overall graduation rate reaching an all-time high of 81 percent in the 20122013 school year, white students still graduate at a much higher rate than most other subgroups, at 86.6 percent. The gap between Latino and white students closed by 1.6 percentage points in two years, from 13 percentage points to 11.4 percentage points. Between black and white students, the gap narrowed by 1.1 percentage points, from 17 percentage points in 2010-11 to 15.9 percentage points in 2012-13.

Federal figures show that Texas had the nation’s highest high school graduation rate for black and Latino students in 2013. Approximately 84.1 percent of black students in Texas graduated on time in 2013. The rate for Latinos was 85.1 percent. In the District of Columbia Public Schools, the overall fouryear graduation rate reportedly stood at about 58 percent last year, up by two percentage points over 2013. For the charter sector, the overall graduation rate fell seven points to 69 percent. While Morial and Urban League officials said much more work lies ahead and the battle remains uphill, education officials said they like the way the graduation rates are trending. “The hard work of America’s educators, families, communities and students is paying off. This is a vital step toward readiness for success in college and careers for every student in this country,” said U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan. “While these gains are promising, we know that we have a long way to go in improving educational opportunities for every student no matter their ZIP code for the sake of our young people and our nation’s economic strength.”WI

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ER ORM SPELL F I IN

EN M SUPPLE E E B

33RD ANNUAL WASHINGTON INFORMER SPELLING BEE SUPPLEMENT N

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MARCH 26, 2015

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THE WASHINGTON INFORMER HISTORY

OF THE CITY-WIDE SPELLING BEE

The Washington Informer began sponsoring the D.C. Wide Spelling Bee during the 198182 school years. The late Dr. Mary E. White, supervising director, D.C. Public Schools Division of Instructional Services, Department of English, sought participation for D.C. Public Schools students in the Scripps National Spelling Bee held annually in Washington, D.C. Many years prior, The Washington Daily News sponsored the local spelling bee. Subsequently, The Washington Star purchased the Daily News, and ceased sponsorship of the spelling bee. For more than 15 years, District of Columbia public, private and parochial school students could not participate in the national competition for lack of a sponsoring newspaper. Dr. White solicited support from the Washington Post, hopeful that the publisher would agree to become the District’s official sponsor. According to Dr. White, Post officials told her that since the daily newspaper was a regional publication; their sponsorship would have to include not only the District of Columbia, but suburban Maryland and Virginia, as well. However, at that time, the Journal newspaper chain had served as the suburban sponsor for several years, resulting in the Post’s refusal to sponsor the bee solely for students enrolled in District schools. Dr. White then appealed to Dr. Calvin W. Rolark, a friend and supporter of the D.C. Public Schools, president and founder of the United Black Fund, Inc. and publisher of The Washington Informer newspaper, to exercise his influence over the Post officials and persuade them to agree to sponsor the spelling bee. However, as publisher of a weekly newspaper, which served more than 25,000 readers in the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia, Dr. Rolark volunteered his publication to serve as the sponsor. With that, he brought in his daughter, Denise Rolark, managing editor of The Washington Informer, to assist in coordinating the District’s first spelling bee along with Dr. White and other D.C. Public Schools officials. The first city-wide spelling bee was held at Backus Junior High School in March, 1982. The winner was a sixth grade student, John Krattenmaker, who attended Mann Elementary School. Unbeknownst to Dr. Rolark, John was

Aisha Karimah will be retiring soon after 41 years at NBC Washington. Denise Rolark Barnes, publisher and Ron Burke, advertising manager, present Karimah with a gift in honor of the 32 years she has supported the Washington Informer Spelling Bee. / Photos by Shevry Lassiter

not permitted to participate in the Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee held the following May because The Washington Informer was not a daily newspaper, a requirement of the Scripps National Spelling. Dr. Rolark, who was a member of the board of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), a trade organization of nearly 200 African American-owned newspapers across the country, concluded that the national spelling bee was maintaining an inherently discriminatory policy that prohibited African American newspapers from participating in the National Spelling Bee since there are no African American-owned daily newspapers in the U.S. In urban school districts, where the majority of the student population is African American, students who might otherwise be eligible to participate in the spelling bee would be precluded from doing so if the white-owned daily newspaper elected not to sponsor the local bee. Dr. Rolark called in his legal counsel and wife, Wilhelmina J. Rolark, who threatened Scripps with an injunction that would forbid the national competition to take place in the District of Columbia until the court ruled on the merits of the case alleging discrimination. Scripps complied, and changed its rules to allow weekly newspaper sponsorship in the national competition. That year, the Loudon County Times, a weekly newspaper based in Loudon County, Virginia and the only other weekly newspaper to participate along with the Informer in the national spelling bee that year, produced the national spelling bee winner. Each year, more than 2,000 students enrolled

SB-2 MARCH 2015 33RD ANNUAL WASHINGTON INFORMER SPELLING BEE SUPPLEMENT

in nearly 200 D.C. schools participate in The Washington Informer City-Wide Spelling Bee. For the past 32 years, the City-Wide Spelling Bee has been held at the studios of NBC4, where it is taped and later aired for general viewership throughout the Washington metropolitan area.

PURPOSE

Scripps, a diversified multi-media company, established the National Spelling Bee to help students improve their spelling, increase their vocabulary, learn concepts, and develop correct English that will help them all their lives. Spellers experience the satisfaction of learning language not only for the sake of correct spelling but also for the sake of cultural and intellectual literacy. The Washington Informer’s participation in Scripps National Spelling Bee helps to further the goals of Scripps in the District of Columbia and to address the issue of illiteracy, particularly among African American youth. “If we want to improve the quality of life for all Americans,” said the late Dr. Calvin W. Rolark, publisher, “then we must begin by teaching our children to read, which they will not be able to achieve until they can learn to spell.”

FIRST PLACE Julia Weinrod Horace Mann Elementary School 5th Grade

/Photos by Roy Lewis

SECOND PLACE William Cho St. Albans School 7th Grade

/Photos by Shevry Lassiter

/Photo by Shevry Lassiter Attorney Jack Olender (center) receives a bee in appreciation of the cash prizes he awards to the Washington Informer Spelling Bee top winners for their success. For nearly a decade, Olender, a celebrated medical malpractice attorney, hosts a reception in his downtown office for the spellers and their parents and offers words of encouragement for their continued success. He is joined by Ron Burke and Denise Rolark Barnes of The Washington Informer.

33RD ANNUAL WASHINGTON INFORMER SPELLING BEE WINNERS

THE MALPRACTICE LAW FIRM

THIRD PLACE

Jack H. Olender

Perrin Brady Washington Latin School 7th Grade

& ASSOCIATES, P.C. Congratulations to Winners

Margaret Isacson Oyster-Adams Bilingual School 5th Grade

First Place Winner

JULIA WEINROD Second Place Winner

WILLIAM CHO Third Place Winners

Salamin Nuhin Marie Reed Elementary School 5th Grade

PERRIN BRADY MARGARET ISACSON SALAMUN NUHIN ANDREW GONG WU and all the

Andrew Gong Wu St. Albans School 8th Grade

33 rd Annual Washington Informer Spelling Bee Participants

Photos by Roy Lewis

888 17th St., N.W., 4th Floor, Washington, D.C. 20006 www.olender.com (202) 879-7777 FAX (202) 393-2245

33RD ANNUAL WASHINGTON INFORMER SPELLING BEE SUPPLEMENT MARCH 2015 SB-3

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We are a collection of smalls. Homes, main streets, and communities. They’re our foundation. Our building blocks. Brick by brick, they make our whole greater. They’re why Wells Fargo invests in our communities a little differently. Because small, personal measures offer huge meaning for the people and communities we serve. And with every business, neighborhood, and community supported, you’d be surprised how it all adds up to something bigger. Last year we worked with over 18,500 non-profits and schools from the San Francisco Bay Area to Washington, D.C., donations that totaled more than $275 million. But offering a helping hand can also mean lending your own hand to a cause. So Wells Fargo Team Members volunteered nearly 2 million hours in their local communities last year. Little by little we can all do a lot because … Small is Huge℠ Visit wellsfargo.com/smallishuge to see how big small can be. Congratulations to the participants of the 33rd Annual Washington Informer Spelling Bee.

SB-4 MARCH 2015 33RD ANNUAL WASHINGTON INFORMER SPELLING BEE SUPPLEMENT

Photos by Roy Lewis Trophies and backpacks full of prizes were presented to each of the 30 spellers that participated in the 33rd Annual Washington Informer Spelling Bee on Saturday, March 14 at NBC4 Washington.

Photo by Shevry Lassiter Dr. Meta DuEwa, 1988 Bee winner and Tuli Bennett Bose, 2012 Bee winner, along with publisher Denise Rolark Barnes encourage 2015 spellers.

Photo by Shevry Lassiter

JOIN US AT NATIONALS PARK Saturday April 18, 2015 1:05 PM The Washington Nationals are proud to host all of the spellers and recognize the top finalists from the 33rd Annual Washington Informer Spelling Bee. The top spellers will be honored at home plate before the game Please join us for a day of fun and fellowship at Nats Park Congratulations to all of the Washington Informer Spelling Bee participants

33RD ANNUAL WASHINGTON INFORMER SPELLING BEE SUPPLEMENT MARCH 2015 SB-5

T H E

A W A R D

We consider each and every finalist to be a winner, and our sponsors and partners have helped us to reward every one of them. We humbly ask that you support our sponsors,partners, and advertisers.

W I N N I N G

A F R I C A N

A M E R I C A N

N E W S P A P E R

2015 PRIZE LIST FIRST PLACE WINNER:

2015 Spelling Bee Sponsors and Partners

Amtrak Coca Cola Comcast Champion Trophy DC Public Schools DC Trust The Foundation for the Advancement of Music & Education Inc. (FAME) Giant Food Jack H Olender and Associates McMillon Communications NBC4 The Nielsen Company Pepco Southwest Airlines Washington Gas Washington Nationals Wells Fargo Lunch Provided by Dutch Mill Catering

• First Place Trophy – courtesy of Champion Trophy • Four Tickets anywhere Southwest Airlines flies – courtesy of Southwest Airlines • Check for $1000 – courtesy of Jack H. Olender and Associates • 1 hour session with Doris McMillon on e ffective public speaking • Hotel stay for the National Bee at The Gaylord – courtesy of The Washington Informer • Washington Nationals tickets • Invitation to be honored at Home Plate of a Nationals game and a meet and greet with a player and Screech. • Giant gift card • Webster Collegiate Dictionary • Subscription to Britanica Online • 2015 US Mint Proof Set • Washington Informer gift bag

SECOND PLACE WINNER:

• Second Place Trophy – courtesy of Champion Trophy •Two Tickets anywhere Southwest Airlines flies – courtesy of Southwest Airlines • Check for $500 – courtesy of Jack H. Olender and Associates • Invitation to be honored at Home Plate of a Nationals game and a meet and greet with a player and Screech. • Washington Nationals tickets • Giant gift card • Washington Informer gift bag

THIRD PLACE WINNER: • Third Place Trophy – courtesy of Champion Trophy • Check for $300 – courtesy of Jack H. Olender and Associates • Invitation to be honored at Home Plate of a Nationals game and a meet and greet with a player and Screech. • Washington Nationals tickets Giant gift card • Washington Informer gift bag ALL OTHER FINALISTS:

• Finalist Trophy – courtesy of Champion Trophy • Washington Nationals tickets • Giant gift card • Washington Informer gift bag with assorted items from sponsors

Please feel free to contact The Washington Informer with any questions, concerns, suggestions for next year, or if you would like to personally thank any of our sponsors.

Denise Rolark Barnes, Publisher Ron Burke, Advertising and Marketing Director The Washington Informer

3117 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave SE Washington DC 20032

202-561-4100 FAX 202-574-3785 rburke@washingtoninformer.com SB-6 MARCH 2015 33RD ANNUAL WASHINGTON INFORMER SPELLING BEE SUPPLEMENT

The Washington Informer 3117 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave SE Washington DC 20032 202-561-4100 FAX 202-574-3785 rburke@washingtoninformer.com

THE WASHINGTON RD INFORMER 33 ANNUAL SPELLING BEE NIELSEN SALUTES THE WASHINGTON INFORMER AND THEIR COMMITMENT TO EDUCATE AND EMPOWER THE YOUTH IN OUR COMMUNITY. Congratulations to Julia Weinrod, William Cho, Perrin Brady, Margaret Isacson, Salamun Nuhin, and Andrew Gong Wu on your Spelling Bee win. You all are role models to your peers and make the community proud. Nielsen is the leading global provider of insights and information. Nielsen relies on consumers – just like you – to voluntarily participate in our studies and share with us what you listen to, watch, and buy. If you are ever asked to participate in a Nielsen study, please say yes. Empower your friends and family to do the same. Let your voice be heard, because your opinions matter.

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Photo by Roy Lewis /Photo by Shevry Lassiter Parents play a crucial role in preparing their children for the spelling bee, and they end up being the shoulder spellers cry on when they receive that fatal word. (Top left) Salamin Nuhin, a 5th grader at Marie Reed Elementary School, gets help from his father before the spelling began. (Top right) Christian Marshall, a 5th grader at JC Nalle Elementary School in Southeast, gets a hug and words of assurance from his mother after misspelling a word during a round. Margaret Isacson, a 5th grader at Oyster-Adams Bilingual School in Northwest, said she admires her parents most because “they do a lot of things I can’t do” including helping her prepare for the spelling bee.

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Photo by Roy Lewis SB-8 MARCH 2015 33RD ANNUAL WASHINGTON INFORMER SPELLING BEE SUPPLEMENT

proud sponsor of the

Washington Informer’s 33rd Annual Spelling Bee congratulations to this year’s winners

1 place

Julia Weinrod

2 place

William Cho

Horace Mann Elementary • 5th grade

St. Albans School • 7th grade

Perrin Brady

Washington Latin School • 7th grade

3 place rd

4-way tie

Margaret Isacson

Oyster-Adams Bilingual School • 5th grade

Salamun Nuhin

Marie Reed Elementary School • 5th grade

Andrew Gong Wu

St. Albans School • 8th grade

giantfood.com

33RD ANNUAL WASHINGTON INFORMER SPELLING BEE SUPPLEMENT MARCH 2015 SB-9

SPELLING BEE 2015 CHAMPION “EXCITED AND HAPPY”

By Racbel Sudduth WI Intern Midway into the fifth round of the 33rd Annual Washington Informer Spelling Bee the student participants, ranging from ages 10 to 14, shuffled in silence while straightening out their yellow numbered identification tags that hung from their necks. The students nervously waited to be called to the podium where they would be asked to spell a word, randomly chosen from the list held in front of the pronouncer, Doris McMillon. Only a few students had been eliminated from the original 30 spellers. No one knew that participant #29, Julia Weinrod, an 11-year-old fifth grader from Horace Mann Elementary School, would be taking home the first place trophy. Julia’s final and winning word was “kinara,” by definition, the candleholder used in Kwanzaa celebrations. While Julia wiped sweat from her brow and appeared to be flushed after hearing the word pronounced, she maintained her composure as she correctly spelled out “k-i-na-r-a.” Julia ecstatically spoke about winning “I am excited and happy.” she said. “I relaxed the night before. If I didn’t know it by now, I just didn’t know.” She said she struggled with the word “reflorescent” but spelled the word correctly. Coincidently, the first place winner of the first annual spelling bee, John Krattenmaker, also attended Horace Mann Elementary School. Julia’s parents, Violanda Botet and Bruce Weinrod, said they helped her prepare for the spelling bee, along with her teachers like Brigham Kilinger and her principal, Elizabeth Whisnant. “We used a list of words to review and tips about different languages,” Julia’s father Weinrod said. As the first place winner Julia received plenty of prizes: four tickers to anywhere on Southwest Airlines; a check for $1000; and a one-hour session with Doris McMillion on effective public speaking. Runner-up William Cho and NBC4 Co-Hosts David Culver and Erika Gonzalez discussed William’s studying habits during the interview

after the spelling competition. William said, “I studied a lot.” The seventh grader’s mother, Jihyan Lee, said William likes to read and write. “He is good at spelling. He studies Korean, English and is learning Spanish and Chinese.” Before the competition began on Saturday, March 14 at NBC4 in Northwest, the 30 contestants, parents and the audience listened as Aisha Karimah, director of community affairs at NBC4 Washington, informed them that this year’s spelling bee would be her last. “This is my last year because I am retiring after 46 years at NBC4 – it’s been quite emotional,” she said. Before exiting the stage she added, “Good luck and to God be the glory.” The elementary and middle school contestants had to meet the following rules in order to qualify for the competition: no student could miss school in order to study for the spelling bee, students could not have repeated a grade in school; no student could have completed any achievement standardized test, like the PSAT or ACT. As the spelling bee continued, growing more intense with every round, students sailed through words like “pretzel” and “sushi” and gobbled down words like “burrito,” “tofu” and “macaroni.” However, they stumbled with those sometimes troubling homophones, confusing words like “spoor” with “spore” and “knack sack.” Some students began studying months ago by pacing themselves three to four hours a day. Salamin Nuhin said he studied the origin of words.

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Andrew Gong Wu, an 8th grader at St. Albans School in Northwest, tackles a word from pronouncer Doris McMillan at the 33rd Annual Washington Informer Spelling Bee. Wu was among 30 spellers from District-based public, private, parochial, charter and home-schools that participated on Saturday, March 14 at NBC4 Washington. / Photo by Shevry Lassiter “I used ‘How to Spell Like a Champion,’” the 11-year-old from Marie Reed Elementary School said. Salamin uniquely used the palm of his hand to spell out challenging words with his finger to help aid his memory. He was also a first place winner of the Cluster Bee. Washington Gas sponsor Marcellous P. Fyre said the bee proved to be very exciting. “It had me nervous,” he said. “For 12 year olds to go to the podium and remain so focused, I was very impressed. “The bee highlights the talents of the district.” Coordinator Dr. Sharon Holmes said she has been a longtime supporter of the spelling bee. “I was a volunteer before I was a judge and realized that the students’ studying skills were phenomenal.” Holmes said. She noted that students are selected from spelling bees at their school, then continue on to the cluster bees. From there six students are selected from each bee to participate in the final bee. And there are bragging rights as well as some great prizes for the top winners. Still, every participant left with something to help them remember their experience: Washington National tickets for a game at Nats Park on April 18 during which they CHAMPION Page SB-11

Washington Gas Vice President Marcellous Frye (left) and Regional Public Policy Manager Tracye Funn (right) congratulate Washington Informer Spelling Bee First Place Winner Julia Weinrod with her parents. Julia is a 5th grader at Horace Mann Elementary School in Northwest, and says spelling, science, history and math are her favorite subjects. Julia will represent the District in the Scripps National Spelling Bee in May 24-29 at the Gaylord National Resort at National Harbor in Maryland.

NBC4 Washington anchors David Culver and Erika Gonzalez interview the 33rd Annual Washington Informer Spelling Bee winners Julia Weinrod, 1st place winner, and William Cho, 2nd place winner, following the city-wide competition. The competition will be aired on NBC4 on Sunday, April 12 at 2PM.

1988 Spelling Bee winner Dr. Meta DuEwa congratulates spelling bee top winners Julia Weinrod, 1st place, and William Cho, 2nd place.

CHAMPION from Page SB-10 will be honored; a Giant gift

card; a finalist trophy and a Washington Informer gift bag. The legacy and vision that the late Dr. Mary E. White had for students at DC Public Schools to increase and improve their literacy continues to live on as first place winners advance to the E.W. Scripps National Spelling Bee at the Gaylord Hotel, traditionally held during the Memorial Day Weekend. The 34th Annual Washington Informer Spelling Bee returns next year in March. Sponsors and partners for this yearâ€™s spelling bee included: Amtrak, Coca Cola, Comcast, Champion Trophy, DC Public Schools, DC Trust, The Foundation for the Advancement of Music & Education [FAME], Giant Food, Jack H. Olender and Associates, McMillon Communications, NBC4, The Nielsen Company, Pepco, Southwest Airlines, Washington Gas, Washington Nationals, Wells Fargo and Dutch Mill Catering. SB

Wells Fargo was one of the sponsors and presented the First Place Trophy to Julia Weinrod. Shown from left are Bob Marshall, Maurice Steward and David White. / Photos by Shevry Lassiter 33RD ANNUAL WASHINGTON INFORMER SPELLING BEE SUPPLEMENT MARCH 2015 SB-11

Since 1999, DC Trust has invested over $100 million in high-outcome programs and youth development worker capacity building with measurable impact to unlock the intrinsic potential of every DC youth.

DC Trust is a proud supporter of the 33rd Annual Washington Informer Spelling Bee

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3rd

KOLI BENNETT-BOSE

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OYSTER-ADAMS BILINGUAL SCHOOL

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Photos by Roy Lewis

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Spellers

PERRIN BRADY

WASHINGTON LATIN SCHOOL

EDDIE CAVALLIN

7TH GRADE

HORACE MANN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL 5TH GRADE

WILLIAM CHO ST. ALBANS SCHOOL 7TH GRADE

CHIOMA CHUKWURAH PAUL PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL 6TH GRADE

BENNETT CULLISON JOHN EATON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL 5TH GRADE

RUBEN DASGUPTA JOHN EATON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL 4TH GRADE CHLOE FATSIS DEAL MIDDLE SCHOOL 7TH GRADE

DONZELL GIBSON JR. J.C. NALLE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL 5TH GRADE

ANDREW GONG WU ST. ALBANS SCHOOL 8TH GRADE

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The desire for a better tomorrow comes naturally…

Fulfilling it takes work. WGL understands that our responsibilities don’t end with serving our customers. We are committed to enhance the quality of life throughout the entire community.

WGL is a proud sponsor of the 2015 Washington Informer Spelling Bee

To learn more about how WGL and Washington Gas are helping create a healthier, more vibrant community, visit washingtongas.com.

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3rd

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ELSIE WHITLOW STOKES

Photos by Roy Lewis

JAMIR GRAVES

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HARRISON “HARRY” HACKETT HYDE-ADDISON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

MARGARET ISACSON

4TH GRADE

OYSTER-ADAMS BILINGUAL SCHOOL 5TH GRADE

JENNIFER LE CAPITAL CITY PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL 6TH GRADE

DAMARIS MEDINA SCHOOL WITHOUT WALLS AT FRANCIS STEVENS 6TH GRADE

PETER MILIUS ALICE DEAL MIDDLE SCHOOL 6TH GRADE

CHRISTIAN MITCHELL J.C. NALLE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL 5TH GRADE

ZAHIR MUHAMMAD DC INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL 7TH GRADE

SARAH MYERS HOLY TRINITY SCHOOL 7TH GRADE

SOPHIE MYERS HOLY TRINITY SCHOOL 7TH GRADE

33RD ANNUAL WASHINGTON INFORMER SPELLING BEE SUPPLEMENT MARCH 2015 SB-15

pepco.com

WE ARE DEFINED BY OUR

COMMITMENT TO EXCELLENCE. Congratulations to all of the participants in the 33rd Annual Washington Informer Spelling Bee.

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Photos by Roy Lewis

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CENTER CITY PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL – BRIGHTWOOD CAMPUS 6TH GRADE

SALAMUN NUHIN MARIE REED ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

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LAFAYETTE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

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ANNISSA RAYMOND PAUL PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL 8TH GRADE

SIDNEE SALTER PAUL PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL 8TH GRADE

NONIE D. SHUFORD WATKINS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL 5TH GRADE

SAMUEL TAUBMAN LAFAYETTE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL 5TH GRADE

SEBASTIAN WAIZENEGGER JOHN EATON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL 5TH GRADE

JULIA WEINROD HORACE MANN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL 5TH GRADE

GEORGIANNA WILLIAMS OYSTER-ADAMS BILINGUAL SCHOOL 5TH GRADE

33RD ANNUAL WASHINGTON INFORMER SPELLING BEE SUPPLEMENT MARCH 2015 SB-17

Four students who tied for 3rd place in the Washington Informer Spelling Bee stand to be recognized following the hours long competition. They include Perrin Brady, 7th grader at Washington Latin School; Margaret Isacson, 5th grader at Oyster-Adams Bilingual School; Salamin Nuhin, 5th grader at Marie Reed ES; and Andrew Gong Wu, 8th grader at St. Albans School. / Photos by Shevry Lassiter

The 33rd Annual Wshington Informer Spelling Bee judges included: Dr. Elizabeth Primas, director of Literacy, Friendship Public Charter School; Dr. Sharon Holmes, reading interventions and acting principal at Simon Elementary School; Merita Carter, manager of counseling, DCPS; and James Rountree, director of science, DCPS. Dr. Holmes has served as the coordinator of the Washington Informer Spelling Bee for the past five years.

Doris McMillan, spelling bee pronouncer, Dr. Sharon Holmes, spelling bee coordinate, and Denise Rolark Barnes, publisher of The Washington Informer.

Origin of the Term â€œSpelling Beeâ€? The word bee, as used in spelling bee, is one of those language puzzles that has never been satisfactorily accounted for. A fairly old and widely-used word, it refers to a community social gathering at which friends and neighbors join together in a single activity (sewing, quilting, barn raising, etc.) usually to help one person or family. The earliest known example in print is a spinning bee, in 1769. Other early occurrences are husking bee (1816), apple bee (1827), and logging bee (1836). Spelling bee is apparently an American term. It first appeared in print in 1875, but it seems certain that the word was used orally for several years before that. Those who used the word, including most early students of language, assumed that it was the same word as referred to the insect. They thought that this particular meaning had probably been inspired by the obvious similarity between these human gatherings and the industrious, social nature of a beehive. But in recent years scholars have rejected this explanation, suggesting instead that this bee is a completely different word. One possibility is that it comes from the Middle English word bene, which means "a prayer" or "a favor" (and is related to the more familiar word boon). In England, a dialect form of this word, been or bean, referred to "voluntary help given by neighbors toward the accomplishment of a particular task." (Webster's Third New International Dictionary). Bee may simply be a shortened form of been, but no one is entirely certain.

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Tracye Funn, of Washington Gas, sits at the Meet the Press desk.

Marcellous Frye and his 12-year old daughter Danielle enjoy the opportunity to pose in front of the desk where Chuck Todd interviews reporters and discusses national issues on Meet the Press The studio is also the location where the Washington Informer Spelling Bee has been held for the past 32 years./ Photos by Shevry Lassiter

Black History Year. You heard it here first. If you ever thought February was too short to celebrate Black history, we think you’re on to something. At Southwest®, we celebrate Black History Month 365 days a year. Through our committed relationships, we proudly support the many communities we call home. Southwest is the official airline of the Washington Informer Spelling Bee. Congratulations to First Place Winner - Julia Weinrod, Second Place Winner - William Cho, Third Place Winners (four way tie) - Perrin Brady, Margaret Isacson, Salamun Nuhin, Andrew Gong Wu.

33RD ANNUAL WASHINGTON INFORMER SPELLING BEE SUPPLEMENT MARCH 2015 SB-19

The Award Winning African American Newspaper Celebrating Our 50th Year of Service

The Washington Informer Congratulates our 33rd Annual Washington Informer

Spelling Bee

Winner!

We celebrate all of our finalists and everyone who helped make our 33rd Annual Washington Informer Spelling Bee a huge success. First Place Julia

The Bee will air on NBC 4 on Sunday April 12, 2015 at 2 PM

Weinrod

Horace Mann Elementary School 5th Grade

The Washington Informer Thanks all of our 2015 partners for making this year special

Young design

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EDITORIAL

OPINIONS/EDITORIALS

The More Things Change, the More They Remain the Same

Perhaps for as long as African Americans have struggled in this country for freedom and justice and against racism and white supremacy, there have been those who argued in favor of black respectability. It was thought that if we earned degrees, dressed well, spoke perfect English and acquitted ourselves with dignity and bearing that racists and those opposed to black advancement, or even a black presence, would treat us respectfully and fairly. But in every decade, black people have been confronted by circumstances and events – often triggered by deeply entrenched and endemic structural racism – that has thrown the viability of black respectability into question. The latest case occurred on the night of St. Patrick’s Day when 20-year-old University of Virginia student Martese Johnson was turned away from Trinity Irish Pub in Charlottesville, Virginia because Johnson gave the person at the door a zip code that differed from the one on his license. Johnson said he’d recently moved which accounted for the discrepancy. Moments after being carded, videos and cell phone pictures show a bloodied Johnson screaming to at least three Alcoholic Beverage Control officers that he’s a UVA student, asking why they were assaulting him and calling them racists. An officer slammed Johnson’s head into the pavement, and one had a knee on his neck and back while the others handcuffed him. The video of the incident went viral and sparked anger far beyond Charlottesville. Not surprisingly, the officers wrote in their report that the young man was belligerent and uncooperative, but the bar owner who prohibited Johnson from entering his establishment disputes that account saying he was respectful, polite and didn’t appear to be intoxicated. Usually, whenever young blacks are roughed up or killed, the media and conservative machines go into full gear to discredit them. So it wasn’t long after Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown and Eric Garner were murdered, for example, before the authorities discussed, told or leaked any negative information to paint the victim as a thug or criminal. In this case, that won’t be easy to do because Johnson is a model citizen, a student leader and doesn’t have a criminal record. The assault on Johnson and his arrest angered the UVA community, sparking protests and moves by Governor Terry McAuliffe, state officials and University of Virginia officials who have launched investigations and sought to mollify those angered by the incident. Many are questioning why these officers have arrest powers, what prompted them to deal so forcefully with Johnson but there is the larger question whether Johnson have been treated in such a manner if he had been white. With integration and the certifiable social, economic and other gains that came out of the civil rights movement, blacks were lulled to sleep. Folks sincerely believed that they’d arrived and assumed in spite of evidence to the contrary, that racism was an ugly nightmare of the past. In the six years that President Barack Obama has been in office, instances of overt racism, discrimination and racial animus, discrimination, the rise of hate groups and other problems appear to have exploded. It is a time where the courts and lawmakers have launched unabashed attacks against affirmative action, fair housing, voting rights, equal pay and social justice while claiming color-blindness. Every day, we see or hear about people of color who encounter police officers and who are injured or killed. This incident is just the latest unpleasant reminder that doing everything by the book doesn’t guarantee that law enforcement and vigilantes will look as blacks as anything other than a threat. So far, UVA officials, students and state officials have taken a firm stand against what happened but their seriousness will be determined by whether any changes are cosmetic or substantial.

www.washingtoninformer.com

Free Summer Programs Wanted As a father of two young elementary age school children, it would be of great help to me if your paper would publish a list of free DC summer programs. Every year I find myself searching for somewhere my children can go during the time they are not in school, and every year I am always too late. I am a frequent reader of your paper and you always have a lot of great information that can be used by those of us who live in and around the DMV. A list of this sort would be of great help not only to me, but also to many others like me who can’t afford to send my children to a private summer camp. I would love for them to have some kind of rewarding summer experience. People keep telling me that these places exist for District youth, but I don’t seem to have any luck finding them. Now that the weather is changing and the end of school is near, I hope you have the space to put a list of summer camps in your paper. Robert Lumberton Washington, DC

Dr. Tucker Was Right about Rap Music

All I can say is “right on” for the column written by William Reed about the late C. Delores Tucker and her fight against the rap music indus-

The Washington Informer

try [“C. Delores was Right,” Business Exchange, March 19, 2015]. It is so true, if we don’t respect ourselves, how can we expect others to respect us. We can see the results of what she warned us of in the horrific tragedies that have taken place over the past few years between the police and our young men. The police are looking at our young people not as human beings, but as what our music is describing them as: thugs and gangsters. I love black music. I grew up in the 60s when music gave us a sense of pride, and yes, we too dressed different, but the difference is that the majority of the music preached pride and respect for one another. The music of that era talked about loving who you were and what you looked like. Yes, Black Lives Do Matter, and it is time we as black people take back the minds of our black youth. The trash I hear coming from some of the lyrics in rap music is not who we are, nor is it how we feel about our brothers and sisters. Most of it is just trash put out there by those who see a fast dollar and want to see the continued destruction of black minds and attitudes towards young blacks. Someone somewhere said that perception is everything, well they may not be 100 percent correct, but in the case of our young people, they are pretty close. I don’t care how much we march and shout about how much we matter; until we start showing people that we matter and respect each other, others will not respect or think we matter. Mrs. Tucker was right in her fight

against what rap music was doing to the psyche of our young people, and I am so sorry more of us didn’t listen to her warnings.

John Wood Washington, DC

Save Our Girls Is there something going on in the Metropolitan Police Department, especially the 7th District, or am I just imagining things? Over the past two years, reports have been made about officers in Southeast who are involved in prostitution and sexual abuse of young girls. What’s going on? I know The Informer does not cover crime news, and that’s one reason why I enjoy reading the newspaper every week; but when bad things happen and the authorities sit back quietly, it is in my humble opinion, a time when your reporters should at least investigate the matter. Is there a sex business operating within the MPD? Are young girls’ need to feel valued so great that they fall prey, even to abusers who wear the blue? I hope the Informer will look into this and also ask all of those folks running for the city council what they plan to do about it? We need to be able to trust our police officers, and not live in fear that they will kill our boys and abuse our girls. This matter needs to be addressed. Sylvia Wright Washington, D

Mar 26 - Apr 1, 2015

OPINIONS/EDITORIALS

Guest Columnist

By James Clingman

Caught Between Barack and a Hard Place The experiment that featured a black man in the White House is on the downside now. Folks in the Obama administration are busy looking for their next job and jumping ship faster than rats. But you can’t blame them; that’s the way it is in politics. You ride your horse as long as you can, and then you find a new horse. That’s just what folks in presidential administrations do. The question is what horse black

folks will ride now. With Barack came new line dances at the clubs, new phrases, and new “hope” that would finally move black people to the front of the line for a “change.” We were large and in charge, big-ballers and shot-callers, cool and stylish, but we soon found that we were not really running anything. Having bet the farm on our horse, we now look on in agony as he comes down the home stretch. We want to move the finish line a bit farther down the track because we don’t yet

have the victory, and it looks like we’re not going to get it. All we can hope for now is just a little more euphoria before November 2016. Black folks are now between Barack and hard place. We don’t know if we are pitching or catching. As that Richard Pryor movie asked, “Which way is up?” We invested nearly 100 percent of our political capital in our current president, thinking we would get a decent Return on Investment. Unless there is a drastic uptick in the next few

Guest Columnist

months, our investment will be lost forever, because we know this experiment will not be done again for a long time. Between Barack and a hard place means that Black people, collectively, are now without a comfortable place to turn, without someone we can look to for hope and change and without what we considered to be a foothold in politics. Being between Barack and a hard place is causing anxiety, doubt and even fear among some of our people. Being between Barack and a

hard place will make many of us revert to our political ways by staying on the Democrat’s wagon because the Republicans ignore us and don’t like us anyway. We will rationalize our allegiance to the same party that takes us for granted, however. And some of us will opt out of the system altogether because we are so frustrated and angry at how the previous two terms went down. It’s very uncomfortable being between Barack and a hard

CLINGMAN Page 41

By Marian Wright Edelman

Low-Income Children to Get Shafted by Congress Congress is about to strike a deal that takes care of seniors and doctors but leaves low-income and “at-risk” children short. Congress’ annual struggle to avoid cuts in Medicare reimbursement rates so physicians will continue to give seniors the care they need is widely considered must-pass bipartisan legislation. Known as the Sustainable Growth Rate or “doc fix,” this annual process often provides a

vehicle for moving other legislative health priorities. Last year, it included one year of funding for the important Maternal and Infant Early Childhood Home Visiting program. While Congress has long discussed passing a permanent doc fix, leaders in the House of Representatives have now released an outline for doing it and plan to act on it this week. They hope the Senate will follow and act before the current doc fix expires March 31.

This is great news for seniors, but why is Congress leaving children behind by extending funding for the successful bipartisan Children’s Health Insurance Program and the Maternal and Infant Early Childhood Home Visiting Program for only two years? The cost of the doc fix is about $140 billion, while a two-year extension of CHIP and home visiting funding is less than $6 billion. Yet in the House proposal this increase required an “offset,” which means it had

Guest Columnist

to be paid for, while the doc fix that is more than 20 times more expensive does not. This is profoundly unjust to children, whose lives are equally important. A clean four-year CHIP funding extension and four years of funding for home visiting must be included in any final doc fix package. Certainly, the price tag is not the obstacle. Funding for CHIP and home visiting for four years is expected to add up to less than $12 billion to serve

millions of vulnerable children, a critical investment in the health of lower-income children. Today more than 8 million children depend on CHIP for health coverage. Together with Medicaid, CHIP has played a vital role in bringing the number of uninsured children to the lowest level on record. Simply put, CHIP is a bipartisan success story. But if funding is not extended quickly, up to 2 million

EDELMAN Page 41

By Benjamin F. Chavis Jr.

U.S. Criminal Justice System Needs Urgent Reform I know from firsthand experience that the “criminal justice system” today in the United States is in serious and urgent need of reform, repair and restructuring. Millions of families have been devastated by the “over-criminalization” of people in America. Black American families in particular have suffered and continue to suffer disproportionately as a result of an unjust system of justice.

24 Mar 26 - Apr 1, 2015

When I was unjustly incarcerated in the 1970s as member of the famed Wilmington Ten civil rights case, I personally witnessed how the massive warehousing of prison inmates in overcrowded prison cells led to unspeakable dehumanization and self-destruction. In fact, the inhumanity and senselessness of the prison system itself directly contributed to the increased in violence and prison recidivism. Forty-five years ago, the myriad of problems concerning the nation’s courts and prison sys-

tems was not seen as a national priority. Today, however, the dysfunction of the criminal justice system is not only a matter of national and global disgrace; it has also now become a multibillion-dollar counterproductive albatross around the neck of the nation. According to a fact sheet by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, during the last four decades, the prison population in the U.S. “quadrupled from roughly 500,000 to 2.3 million people.” The Washington Informer

There are nearly a million black Americans in jails and prisons across the country. The NAACP has identified the following other racial disparities in U.S. incarceration: African-Americans are incarcerated at nearly six times the rate of whites; Together, African-American and Hispanics comprised 58 percent of all prisoners in 2008, even though African Americans and Hispanics make up approximately one-quarter of the U.S. population;

According to a November 2007 report titled “Unlocking America,” if African-American and Hispanics were incarcerated at the same rates of whites, today’s prison and jail populations would decline by approximately 50 percent; One in six black men had been incarcerated as of 2001. If current trends continue, one in three black males born today can expect to spend time in prison during his lifetime.

CHAVIS Page 41

www.washingtoninformer.com

OPINIONS/EDITORIALS

Guest Columnist

By George E. Curry

I Had a Heart Attack Nothing was more startling than when a cardiologist looked me directly in the eyes and said matter-of-factly: “It looks like you had a heart attack.” I was dumbfounded. When? Where? How much damage was done? Why didn’t I know it? It certainly didn’t feel like I had suffered a heart attack. I had just covered and participated in the 50th anniversary of “Bloody Sunday” in Selma, Ala-

bama. The ceremonies had special significance to me because as a senior at Druid High School in Tuscaloosa, I had participated in the last day of the march in Montgomery, where I saw James Baldwin and Harry Belafonte for the first time. Ann and I arrived a day early, had dinner with Susan Gandy, the youngest of my three sisters, who had driven over to Montgomery from Tuskegee with her husband, Iverson Jr., and my niece, Rachel. In addition to covering the

president’s speech Saturday, I had received a Freedom Flame Award that night and on Sunday morning was one of the speakers at the Martin and Coretta King Unity Breakfast. I walked across the Edmund Pettus Bridge on Sunday and completed my writing and editing for the NNPA News Service on Monday. We stopped in Buford, Georgia on Tuesday, en route back to Washington, D.C., to visit Ann’s son, Derek Ragland; his wife, April, and our grandkids, Austin, 5, and Autumn 1.

Guest Columnist

On Wednesday night, I felt a slight pain in my chest, but dismissed it as indigestion. It continued Thursday night. When the pain persisted Friday night, Ann insisted on taking me to the hospital, and I acquiesced. We ended up at Emory Johns Creek Hospital. To Ann’s disbelief, I grabbed my iPad mini, a book, my charger, and a notebook as we headed out of the door. I know how long the wait can be in emergency rooms and did not want to be without reading material if I became trapped

in the waiting lounge. But once my symptoms were shared with the intake nurses, I was whizzed through the paperwork and placed in a room to wait for a doctor, to be administered an electrocardiogram and, of course, give blood. “We’re going to keep you overnight to see what’s happening,” the attending physician told me. From the way he said “keep me,” I deduced that they were not keeping me around just to

CURRY Page 42

By Marc H. Morial

Inequity in Education Funding Shortchanges America’s Future “That all citizens will be given an equal start through a sound education is one of the most basic, promised rights of our democracy. Our chronic refusal as a nation to guarantee that right for all children, including poor children, is a national disgrace. … It is a failure which threatens our future as a nation of citizens called to a common purpose, allied with one another in a common enterprise, tied to one

another by a common bond.” – Sen. Paul Wellstone, Teachers College, Columbia University, March 2000 Sitting beside his first teacher, “Miss Katie” Deadrich, in front of the one-room Texas schoolhouse he once attended, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Elementary and Secondary Education Act into law on April 11, 1965. ESEA, commonly known as No Child Left Behind, was a cornerstone in the president’s War on Poverty initiative. Its intent was to close the edu-

cation achievement gap between children from lower- and higher-income families. Fifty years later, with Congress currently considering a reauthorization of the law, the gap in educational opportunity, achievement and funding is growing. For the first time in our nation’s history, students of color are the majority of the U.S. student body. According to a recent survey by the Southern Education Foundation, a majority of all public school students are low-income. In another trou-

Askia-At-Large

bling milestone, the National Center for Education Statistics estimates that during the 20132014 school year, a majority – 51 percent – of public school students were deemed eligible for free- and reduced-price meals, a common indicator of poverty. This is even more alarming when we consider a finding that our 2015 State of Black America revealed and that we shared at the launch this week: On average, larger academic achievement gaps are in states with large urban areas home to large

populations of people of color who live in highly segregated neighborhoods with high rates of concentrated high poverty. During a press call with Secretary of Education Arne Duncan last week, we mapped out the landscape of education in America and warned against the dangerous course our nation would chart if we did not spend our education dollars where the need was the greatest. Right now, in more than 20 states, school dis-

MORIAL Page 42

By Askia Muhammad

Yet another young White man blinded by hate For the very life of me, I can’t fathom either the source or the depth of the loathing so many White people, young and old, feel they can openly express about any and every Black person they choose. I’m clueless. The most recent offender to come to my attention is Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania first baseman Joey Casselberry, who thought it wise to tweet his negative opinion of female Little

League World Series star pitcher and phenom, Mo’ne Davis by calling her a “slut.” “Disney is making a movie about Mo’ne Davis? WHAT A JOKE,” he wrote of the 14-yearold athlete’s Disney Channel movie. “That slut got rocked by Nevada,” he sneered, referring to her loss to Nevada in the World Series. Young Mo’ne’s wish? “I hope it will encourage other viewers to believe that dreams really do come true.” Just one year ago she never

dreamed that she would have a made-for-TV movie—tentatively titled “Throw Like Mo”— about her life, or that she would appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated magazine, or that she would author a book, Remember My Name, or that she would launch a line of sneakers for charity. Of course she had not yet become the first female to pitch a shutout in a Little League World Series game, for her team, Philadelphia’s Taney Dragons. Young Joey’s fate now, despite

his sorrowful apologies? His NCAA baseball career has come to an end. The university kicked him off its team, even though he was the team’s second best hitter, explaining that his obscene hate was unacceptable sportsmanship for any student athlete. What’s gotten into so many young (and older) White guys in what is supposed to be “post racial” America where people are supposed to be judged by “the content of their character, not the color of their skin?” I would think that all White

people in America would be so grateful to Black people—who by the millions—worked for 310 years, uncompensated, during chattel slavery, thus creating the wealth and comfortable lifestyle enjoyed by all Americans, even those who never owned a slave. I would think that all White people in America would be so grateful to Black people for bravely fighting in every American war—for centuries in segregated military units—helping to

MUHAMMAD Page 42

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They Kill Trees When and perhaps why Congressman Fauntroy fell

He was the “tallest tree in the forest,” Paul Robeson. That title befitted him, according to Mary McLeod Bethune, describing Robeson in the 1940s at the height of his prominence. A college and professional football player; an academic; an attorney; an actor and vocalist whose baritone voice seemed to shake the ground, it was not his athletic, scholarly or artistic talents that caught the attention of detractors. He was also an outspoken civil rights activist and humanitarian who fearlessly espoused his beliefs around the world. Those were the deeds noticed by xenophobic arborists who would rather chop him down than see him grow. They prevented Robeson from earning income at his craft; surveilled and investigated him at every turn; and took his passport away. In the end, he returned home a broken, beaten and troubled man. In his speeches, Congressman Walter E. Fauntroy often recounted the Robeson saga, eerily foreshadowing a fate that would become his own. He, too, was a gifted athlete in his early years, able to run with the wind, play baseball with the best and deliver skilled karate moves. A Yale Universitytrained minister, his songs would soar when presented during or after his widely sought after expositions. He is an oratorical genius and a gifted thinker of rare vision and imagination. Like Robeson, he took on what disparagers considered controversial causes locally, nationally and internationally. Always motivated to do good, never seeking to do well, that is the strength of his character. It is also his weakness. For the past few years, Congressman Fauntroy, the man who organized the first historic March on Washington, has resided in a distant land, far from the church of his childhood that he later pastored for decades; far from the family and friends who love and care about him; far from the District of Columbia whose causes he championed like no other native son in the history of the nation’s capital. At 82 years old, the twilight of his life, he is broken, beaten and troubled. Some will say it was his flirting with Libya and his ongoing advocacy in the Middle East that has raised the ire of those in positions of power and influence. Others will say it was his zeal to celebrate the re-election of President Obama, resulting in an ill-fated event that left certain participants displeased. Still others will say he has left a trail of broken promises, dampening expectations. At his age, many question his capacity to calculate. The rumors abound. Yet, none are important. It is important to know that his wife Dorothy, who has been dutifully and loyally by his side for more than half a century, is threatened with being thrown out of her home, likely the only home that embraced the presence of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. during his visits to Washington, D.C. She and the Congressman face judicial foreclosure and bankruptcy, and the family that helped so many over the years, now needs help. Of course, Congressman Fauntroy earned considerable

26 Mar 26 - Apr 1, 2015

income in the sunlight of his time. But those close to him know that much of his Congressional salary and just about all of his pastoral salary was dedicated to those he often described as “the least of these.” Guided by belief and faith, he did not concern himself with the future. Foolhardy? Perhaps. Imprudent? Obviously. Reckless and irresponsible? Not in God’s eyes. Congressman Fauntroy is the only living individual in that famous photo of President Johnson signing the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with Dr. King by the President’s side. In the spirit of Daniel, he stood up to Congressman John Macmillan of South Carolina and paved the way for D.C. Home Rule, proclaiming upon the defeat of Macmillan, “Johnny Mac ain’t comin’ back!” He served as vice chair of the first appointed D.C. Council and was the first non-voting member of Congress, representing the District of Columbia. He chaired a sub-committee and participated in the full committee that investigated the assassinations of Dr. King and President Kennedy. Many Black elected officials throughout the South will give credit to Congressman Fauntroy for their ascension. By super majorities in the U.S. House and Senate, he played the central role in passage of a proposed constitutional amendment to provide senators and voting representatives for the people of Washington, D.C. He has been a constant critic of the policies and practices of the Federal Reserve Board. Long before Menachem Begin, the former Prime Minister of Israel, publically hugged Yasser Arafat, Congressman Fauntroy, consistent with his religious beliefs, did so. One Thanksgiving Eve he joined with labor leader Bill Lucy, then attorney now Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, Activist Mary Francis Berry and Africa expert Randall Robinson, the latter two with Fauntroy surrendering themselves to arrest and all exposing the contradiction of apartheid in South Africa. With radio personality Joe Madison, he journeyed to strife torn Sudan, undaunted by the dangers there. Along the way, he

Signators: Marc Apter Denise Rolark Barnes Attorney Johnny Barnes Jafi O. Barnes Attorney Lezli Baskerville Min. Dr. Viola B. Bradford Jackie Bridges Dr. Marilyn Tyler Brown Senator Michael Brown Attorney Mary Eva Candon Ronnie Edwards

made many friends. Along the way, he made many enemies. As all of us, he is not without flaws. Nonetheless, the good Congressman Fauntroy has done surely far outweighs those frailties. He brought the promise of spring, the joy of summer and the awakening of fall to so many of us. Now that winter has entered his life, it is our turn to respond. Ironically, the project on which he is now working in the far away Middle East, the project that takes him from his family, friends and all of us, is aimed at ending world hunger and promoting a green planet. Chopping down D.C.’s tallest tree runs counter to those vital goals. Upon his return, the inquiries can be made and the speculation can be addressed. For now, those of us who know the long legacy he has left and even those who do not can collectively ensure that his historic home continues to give comfort to his wife and will house him when he reappears. Tax deductible contributions (check with your tax advisor) can be made payable through the National Congress of Black Women (NCBW) to the “Walter E. Fauntroy Family Fund,” 1250 4th Street, SW, Suite WG-1, Washington, D.C. 20024. All monetary donations will only be used to keep up the mortgage payments on the home and provide for needed repairs. If enough money is raised, the group organizing this effort will determine how a more permanent solution can be reached. The lesson here is not that stalwarts can falter and fall. The lesson is that the aging process is mysterious, even to science, and what we do not know is far greater than what we know. Paul Robeson and Walter E. Fauntroy were unshakable giants in their prime, proud men who lived their lives in sacrifice so that countless others could live their lives in pride. It is that strength of mental character that likely weakened them, as their flesh grew fragile. The lesson here is that every day we should take the time to make certain those in the twilight of their years are all right. Those strong of heart won’t tell us when they face troubles. Dignity and self-respect won’t allow it. We must ask them ... again and again.

Dr. Michael Fauntroy Brenda Gross Linda Mercado Greene Helen Compton-Harris Lawrence Harris Dr. Sylvia Hill Lillian Huff Kemry M. Hughes Anise Jenkins Joyce Harris-Johnson Barry Lenoir William “Bill” Lucy Joe Madison

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Attorney Ron L. Magnus Professor Edward O’Brien Dr. Carol A. Page Keith Silver Deacon Douglas Smith The Reverend Eldridge Spearman Senator Paul Strauss Attorney Bradley Ashton Thomas The Reverend Mark A. Thompson The Reverend Carlton Veazey Dr. E. Faye Williams Attorney David W. Wilmot www.washingtoninformer.com

LIFESTYLE

“For Whites Only”/ Courtesy photo

Local activist Kymone Freeman performed “Whites Only” at Bus Boys & Poets on 5th and K Streets NW earlier this month before nearly two dozen people. / Courtesy photo

By Sam P.K. Collins WI Contributing Writer @SamPKCollins In the age of tweets and soundbites, candid conversations about white supremacy’s clutch on the lives of people of color rarely occur outside of black circles, perhaps out of fear that white people might be offended. Local activist Kymone Freeman, however, says that forcing Caucasians to confront this elephant in the room will heal the nation and save humanity. Freeman, a self-described “angry black man in therapy,” plans to make audiences across the D.C. metropolitan area uncomfortable this spring in “Whites Only,” a one-man play in which he reflects on the bitter lessons he learned about white supremacy’s seemingly innocuous yet pervasive reach during his coming of age. Freeman said that while this performance may upset both black and white people alike, he has no qualms about telling the truth. “I’m doing this for me and my sanity,” said Freeman, program manager at We Act Radio in Southeast. Throughout the month of March, Freeman has performed “Whites Only” for audiences at local Bus Boys &

Unearths Hard Truths about Race Poets restaurants with the hopes of bringing the play to the Mosaic Theater Company of DC in Northeast later this year. The March 12 show at the 5th and K Streets location in Northwest attracted nearly two dozen people, three of whom were white. Freeman said that while black audiences have enjoyed his material, he looks forward to the day that he can express his unfiltered thoughts before an allwhite crowd. “I’ve committed my life to telling the lion’s story. I attempt to do that through We Act Radio, testimonies at D.C. council hearings, and in the streets,” said Freeman. “We live in a system that has determined one rule of law for one group of people and one rule of law for another group. Do you think that if black cops were shooting white chil-

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dren that the end result would be the same? No one has answered in affirmation. Our silence is approval of the situation.” In “Whites Only,” Freeman stands onstage sporting a black shirt with “Don’t Shoot” emblazoned across the front. The twohour show starts with his plea to guests to understand from where their long-held beliefs and traditions originated. He later regales guests with stories from his adolescence and adulthood while sipping wine. Each of Freeman’s anecdotes touch on his interaction with family members, friends, employers, and old beaus, with a critique of America serving as the common thread. At times, he holds up a large white sign with a smiley face -- representative of what he describes as the façade black men often have to put up The Washington Informer

in a white-dominated society -drawn in the middle. Freeman leaves no stone unturned in his assault against American capitalism, the military industrial complex, gentrification, police brutality, and corporate media. Some stories, like one about an argument with a woman who wore weave, drew chuckles. Other stories, like one in which he had to comfort a young woman traumatized by a sexual assault at the hands of a drunk white man brought the room to complete silence. Guests later shook their heads in disbelief as Freeman reminisced about his violent encounters with police officers in Georgetown and Northern Virginia. However, what Freeman counts as the most important part of the play and a lesson that he hopes viewers internalize concern the moments when he grew in his black consciousness and later encountered a stranger who dispelled his previous notions about white people. For Freeman, learning that he could rail against white oppression and find love for white people simultaneously allowed him to self-heal and become a more effective activist. “I’ve never said any of this stuff out loud,” Freeman said. “You can’t walk around with all this rage pent up. Writing this play has given me a lot of clarity about what has happened in my life. There’s an empathy that white people don’t feel for black production because they don’t think it’s for them. That’s part of the problem. I think we need to challenge white and black people to be honest with themselves.” Natalie Molinaro, a white woman from Chevy Chase, Maryland and guest at the March 12 viewing, shared Freeman’s sentiments. Molinaro said that “Whites Only” compelled her to think more deeply about the United States’ race problem and

her experiences with white and black people. “I learned so many facts that made me even angrier about the situation unfolding in this country,” said Molinaro, 19. “I feel a little embarrassed for my race but I don’t represent all white people. I went to a Catholic school in Maryland and had classmates who teased me about being Italian. I have friends who are black, including one who’s from Kenya. People who are racist are behind the times and I didn’t even realize those kind of people existed until I went to college.” “Whites Only” has already found a fan in Roger Moulden II, a local minister and guest at the recent viewing. Moulden said that hearing Freeman articulate his frustrations as a black man emboldened him to do the same in his life. “It was phenomenal and liberating to hear the things that I knew in my journey,” Moulden, 27, said. “Kymone broke down how white supremacy’s fascination with monsters comes from white people wanting others to not see them as villains. Everything he said from start to finish caught my attention. It’s important to tell the truth and let the world know that we have a point of view. We’re telling our story,” said Moulden, a Temple Hills, Maryland resident. Freeman’s newest project comes on the heels of two previous productions and a trip to Cuba in the months after the United States changed its foreign relations status with the island nation. As a founding member of protest group DC Ferguson and frequent guest commentator on TV One’s News One with Roland Martin, Freeman has made a name for himself as an agitator of the status quo. “I had an opportunity to go on the big stage, do some damage and contribute to the Black Lives Matter movement,” Freeman said. “If this play becomes a financial success, I will become more of a threat to the system but it will take some outside support. People in our community who are interested in seeing something different should come out. People often place a different value on white stuff than black stuff and that’s the white supremacy I’m attacking, not white people.” WI Haven’t seen “Whites Only” yet? Here are the dates for the remaining viewings, each starting at 8p.m. March 26 – Bus Boys & Poets (14th and V Streets NW); April 1 – Bus Boys & Poets (Hyattsville, Maryland). Mar 26 - Apr 1, 2015

LIFESTYLE

All-Black Fashion Show Breaks the Mold By Sam P.K. Collins WI Contributing Writer @SamPKCollins

While much of the District’s millennial population clamors to make change through grassroots organizing and political advocacy, Malissa Wilkins says a fashion revolution will connect people of color to the essence of their being, better enabling them to express their individuality and bring forth new bold, ideas. That’s the message Wilkins, a local fashion stylist and wardrobe consultant, set out to convey last week during a fashion show that featured black models, designers, and musical talent. The showcase, touted as 100% Cacao, also allowed a trio of local businesses to collaborate and present forms of art, music, fashion that’s endemic to D.C.’s flourishing millennial artist population. “I want people to recognize the greatness in the black community and the humanity that comes with our existence,” said Wilkins, founder of Afrovelvet, a local fashion consulting company. Afrovelvet hosted the Friday, March 20 event at the Nomad Yard Collectiv, a Northeast-based community retail space comprised of 14 vendors, in conjunction with the local business and D.C. artist Nate G. “The idea is to show black people in a different light than what we see in the media,” Wilkins, 23, said. “In the sense

of the title, Cacao is the original chocolate. We wanted this event to be rooted in the Diaspora. There’s a lot to style; I love the texture and color that tap into the five senses simultaneously. In some way, we’re connected to each other when that happens. People should have a good experience that forces them to delve into a separate universe outside of their daily routine,” said Wilkins, a Northeast resident. On Friday evening, more than 90 people walked into the Nomad Yard Collectiv and watched as nearly two dozen men and women of various ages and shades of brown strolled along a walkway made of twigs and tree branches that weaved around the shop’s antique merchandise. An eclectic mix of musical genres resonated through the space as the young fashionistas sported the fabrics of Afrovelvet, Earl’s Closet, and Nomad Yard in combination with African face paint in some cases. That’s not all guests saw that evening. Onlookers also watched in awe as local artist Marc Bryant painted a piece amid the pandemonium. Nate G later performed “994,” a song from his upcoming album “2MYOGs,” slated for an early spring release. Dancer Rosalynd Ramnauth also performed during the threehour show. “People always go to the club and this is something a little different,” said Wole “Walls” Solomon, a District Heights,

Maryland resident. Solomon expressed his hope that Afrovelvet would host similar events that showcase black beauty and allow people to socialize. “The atmosphere was creative with a runway made out of sticks. It was good having a lot of creative melanated people in the same place. We didn’t see your typical models tonight. They had that flare. We’re in a creative setting that allows people to express themselves. Something like this could bridge the gap in our community between the young professionals and the folks in the arts,” said Walls, 27, founder and creator of The Fyu, a social commentary series that gives people the platform to talk about the things affecting them and their community. Desiree Venn Frederic, creator-curator of the Nomad Yard Collectiv, said Wilkins’ vision and passion for the arts aligned with that of her venture, a reality that compelled her to provide a venue for 100% Cacao. “The event was a success and a representation of a subculture that exists in every city,” Venn Frederic, 32, said. “The millennials in D.C. are expressing themselves through the arts. Malissa and her group were able to manifest their vision and manage the demands of the real world. Seeing that did something powerful for me. One of the things the Nomad Yard Collectiv has intentionally become is a place for people of color who want to

Nangä Awasum modeled a wedding dress from the Afrovelvet collection at the 100% Cacao fashion show on Friday, March 20, 2015. / Photo courtesy of Omoefe Abugo

express themselves. The young creatives need that community space.” Wilkins founded Afrovelvet last August as part of an effort to push the limits of how people express their thoughts through style and ultimately create a brand that resonates with their spirit and that of others like them. “Style is second to identity so

it comes out beautifully when you know who you are as a person,” said Wilkins. “People say that their style is the way they dress but it doesn’t always represent our identity. Rather it’s a sign of how things are in society. We want to take a psychological approach to help people find themselves and understand how they’re limiting themselves.” WI

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WARD 8 CITY COUNCIL COLLABORATIVE CANDIDATE FORUM

Area youth met with the son of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Martin III, during their visit to Selma and Birmingham, Alabama where they learned more about the sacrifices made during the civil rights movement. /Photo courtesy Ron Moten

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Questions: Contact Charles E. Wilson at 202.834.0600 or charleswilsonhu@gmail.com

Ward 8 youth learned a lot about black history and what their own roles should be during their trip to Selma, Alabama where they participated in the 50th anniversary march on the Pettus Bridge./Photo courtesy Ron Moten

Ward 8 Youth Reflect on Visit to Selma Excerpts from Essays about Reliving History

On Bloody Sunday on the Edmund Pettus Bridge, a lot of foot soldiers and brave people [put their lives on the line] for our freedom, the right to vote, to have a good education and to be treated equally. Bloody Sunday changed American society forever. The day before we left for our trip, I was asked by a television reporter why we were traveling to Selma, Alabama. I said Dr. King told us to “keep marching to freedom” and that I take his words as my own motivation. Foot soldiers marched for us; I hope to follow in their footsteps today. The events from 50 years ago were tragic but 50 years later the struggle, the march and the legacy continues. I would be honored to show my peers what happened in Selma, Montgomery, and Birmingham, Alabama. Thanks to all who donated to make this trip to Selma happen. Davontay Cross We complain about someone in office, but are too apathetic to take action. All of the blood,

sweat and tears shed by millions of the civil rights movement cannot be in vain. When I visited the Kelly Ingram Park in Birmingham where thousands of children were beaten, hosed down, and attacked by dogs chills ran through my body. It was as if I felt the spirit of each and every one of them. Sometimes it doesn’t seem real because most have just seen it on TV, but actually being there was an experience I will never forget. I also got the opportunity to meet Martin Luther King the third and an actual foot soldier, Pastor Webb. It is important that young people know their purpose on this earth so that we may continue to make the world a better place. As my knowledge continues to expand I will use it to change policies in education and as I do so I will never forget those who paid the ultimate price for me to be where I am today. Yasmeen Moten

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LIFESTYLE

Members of the DC Chapter of the National Black United Front in northwest Tues., March 17. /Photo by Nancy Shia.

National Black United Front Calls for Community Involvement NBUF DC Looks to Recruit Individuals and Organizations By Sarafina Wright WI Intern

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The National Black United Frontâ€™s Washington, D.C., chapter held a community call to action at its Northwest headquarters to urge anyone with a vested interest in the black community to take part in its movement. NBUF was founded in the late â€™70s in Brooklyn by community activist and clergymen such as Jitu Weusi, Alvann, Sampenn and the Rev. Herbert Daughtry, who came together to organize against issues in their community, especially the unlawful killings of black men in New York City. â€œWe have a coalition of individuals and organizations who come together around local issues affecting Africans. We are focused on African-centered education, criminal justice and the injustices and black economics, said Salim Adofo, chairman of NBUF DC. The recruitment session was led by the Rev. Leah Daughtry, a long-standing member of NBUF as well as the daughter of the first chairman, the Rev. Herbert Daughtry. â€œEvery year since 1978, we have given 10 Brooklyn youth a scholarship going to college in the name of Randolph Evans,â€? said Leah Daughtry. Evans was a 15-year-old Brooklyn boy who was fatally shot by a New York Police Department officer in 1976. The Washington Informer

Adofo believes Daughtry is the best asset the organization has regarding recruiting. She has been with the group since its inception. NBUF programs include Feed the Hood, which takes place every first Sunday on the corner of Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X avenues in southeast. NBUF members and volunteers serve hot food, dry goods, canned goods, hygiene materials, medical supplies and clothing. â€œOur goals are to build institutions in the black community, create more interpersonal relationships, which will all lead to more black wealth,â€? said Adofo. Adofo, 37, a New Jersey native became NBUF DCâ€™s chairperson two years ago. He has led numerous NBUF DC programs that promote â€œorganization for liberation.â€? NBUF has been able to have Feed the Hood for four years because of donations and member support. Dontae A., an immigrant from Port au Prince, Haiti, has been loosely associated with NBUF DC for five years. His immigration status is a hurdle that stops him from attaining full membership. â€œItâ€™s not that I canâ€™t join officially; it is just I choose not to because of my immigration situation. I have to be careful. However, I support them unconditionally, especially Feed the Hood. Any time you have people

in the community who really care about what they do, itâ€™s powerful. They walk the talk,â€? said A. Darrien Mitchell, 38, of Northeast, has been attending NBUF DCâ€™s Sankofa Circle for a month now. Sankofa Circle is a roundtable discussion of social, political and economic issues affecting the black community. â€œI was looking for like-minded people, and they offer a lot in regards to things I am interested in, like community and organizing,â€? said Mitchell. Every quarter for six to seven weeks, NBUF holds Saturday school, Nâ€™Joya Weisu, which is named after two of its founders. It is held at the WEAC radio station in Southeast. The focus is on science, technology and mathematics from an African perspective. NBUF DC is the first chapter to implement Saturday school. NBUF DC offers eligibility for employment including a stipend, a voting hand in the endorsement of political candidates and participation in the Bese Saka investment club. â€œWe have been able to sustain as organization with chapters across the country because we are financially independent and we invest in ourselves. Also weâ€™re friends. When you have economic independence and friendship mixed with substance, that is a winning combination,â€? said Adofo. WI

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LIFESTYLE

Griot

MAR 26 - APR 1, 2015

ARIES Beware of financial pitfalls that you’ve set for yourself. Strengthen all your relationships by understanding motivations of others. Spend time at home. Enjoy what you already have. Soul Affirmation: Often it’s not what I say, but the way I say it that gets the message across. Lucky Numbers: 4, 6, 47

“Almost Famous Women” by Megan Mayhew Bergman c.2015, Scribner $25.00 / $29.99 Canada 256 pages

You were this close. You almost had it. Missed it by a hair, by just a smidge. You were slightly off the mark; in fact, almost too close to call. You didn’t get the cigar. Contrary to the old saying, close counts in more than just horseshoes and hand grenades. The proof lies inside “Almost Famous Women” by Megan Mayhew Bergman. Take, for example, Daisy and Violet Hilton. Performers back in the 1920s, the sisters were in high demand, on-stage and off. Even Houdini was a fan. Men, especially, were attracted to them but the sisters kept no secrets from one another. They couldn’t. They were conjoined twins, literally attached at the hip. Or take, for example, M.B. “Joe” Carstairs, who’d been an ambulance driver in World War I. Joe was tough as nails and extravagantly wealthy, the perfect hostess on her own island off the coast of Florida. But she was fast, both on the water and in her willingness to find, love, and discard women. Norma Millay was a first-class actress who took her “dirt-poor” childhood and used it to bring her roles to life. Even critics noticed though, admittedly, her performances weren’t exactly well-attended; it also hurt that Norma’s famous sister, Edna Vincent, was quick to point out on whose “coat-tails” she was riding. High-end European art houses very desperately wanted more from artist Romaine Brooks, but Brooks ignored them and everyone else from her past. At age ninety, she took “joy in nothing,” and only thought of things that made her hateful. Her anger was taken out on staff, but they got their revenge: they took her belongings. Butterfly McQueen wanted her life – and her afterlife – spent on her own terms; and

Horoscopes

TAURUS Don’t expect to win every battle, especially with your lover. This week, winning is losing. Backing down is winning. Shyness produces a bold result. It’s easy to collect that long-standing debt. Soul Affirmation: I keep money on my mind this week. Lucky Numbers: 18, 25, 39 GEMINI Possibilities of hearing good news about home are greatly expanded. Savor the news rather than thinking about other annoyances. Travel is on the horizon. Plan the trip this week. Soul Affirmation: Jewelry reflects the beauty of my feelings about myself. Lucky Numbers: 26, 44, 52 CANCER Feather the nest. Stock up on stuff for the long haul. Cement relationships. A friend needs your support. Enjoy giving it. You will receive good news about a pal. Soul Affirmation: Cheerfully handling what comes at me is the test of who I am. Lucky Numbers: 13, 22, 31

a crate of lipstick brought quiet notoriety to a small group of Holocaust survivors. The International Sweethearts of Rhythm would have been more famous, had it not been for the colors of their skin. Oscar Wilde’s niece, Dolly, lived a life nearly as scandalous as that of her famous uncle. And four-yearold Allegra Byron, illegitimate daughter of Lord Byron, cared for lovingly by a reluctant Capuchin nun, didn’t live long enough to become famous… Biographies. That’s what I expected when I cracked open “Almost Famous Women.” I thought it was a book of mini-bios but instead, what I got was a collection of short stories – and I think I liked that better. While researching for other projects, author Megan Mayhew Bergman says in her author’s notes that she came across these women and their stories and, after thinking about small bits of their lives, she wrote these dramatic tales, loosely based on real people and real events. In doing so, she gives readers a better sense of who these edge-of-history, complicated women might have been and who, furthermore, might have known and loved (or hated!) them. And I think you’ll love them. The stories, that is: they’re easy to fall into and the lengths are pleasantly reader-friendly. What more could you want, except to keep “Almost Famous Women” close?WI

LEO Be cautious and conservative with money. You are extremely witty this week. Allow others to enjoy your good humor. Your leadership skills are very high, and others will follow. Soul Affirmation: Luck is my best friend this week. Lucky Numbers: 14, 20, 44 VIRGO This is a good time for you to seek agreement on a plan that involves a relative. Take the time to remind your lover how much you care. Get a little sentimental if you have to. Don’t be too critical of that softer side of your personality. Soul Affirmation: Self-confidence is the key to my success this week. Lucky Numbers: 2, 9, 19 LIBRA You’ve made your point. Now wait. Wait for the feedback about the impact it had on the people around you. Be careful of those who don’t celebrate with you. They feel the impact and are resisting the positive effects. Soul Affirmation: Before goodness can come I must expect goodness. Lucky Numbers: 5, 16, 23 SCORPIO Be sharp! All of your needs will be met in indirect ways. Gifts will come from unexpected sources. They will be carefully packaged to go unnoticed. Unwrap everything and look inside. There will be empty boxes, but there will also be a prize in an unanticipated situation. Soul Affirmation: I look for the good in all that comes to me this week. Lucky Numbers: 3, 10, 41 SAGITTARIUS Now is a good time to push. Your energy is higher than ever. Someone might get offended, but you can’t please everyone. Hire a pro for something that you planned to do yourself, especially if expertise is involved. Soul Affirmation: Success is mine because I feel successful. Lucky Numbers: 5, 7, 12 CAPRICORN Review your “to do” list again. You may need to slow down to discover something that you didn’t realize while you were in the flow of events. Your lover is going to be a little difficult to understand. Soul Affirmation: To live is to love. Lucky Numbers: 5, 16, 23 AQUARIUS Back off if an argument arises. You’re probably the one who is too busy. Forgiving yourself is often harder than getting someone else to forgive you. Go easy on yourself. Soul Affirmation: Two hats fit well on my big head. Lucky Numbers: 3, 20, 32 PISCES Make a special effort to spend all week with your lover, husband or wife. Your sense of the importance of relationships is keen, and this is a good time to strengthen your passionate partnership. Take your lover to a party. Devote attention. Soul Affirmation: Change is my middle name. Lucky Numbers: 12, 51, 52

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Mar 26 - Apr 1, 2015

SPORTS Second Annual Maryland Crab Ball Classic 7th Grade North Youth All-Stars 57 South All-Stars 50 7th Grade South Youth All-Stars player (White) shoots above his two opponents in the first quarter of the Second Annual Maryland Crab Ball Classic held on Saturday, March 21 at Morgan and Kathy Wootten Gymnasium (DeMatha High School) in Maryland. North Youth All-Stars (Red) defeated South Youth All-Stars (White) 57-50. /Photo by John E. De Freitas

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7th Grade North Youth All-Stars player (Red) shields the ball from his opponent in the first quarter of the Second Annual Maryland Crab Ball Classic on Saturday, March 21 at Morgan and Kathy Wootten Gymnasium in Maryland. North Youth All-Stars (Red) defeated South Youth All-Stars (White) 57-50. /Photo by John E. De Freitas

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7th Grade North Youth All-Stars player (Red) is double-teamed by his opponents in the third quarter of the Second Annual Maryland Crab Ball Classic on Saturday, March 21 at Morgan and Kathy Wootten Gymnasium in Maryland. North Youth All-Stars (Red) defeated South Youth All-Stars (White) 57-50. /Photo by John E. De Freitas

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SPORTS Second Annual Maryland Crab Ball Classic 8th Grade South Youth All-Stars 59, North Youth All-Stars 58.

8th Grade Youth All-Stars player (White) climbs above his opponents in the first half of the Second Annual Maryland Crab Ball Classic on Saturday, Mar.21 at Morgan and Kathy Wootten Gymnasium in Maryland. South Youth All-Stars (White) defeated North (Red) 59-58. /Photo by John E. De Freitas

8th Grade Youth All-Stars (White) heads towards the basket in the second half of the Second Annual Maryland Crab Ball Classic on Saturday, Mar.21 at Morgan and Kathy Wootten Gymnasium in Maryland. South Youth All-Stars (White) defeated North Youth All-Stars (Red) 59-58. /Photo by John E. De Freitas

8th Grade Youth All-Stars player (White) heads down the court with his opponent trailing him in the first quarter of the Second Annual Maryland Crab Ball Classic held on Saturday, Mar.21 at Morgan and Kathy Gymnasium in Maryland South Youth All-Stars (White) defeated North Youth All-Stars (Red) 59-58. /Photo by John E. De Freitas

8th Grade Youth All-Stars player (Red) aims for the basket in the second quarter of the Second Annual Maryland Crab Ball Classic on Saturday, Mar.21 at Morgan and Kathy Wootten Gymnasium in Maryland. South Youth All-Stars (White) defeated North Youth All-Stars (Red) 59-58. /Photo by John E. De Freitas

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Mar 26 - Apr 1, 2015

Mayor Muriel Bowser talks to residents in during a walk-thru in Southeast on Tuesday, March 16 during her Spring into Action clean up campaign in all eight wards. /Photo by Roy Lewis

Haben Ghebremeschel hauls a bag of trash during the Ward 8 clean up on Sat., March 21. /Photo by Roy Lewis

Shaw resident Barry Jerrels, 51, works with 3rd District MPD Officer John Spencer on P Street NW during Mayor Bowserâ€™s Spring Into Action clean up campaign on Sat., March 21. /Photo by Nancy Shia

Volunteers help clean up around Petworth Library in Ward 4 during Mayor Bowserâ€™s Spring into Action clean up campaign on Sat., March 21. /Photo

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RELIGION

The Religion Corner

The Truth Will Make You Free

The Griffin Firm, PLLC Committed to providing services and supports to increase the capacity of individuals, businesses, and communities.

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This week, I’m led to remind us all how important it is to always tell the truth. John 8:32 King James says this, “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” If you are a preacher, speaker, or if you’re someone having a conversation with others, you never know who’s in your audience or in listening range that can confirm or deny what you’re saying as you give an example. I get invitations to travel as a speaker; and about ten years ago, I was invited to give two days of customer service training to government employees in the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Island of St. Croix. During my training, I gave an example of time I spent with singer/songwriter, and Motown diva, Martha Reeves, and how my service to her was so appreciated by her that she offered me the opportunity to accompany her as her assistant to her next engagement, which was offered by the Congressional Black Caucus. Her assistant was unable to come, so she really appreciated me and my service. Then I gave my group a break. While on break, one of the workshop participants called Martha Reeves on her cell phone to confirm or deny what I had said. The young woman learned that I was telling the truth; whew! What a close call! What if I had lied? Just because I was on the Island of St. Croix, far away from Detroit or Washington, DC, didn’t mean a thing. The most important thing we must always

do is ‘tell the truth.’ Scripture reminds us that the truth will make you free. As a speaker or trainer, I was taught to borrow good stories, good poems, metaphors, etc.; things well said. Les Brown taught all of his speakers taking training from him, that we should borrow drama to help make a point. Like Elton John, who said it so well about how short life is. He wrote, “Don’t live your life, like a candle in the wind.” This simply means life is so short, even if you live to be 100! This is towering language so greatly said, so uniquely said and done; there’s no need to change it. Just give Elton John the credit when you talk about life being like a ‘candle in the wind.’ Language touches the soul. Oratory is a dramatic way of saying something in a more dramatic fashion. Fortunately, when something is said well, the listener or readers understand! When you speak, choose straight talk; level with them; tell it like it is; put things in very simple language. Let’s take this example: Whatever you sew you will reap; or you could say ‘Whatever you reap is what you’ve sewn.’ Makes you look at who planted the crop doesn’t it. Look in the mirror. It was you. This is telling it like it is. Straight talk! Suppose you’re always talking about saving money. Are you doing something about that, or are you just talking. Take a look at what you’re really saying and doing. If you keep up your same savings habit, will it really take you where you want to go? Tell it like it is! It is the truth

with Lyndia Grant that tells the mind what is really wrong. When things are not going right in your life, don’t blame the economy, elected officials, and the government. Just tell the truth, and say “It’s me!” The only change that I need to make is with me. Like the old Negro spiritual which says “It’s me, it’s me old Lord.” And it’s not outside that’s the problem; it is within. This is dealing in straight talk; it is the truth that will make you free.WI Lyndia Grant is a speaker, radio talk show host and columnist; visit her new website at www.lyndiagrant.com and, call 202-2634621. Listen Friday, 6 p.m., to the talk show, 1340 AM, WYCB, a Radio One Station; Address 1250 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 200, Washington, DC 20036.

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RELIGION BAPTIST

AFRICAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL

Pilgrim Baptist Church

Historic St. Mary’s Episcopal Church

Pilgrim Baptist Church

The Reverend Lyndon Shakespeare Interim Priest

Rev. Louis B. Jones II Pastor

Foggy Bottom • Founded in 1867 728 23rd Street, NW • Washington, DC 20037 Church office: 202-333-3985 • Fax : 202-338-4958 Worship Services Sundays: 10 a.m. Holy Eucharist with Music and Hymns Wednesdays: 12:10 p.m. - Holy Eucharist www.stmarysfoggybottom.org Email: stmarysoffice@stmarysfoggybottom.org

Schedule of Services: 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

Worship Sundays @ 7:30 & 11:00 A.M. 5th Sundays @ 9:30 A.M. 3rd Sundays: Baptism & Holy Communion Prayer & Praise: Wednesdays @ Noon & 6:30 P.M.

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

www.pilgrimbaptistdc.org

Covenant Baptist United Church of Christ Drs. Dennis W. and Christine Y. Wiley, Pastors 3845 South Capitol Street Washington, DC 20032 (202) 562-5576 (Office) (202) 562-4219 (Fax) SERVICES AND TIMES: SUNDAYS: 10:00 am AM 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.covenantbaptistdc.org

Reverend Daryl K. Kearney, Pastor

5757 Temple Hill Road, Temple Hills, MD 20748 Office 301-899-8885 – fax 301-899-2555 Sunday Early Morning Worship - 7:45 a.m. Church School - 9:30 a.m. Sunday Morning Worship – 10:45 a.m. Tuesday – Thursday - Kingdom Building Bible Institute – 7:30 p.m. Wednesday – Prayer/Praise/Bible Study – 7:30 p.m. Baptism & Communion Service- 4th Sunday – 10:30am Radio Broadcast WYCB -1340 AM-Sunday -6:00pm T.V. Broadcast - Channel 190 – Sunday -4:00pm/Tuesday 7:00am

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

2498 Alabama Ave., SE • Washington D.C. 20020 Office: (202) 889-7296 Fax: (202) 889-2198 • www.acamec.org 2008: The Year of New Beginnings “Expect the Extraordinary”

Rev. Dr. Alton W. Jordan, Pastor 800 I Street, NE Washington, DC 20002 202-548-0707 Fax No. 202-548-0703

Sunday Worship Services: 8:00a.m. and 11:00a.m. Sunday Church School - 9:15a.m. & Sunday Adult Forum Bible Study - 10:30a.m. 2nd & 4th Monday Women’s Bible Study - 6:30p.m. Tuesday Jr./Sr. Bible Study - 10:00a.m. Tuesday Topical Bible Study - 6:30p.m. Tuesday New Beginnings Bible Study - 6:30p.m. Wednesday Pastoral Bible Study - 6:30p.m. Wednesday Children’s Bible Study - 6:30p.m. Thursday Men’s Bible Study - 6:30p.m. Friday before 1st Sunday Praise & Worship Service - 6:30p.m. Saturday Adult Bible Study - 10:00a.m.

Sunday Morning Worship 11:00am Holy Communion – 1st Sunday Sunday School-9:45am Men’s Monday Bible Study – 7:00pm Wednesday Night Bible Study – 7:00pm Women’s Ministry Bible Study 3rd Friday -7:00pm Computer Classes- Announced Family and Marital Counseling by appointment E-mail: Crusadersbaptistchurch@verizon.net www.CrusadersBaptistChurch.org

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

“God is Love”

Third Street Church of God Rev. Cheryl J. Sanders, Th.D. Senior Pastor 1204 Third Street, NW Washington, DC 20001 202.347.5889 office 202.638.1803 fax Sunday School: 9:30 a.m. Sunday Worship: 11:00 a.m. Prayer Meeting and Bible Study: Wed. 7:30 p.m. “Ambassadors for Christ to the Nation’s Capital” www.thirdstreet.org

Greater Mt. Calvary Holy Church Bishop Alfred A. Owens, Jr.; Senior Bishop & Evangelist Susie C. Owens – Co-Pastor 610 Rhode Island Avenue, NE Washington, DC 20002 (202) 529-4547 office • (202) 529-4495 fax Sunday Worship Service: 8 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 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

Isle of Patmos Baptist Church Reverend Dr. Calvin L. Matthews • Senior Pastor 1200 Isle of Patmos Plaza, Northeast Washington, DC 20018 Office: (202) 529-6767 Fax: (202) 526-1661 Sunday Worship Services: 7:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. Holy Communion: 2nd Sunday at 7:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. Sunday Church School: 9:20 a.m. Seniors Bible Study: Tuesdays at 10:30 a.m. Noon Day Prayer Service: Tuesdays at Noon Bible Study: Tuesdays at 7 p.m. Motto: “A Ministry of Reconciliation Where Everybody is Somebody!” Website: http://isleofpatmosbc.org Church Email: ipbcsecretary@verizon.net

ST Marks Baptist Come Worship with us... St. Mark's Baptist Church 624 Underwood Street, NW Washington, dc 20011 Dr. Raymond T. Matthews, Pastor and First Lady Marcia Matthews Sunday School 9:am Worship Service 10:am Wed. Noon Day prayer service Thur. Prayer service 6:45 pm Thur. Bible Study 7:15 pm

Reverend Dr. Paul H. Saddler Senior Pastor Service and Times Sunday Worship Service 11:00 a.m. Communion every Sunday 11:00 a.m. Sunday School 10:00 a.m. Bible Study Tuesday 12Noon Pastor’s Bible Study Tuesday 6:30 p.m. Motto; “Discover Something Wonderful.” Website: 12thscc.org Email: Twelfthstcc@aol.com

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

Mount Carmel Baptist Church

Mt. Zion Baptist Church

Joseph N. Evans, Ph.D Senior Pastor 901 Third Street N.W. Washington, DC. 20001 Phone (202) 842-3411 Fax (202) 682-9423

Rev. John W. Davis, Pastor 5101 14th Street, N.W. Washington, DC 20011 202-726-2220/ 202-726-9089

TV Ministry –Channel 6 Wednesday 10:00pm gsccm.administration@verizon.net

Lanier C. Twyman, Sr. Bishop

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

Crusader Baptist Church

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

2562 MLK Jr. Ave., S E Washington, DC 20020 Adm. Office 202-678-2263 Email:Campbell@mycame.org Sunday Worship Service 10: am Sunday Church School 8: 45 am Bible Study Wednesday 12:00 Noon Wednesday 7:00 pm Thursday 7: pm “Reaching Up To Reach Out”

Holy Communion 4th Sunday 10:00am Prayer and Bible Study Wednesday 7;00pm

St. Stephen Baptist Church

Allen Chapel A.M.E. Church

Twelfth Street Christian Church

Campbell AME Church

Sunday Worship Service 8:00am and 11:00am Sunday School 9:15am

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

Blessed Word of Life Church

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

Rev. Paul Carrette Senior Pastor Harold Andrew, Assistant Pastor

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

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

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

Church of Living Waters

Sunday Church School : 9: 30am Sunday Morning Worship: 10: 45am Bible Study Tuesday: 6: 00pm Prayer Service Tuesday: 7:00pm Holy Communion: 3rd Sunday 10: 45am themcbc.org

36 Mar 26 - Apr 1, 2015

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RELIGION BAPTIST

Shabbath Commandment Church

All Nations Baptist Church

Bishop Adrian A. Taylor, Sr. Pastor

Rev. Dr. James Coleman Pastor

7408 Livingston Road Oxon Hill, MD 20745 301-534-5471

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

Sabbath School 9:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. Service 11:00 a.m. Praise & Worship Preaching 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. Motto: “A Church Keeping It Real for Real.” Website: Shabbathcommandmentchruch.org Email: Praisebetoyhwh@gmail.com

Zion Baptist Church

Website: www.allnationsbaptistchurch.com All Nations Baptist Church – A Church of Standards

“Where Jesus is the King”

Israel Baptist Church

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

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

Rev. Aubrey C. Lewis Pastor 1415 Gallatin Street, NW Washington, DC 20011-3851 P: (202) 726-5940 Sunday Worship: 11:00 a.m. Sunday School: 9:15 a.m. Holy Communion: 11:00 a.m., 3rd Sun. Bible Institute Wednesday - 1:30 pm Prayer Meeting Wednesday - 12:00 Noon

Rev. Dr. Maxwell M. Washington Pastor Worshiping Location Knights of Columbus - 1633 Tucker Road Fort Washington, MD 20744 (240) 838-7074 Order of Services Sunday Worship Services: 10:00 am Sunday School: 9:00 am Holy Communion 3rd Sunday Morning Prayer / Bible Study: 6:15 pm - 7:20 pm (Tuesday)

Lincoln Park United Methodist Church Rev. Dr. Diane Dixon Proctor, Pastor 1301 North Carolina Ave. N E Washington, D C 20002 202 543 1318 lpumconthegrow@gmail.com

Sunday Worship Service: 10:00 A.M. Sunday School: 8:30 A.M. Holy Communion1st Sunday: 10:00 A.M. Prayer Service: Wednesday at 6:30 P.M. Bible Study: Wednesday at 7:00 P.M.

Mount Moriah Baptist Church

www.lpumcdc.org Sunday worship 10: am Holy Communion first Sunday 10: am Sunday school 9: am Bible Study each Wednesday @ 12 noon and 6:30pm Motto: “A CHURCH ON THE GROW”.

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Dr. Lucius M. Dalton, Senior Pastor 1636 East Capitol Street, NE Washington, DC 20003 Telephone: 202-544-5588 Fax: 202-544-2964

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Sunday Worship Services: 7:45 am and 10:45 am Holy Communion: 1st Sundays at 7:45 am and 10:45 am Sunday School: 9:30 am Prayer & Praise Service: Tuesdays at 12 noon and 6:30 pm Bible Study: Tuesdays at 1 pm and 7 pm Youth Bible Study: Fridays at 7 pm Web: www.mountmoriahchurch.org Email: mtmoriah@mountmoriahchurch.org

St. Matthews Baptist Church

2324 Ontario Road, NW Washington, DC 20009 (202) 232-1730 Sunday School – 9:30 am Sunday Worship Service – 11:00 am Baptismal Service – 1st Sunday – 9:30 am Holy Communion – 1st Sunday – 11:00 am Prayer Meeting & Bible Study – Wednesday -7:30 pm

Rev. Dr. Morris L Shearin, Sr. Pastor

St. Luke Baptist Church

Rev. Daryl F. Bell Pastor

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

Rev. Keith W. Byrd, Sr. Pastor

Sunday Worship Service 10:15AM- Praise and Worship Services Sunday School 9:00am Monday: Noon Bible School Wednesday: Noon & 7PM: Pastor’s Bible Study Ordinance of Baptism 2nd Holy Communion 4th Sunday Mission Zion Baptist Church Shall; Enlist Sinners, Educate Students, Empower the Suffering, Encourage the Saints, and Exalt Our Savior. (Acts 2:41-47) www.zionbaptistchurchdc.org

King Emmanuel Baptist Church

Rehoboth Baptist Church

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tel: 202-291-6565 Salem Baptist Church

Emmanuel Baptist Church

Florida Avenue Baptist Church

Rev. Dr. Clinton W. Austin Pastor 2409 Ainger Pl.,SE – WDC 20020 (202) 678-0884 – Office (202) 678-0885 – Fax “Come Grow With Us and Establish a Blessed Family” Sunday Worship 7:30am & 10:45am Baptism/Holy Communion 3rd Sunday Family Bible Study Tuesdays – 6:30pm Prayer Service Tuesdays – 8:00pm www.emmanuelbaptistchurchdc.org

Holy Trinity United Baptist Church

Dr. Earl D. Trent Senior Pastor

Rev. Dr. George C. Gilbert SR. Pastor

623 Florida Ave.. NW • WDC. 20001 Church (202) 667-3409 • Study (202) 265-0836 Home Study (301) 464-8211 • Fax (202) 483-4009

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

Sunday Worship Services: 10:00 a.m. Sunday Church School: 8:45 – 9:45 a.m. Holy Communion: Every First Sunday Intercessory Prayer: Monday – 7:00-8:00 p.m. Pastor’s Bible Study: Wednesday –7:45 p.m. Midweek Prayer: Wednesday – 7:00 p.m. Noonday Prayer Every Thursday

9:30AM. Sunday Church School 11:00 Am. Sunday Worship Service The Lord’s Supper 1st Sunday Wednesday 7:00pm Prayer & Praise Services 7:30pm. Bible Study Saturday before 4th Sunday Men, Women, Youth Discipleship Ministries 10:30am A Christ Centered Church htubc@comcast.net

Matthews Memorial Baptist Church

Sermon On The Mount Temple Of Joy Apostolic Faith

Christ Embassy DC

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

Dr. C. Matthew Hudson, Jr, Pastor

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

Elder Herman L. Simms, Pastor

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

Kelechi Ajieren Coordinator

Early Worship Service 7:30a.m Worship Service 10:45a.m. New Members Class 9:30a.m. Holy Communion : 1st Sunday -10:45a.m Church School 9:30a.m. Prayer, Praise and Bible Study: Wednesday 7p.m Bible Study : Saturday: 11a.m. Baptism: 4th Sunday – 10:45a.m “Empowered to love and Challenged to Lead a Multitude of Souls to Christ”

Sunday Worship Service 10:00 A.M.

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

Peace Baptist Church

Rev. Stephen E. Tucker Senior Pastor

Rev. Dr. Michael T. Bell

Sunday Morning Worship Service 7:15 am & 10:50 am Sunday School 9:30am Sunday Morning Worship Service 10:50am Wednesday Prayer & Testimonies Service 7:30pm Wednesday School of the Bible 8:00pm Wednesday - Midweek Prayer Service 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm

Services: Sunday Worship 11 AM Sunday School 10 AM Wednesday Mid-Week Worship, Prayer & Bible Study - Wed. 7 PM “A Church Where Love Is Essential and Praise is Intentional”

“The Loving Church of the living lord “ Email Address pbcexec@verizon.net

Shiloh Baptist Church

First Rising Mt. Zion Baptist Church

1864-2014

Rev. Alonzo Hart Pastor

Rev. Dr. Wallace Charles Smith Pastor

Rev. Reginald M. Green, Sr., Interim Pastor

621 Alabama Avenue, S.E. • Washington, D.C. 20032 P: (202) 561-1111 F: (202) 561-1112

917 N St. NW • Washington, DC 20001 (202) 232-4294

9th & P Street, N.W. • W. D.C. 20001 (202) 232-4200

602 N Street NW • Washington, D.C. 20001 Office:(202) 289-4480 Fax: (202) 289-4595

The Church Where GOD Is Working.... And We Are Working With GOD

Sunrise Prayer Services - Sunday 7:00 a.m.

Sunday Morning Prayer Service: 8:00 a.m. Sunday Church School: 9:15 a.m. Sunday Morning Worship: 10:40 a.m. Third Sunday Baptismal & Holy Communion:10:30 a.m. Tuesday Church At Study Prayer & Praise: 6:30 p.m.

Morning Worship: 8:00 a.m Church School : 9:30 a.m. Morning Worship: 10:55 a.m. Bible Study, Thursday: 6:30 p.m. Prayer Meeting,Thursday : 7:30 p.m.

150 Years of Service

Theme: “The Kingdom Focused Church” Matthew 6:33 and Mathew 28:18-20, KJV

Sunday Service: 10 am Sunday School for all ages: 8:30 am 1st Sunday Baptism: 10: am 2nd Sunday Holy Communion: 10 am Tuesday: Bible Study: 6:30 pm Prayer Meeting: 7:45 pm

Email: stmatthewsbaptist@msn.com Website: www.stmatthewsbaptist.org

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

Sunday Worship Services: 7:45am & 11:00am Sunday school For All Ages 9:30am Prayer Services Wednesday 11:30am & 6:45pm Bible Institute Wednesday at Noon & 7:45pm “Changing Lives On Purpose “ Email: Froffice@firstrising.org Website: www.firstrising.org

www.washingtoninformer.com

The Washington Informer

Friday Evening Service 7:00 P.M. ; 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

712 18th Street, NE Washington, DC 20002 Phone 202-399-3450/ Fax 202-398-8836

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

Wednesday Bible Study 7:00 P.M.

3000 Pennsylvania Ave.. S.E Washington, DC 20020 202 581-1500 Sunday Church School: 9:30 A.M. Sunday Worship Service: 11:00 A.M. Monday Adult Bible Study: 7:00 P.M. Wednesday Youth & Adult Activities: 6:30 P.M. 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 Order of Services Worship Service: 7:30 a.m. Sunday School: 9:00 a.m. Worship Service: 10:30 a.m. Holy Communion: 4th Sunday 7:30 a.m. & 10:30a.m. Prayer Services: Tuesday 7:30 p.m. Wednesday 12 Noon Email:mthoreb@mthoreb.org Website:www.mthoreb.org For further information, please contact me at (202) 529-3180.

Mar 26 - Apr 1, 2015

LEGAL NOTICES

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Probate Division

Washington, D.C. 20001-2131

Administration No. 2015 ADM 213

Administration No. 2015 ADM 228

Mariah T. Outen Smith

Geraldine M. Harris

Decedent

NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS

AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

Charles E. Hall, whose address is 518 M Street, NE,

Patricia Peterson, whose address is 205 Jennifer

Washington, DC 20002, was appointed Personal

Drive, Accokeek, MD 20607, was appointed Personal

Representative of the estate of Mariah T. Outen Smith,

Representative of the estate of Geraldine M. Harris,

who died on December 10, 2014 with a Will, and

who died on December 7, 2014 without a Will, and

Stephanie D. Stephens, whose address is 1221

will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs

Decature Street, NW, Washington, DC 20011-4413

and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter

was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of

Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose

their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such

Evelyn G. Stephens aka Evelyn Louise Greene Stephens,

whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in

Representative of the estate of Catherine Stancil aka

appointment (or to the probate of decedent’s Will) shall

appointment shall be filed with the Register of Wills,

who died on October 8, 2014 with a Will, and will

this proceeding. Objections to such appointment (or to the

Catherine Rone Stancil, who died on February 26, 2013

be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street,

D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor

serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and

probate of decedent’s Will) shall be filed with the Register

without a Will, and will serve without Court supervision.

N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001,

Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before September 12,

heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their

of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third

All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are

on or before September 12, 2015. Claims against the

2015. Claims against the decedent shall be presented

appointment (or to the probate of decedent’s Will) shall

decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a

to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills

be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street,

copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register

or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the

N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001,

of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before

undersigned, on or before September 12, 2015, or be

on or before September 12, 2015. Claims against the

September 12, 2015, or be forever barred. Persons

forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees

believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do

of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice

not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days

by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so

of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills,

inform the Register of Wills, including name, address and

including name, address and relationship.

relationship.

Administration No. 2015 ADM 218 Evelyn G. Stephens aka Evelyn Louise Greene Stephens Decedent

Administration No. 2013 ADM 741

Administration No. 2015 ADM 204 Wilhelmina P. Burdette aka Wilhelmina Phyllis Burdette Decedent

Bernard A. Gray, Sr.

Date of first publication:

March 12, 2015

Charles E. Hall

Patricia Peterson

Personal Representative

TRUE TEST COPY

Anne Meister

Washington Informer

Colline Silvera NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS

c/o Robinson Kirlew & Associates, PC

Washington, DC 20020-4201

AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

7731 Belle Point Dr.

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

appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such

Greenbelt, MD 20770 April J. Nickens, whose address is 5401 Stephen Pettko Court, Temple Hills, MD 20748, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Wilhelmina P. Burdette aka Wilhelmina Phyllis Burdette, who died on January 6, 2015 with a Will, and will serve without

Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before September 12, 2015. 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

copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register

forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees

of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before

of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice

a copy to the undersigned, on or before September 19,

September 12, 2015, or be forever barred. Persons

by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so

2015, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs

believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do

inform the Register of Wills, including name, address and

or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of

not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days including name, address and relationship. Date of first publication: March 12, 2015 Stephanie D. Stephens

relationship.

shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address and relationship.

Date of first publication: March 12, 2015

Date of first publication: March 19, 2015

April J. Nickens Personal Representative

Joe T. Winston

undersigned, on or before September 26, 2015, 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:

Administration No. 2015 ADM 273

Fillmore A. Lucas, Sr.

Daniel P. Mosley aka Daniel P. Mosley, Jr.

Decedent

Deborah D. Boddie, Esq.

Matthew F. Shannon, Esquire

1308 Ninth Street, NW, Suite 300

1420 N Street, NW, Suite 102

Washington, DC 20001

Washington, DC 20005

Attorney

Richard Phillps, whose address is 301 Springgarden

NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Rd., #80, Winslow, NJ 08095, was appointed Personal

AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

Fillmore A. Lucas, Jr., whose address is 3903 Terrett

Matthew S. Shannon, whose address is 1420 N Street,

on January 7, 2015 without a Will, and will serve without

Court, Alexandria, VA 22311, was appointed Personal

NW, Suite 102, Washington, DC 20005, was appointed

Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose

Representative of the estate of Fillmore A. Lucas, Sr.,

Personal Representative of the estate of Daniel P. Mosley

who died on April 29, 2014 without a Will, and will

aka Daniel P. Mosley, Jr., who died on with a Will, and

whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance

serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and

will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs

heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their

and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter

appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such

their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such

N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001,

appointment shall be filed with the Register of Wills,

appointment (or to the probate of decedent’s Will) shall

on or before September 26, 2015. Claims against the

D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor

be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street,

decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a

Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before September 26,

N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001,

copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register

2015. Claims against the decedent shall be presented

on or before September 26, 2015. Claims against the

to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills

decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a

of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before

or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the

copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register

undersigned, on or before September 26, 2015, or be

of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before

forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees

September 26, 2015, or be forever barred. Persons

of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice

believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do

of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills,

by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so

not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days

including name, address and relationship.

inform the Register of Wills, including name, address and

of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills,

relationship.

including name, address and relationship.

Date of first publication:

March 26, 2015

Fillmore A. Lucas, Jr.

Matthew S. Shannon

Personal Representative

TRUE TEST COPY

AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

Representative of the estate of Thelma Brown Harris, who died on April 22, 2012 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,

of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before September 26, 2015, 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.

March 26, 2015

Denise Scott

Richard Phillips

Administration No. 2015 ADM 247 Egbert E. Wilson Decedent NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS David M. Wilson, whose address is 1831 Upshur Street, NE, Washington, DC 20018, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Egbert E. Wilson, who died

Date of first publication:

March 26, 2015

Personal Representative

TRUE TEST COPY

Anne Meister

Washington Informer

38 Mar 26 - Apr 1, 2015

Anne Meister

Administration No. 2015 ADM 288

NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS

or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the

TRUE TEST COPY

Anne Meister

Washington, D.C. 20001-2131

Decedent

to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills

Personal Representative TRUE TEST COPY

Probate Division

Thelma Brown Harris

26, 2015. Claims against the decedent shall be presented

this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication

Washington, D.C. 20001-2131

Decedent

Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before September

Anne Meister

shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the

Washington, D.C. 20001-2131

Mary Ethel Berry

of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third

September 19, 2015. Claims against the decedent

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Administration No. 2014 ADM 1167

probate of decedent’s Will) shall be filed with the Register

A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before

Probate Division

Administration No. 2015 ADM 265

this proceeding. Objections to such appointment (or to the

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Washington, D.C. 20001-2131

whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in

Objections to such appointment shall be filed with the

Probate Division

Washington, D.C. 20001-2131

with Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose

unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding.

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Probate Division

on September 11, 2014 without a Will, and will serve

NE, Washington, DC 20019, was appointed Personal

Washington Informer

Probate Division

Representative of the estate of Mary Ethel Berry, who died

Joe T. Winston, whose address is 3318 Ames Street,

Washington Informer

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Washington, DC 20002, was appointed Personal

AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

Washington Informer

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Denise Scott, whose address is 520 23rd Place, NE,

NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS

undersigned, on or before September 12, 2015, or be

TRUE TEST COPY

AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

Attorney

decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a

Personal Representative

NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Decedent

2009 18th Street, SE

of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, Date of first publication:

Catherine Stancil aka Catherine Rone Stancil

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,

September 26, 2015, 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

Date of first publication: March 26, 2015 David M. Wilson Personal Representative TRUE TEST COPY

The Washington Informer

Anne Meister Register of Wills

Washington Informer

www.washingtoninformer.com

LEGAL NOTICES

CLASSIFIEDS

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131 Administration No. 2009 ADM 818 Edward L. Young aka Robert Edward Lee Young, Jr. aka Edward Lee Robert Young aka Edward Young Decedent Brett Cohen 7910 Woodmont Avenue, suite 1430 Bethesda, MD 20814-7047 Attorney NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS

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Brett Cohen, whose address is 7910 Woodmaont Avenue, Suite 1430, Bethesda, MD 20814-7047, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Edward L. Young aka Robert Edward Lee Young, Jr. aka Edward Lee Robert Young aka Edward Young, who died on April 29, 2009 without a Will, and will serve with Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment (or to the probate of decedent’s Will) shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before September 26, 2015. 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 September 26, 2015, or be

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TRUE TEST COPY Anne Meister Register of Wills

Washington Informer

LEGAL NOTICES services here: call Ron Burke at

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CLINGMAN from Page 24 place. To whom will we turn? Will Hillary help us? Will one of the Republican candidates help us? Maybe Dr. Ben (Carson) will win and come to our rescue. What are black folks to do in 2016 as we now find ourselves wedged between Barack and a hard place with no wiggle room? Maybe we could “apologize” to Hillary for abandoning her in 2008. Maybe we could do a public mea culpa to the Republicans. After all, we need someone to turn to now, right? Well, here are a few thoughts. Maybe we can now turn to ourselves. Maybe now we will fully understand the error of our ways and make appropriate change. Maybe we will finally

EDELMAN from Page 24 children could become uninsured, and millions more would have to pay significantly more for less comprehensive coverage. This would reverse the progress made over the past two decades and create a health coverage gap among children in working families. The vast majority of governors, both Democrats and Republicans, share our concerns about CHIP funds expiring abruptly. They are concerned about higher costs and inadequate benefits for children, budget challenges to cover children without CHIP, and an increase in uninsured children if CHIP funding ends. The Children’s Defense Fund strongly supports a clean fouryear extension of CHIP through 2019 because the new health insurance exchanges need at least four years to make changes to

CHAVIS from Page 24 One in 100 African-American women are in prison. Nationwide, African-Americans represent 26 percent of juvenile arrests, 44 percent of youth who are detained, 46 percent of the youth who are judicially waived to criminal court, and 58 percent of the youth admitted to state prisons, according to the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice. The recent public outcries about allegations of police brutality, prosecutorial misconduct and unfair targeting of judicial sanctions based on race and socioeconomic status are all symptoms of a much broader and larger systemic

work together as a solid bloc to leverage our precious votes against the 2016 candidates. Maybe we will understand that no matter who resides at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., black folks still have to be vigilant about our political and economic position in this country. And maybe, as we struggle to remove ourselves from between Barack and a hard place, at least a small percentage of us will organize around economic and political empowerment. The Barack experiment was cool. He sings like Al Green, dances like the steppers in Chicago, shoots three-pointers on the basketball court, plays golf with Alonzo Mourning, and even gets his preach on when speaking to black audiences.

In other words, Barack could make us feel real good, so much so that we kicked back, relaxed, and waited for him to fix our problems, to speak on our behalf, and to give us the same deference he gives to other groups. Now, we find ourselves between Barack and a hard place – no turning room, very little breathing room, and much uncertainty about our future in the political arena. There will be a new sheriff in town in January 2017, and our guy will stand there with him or her to give congrats and well-wishes right before he rides off into the sunset, back to Chicago, Hawaii, or wherever, to enjoy the fruit of his labor, and I do mean fruit. He and his family will be well

ensure children have comparable pediatric benefits with costs to families no higher than in CHIP today. It is highly unlikely these improvements will be enacted and implemented by 2017. CHIP coverage saves money for states and the federal government. It is more efficient than private health insurance, costs less than subsidized exchange coverage and provides the comprehensive coverage that gives children and families access to the pediatricians, specialists and special facilities children need. Four years of funding for the Maternal and Infant Early Childhood Home Visiting program is also a bargain. It brings quality home visiting to children and parents in every state and the District of Columbia and has bipartisan roots. Quality voluntary home visiting programs implement a two-generation strategy in which preschool children under age 5 and their parents benefit by being connected to community resourc-

es. MIECHV will end March 31 if funding is not extended. A fouryear extension will allow states to expand their programs and reach many more children. Almost 80 percent of families participating in the MIECHV program had household incomes at or below 100 percent of the Federal Poverty Line. As in CHIP, where states have flexibility to craft their programs, states that receive MIECHV funding can tailor their programs to serve the specific needs of their communities but have to meet certain benchmarks. Congress must stop playing politics with children and pass four more years of funding for CHIP and MIECHV as part of the doc fix package if millions of children are not to be left with uncertainty and at greater risk. We need to ensure our children are healthy, supported, and strong if they are going to be able to support our growing number of seniors in the future.WI

problem. The problems of inequalities within the criminal justice system are structural and institutional. While the U.S. is only 5 percent of the world’s population, 25 percent of the world’s prisoners are being held in the here. Yet the calls for reform of the criminal justice system are not revolutionary or misplaced. Both conservatives and liberals seem to agree that some fundamental changes need to be put in place when it comes to the nation’s courts, sentencing, jails and prisons. What is missing is a sense of urgency to get reform actions and policies established. Every day and every hour, black America is negatively impacted by the criminal

justice system. The Pew Charitable Trust has a study that documents the correlation between mass incarceration and the persistence of poverty in the U.S. There is no question that in the black American community, the lingering negative effects of imprisonment and poverty are closely related. Similarly, a revealing Villanova University study on poverty and criminal justice found that “had mass incarceration not occurred, poverty would have decreased by more than 20 percent. ... several million fewer people would have been in poverty in recent years.” We all should find ways and means to tackle the reformation of the criminal justice system as a

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taken care of, but most of our families will be in the same or worse condition, having been stuck between Barack and a hard place for eight years.WI Jim Clingman, founder of the

Greater Cincinnati African American Chamber of Commerce, is the nation’s most prolific writer on economic empowerment for black people. He can be reached through his website, blackonomics.com.

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top priority. It is urgent, and it is long overdue. So many lives and so many families are at risk. If we do not assert the responsibility to demand change and reform of a system that continues to brutalize and harm our families and communities, then we will not be our sisters and brothers’ keepers as we should. WI

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CURRY from Page 25 get to know me better. Something was amiss, and I wasn’t sure what it was. I was wheeled into a private room in the intensive care unit, where I was closely monitored around the clock, had blood extracted – usually at ungodly hours – and was hooked up to a series of instruments. A

hospital is not place to get sleep; it’s the only place in the world where they wake you up to give you a sleeping pill. I was told around midnight that at 7 a.m. Saturday, a stent would be inserted into my heart to unblock a clogged artery. At the age of 50, I had a triple bypass. I had played quarterback at Druid High and Knoxville Col-

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lege and never drank – not even wine – smoked nor used illicit drugs. Yet an athletic past and clean living were not sufficient. I was the son of the South and I had grown up in a family where our grease was cooked in grease. Now, 18 years later, I was told that of the three bypassed arteries, one was completely blocked, one was 97 percent blocked, and one was functioning finely. The surgery itself was not as dramatic as the bypass, which required the heart to be stopped temporarily. This time, the cardiologist made an incision in my groin, placed a stent over a balloon catheter and slid it into the heart muscle to

improve blood flow. I was awake, but did not feel any pain. From there, the ICU nurses — especially Glenn, Rene, KayLee and Shig — took fantastic care of me. They could not have provided better care, even if that meant waking me constantly. I had a follow-up visit and a stress test with Dr. Jigishu Dhabuwala at the North Atlanta Heart and Vascular Clinic before being released to the care of Dr. Boisey O. Barnes, my regular cardiologist in Washington. I spoke with Barnes during this period, and before I returned home, he had already discussed getting me into a heart rehabilitation program and

enrolling me in a Harvard study to prevent second heart attacks. After writing about my bypass 18 years ago, Bill Pickard, a Detroit businessman, said I had probably saved his life because he took some immediate steps to improve his health after reading about my challenge in Emerge magazine. At the urging of “Uncle Mike” Fauvelle of Setauket, New York, I am writing about my second close call with death, hoping that it, too, will prompt you not only to pay closer attention to your health but also be aware of the small signs of trouble and do something about it immediately if you sense something is awry.WI

DANIELS from Page 25

ucation, Jobs + Justice.” For the first time in the report’s history, we included a state-by-state education equality index and ranking. The index examines state-level racial and ethnic disparities in K–12 education, documenting the extent of black and Hispanic achievement gaps as compared with Whites in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The state education index also includes supporting data on some of the factors that contribute to narrowing or widening these gaps. The National Urban League adds its advocacy and voice to the chorus of education and civil rights groups, government officials and families demanding that Congress revisit and recommit to the original vision and mission of ESEA. When signing the bill, Johnson declared that our nation would “bridge the gap between helplessness and hope for … educationally deprived children.”

How can we begin to bridge the gap Johnson spoke of 50 years ago when all too often the greatest percentage of education dollars is allocated to already resource-rich schools? How can we begin to make the promise of equality in education a reality when we refuse to admit that equality in education does not always translate to equitable funding? The 1954 groundbreaking Supreme Court decision in Brown vs. the Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, made it clear that “education must be made available to all on equal terms.” But as long as Congress passes laws that continue to embolden state school districts to exacerbate inequities by providing less money to those with the greatest need, we do neither honor nor justice to the spirit of the law – or our nation’s children and future.WI

living in self-destructive conditions made worse by the exploitation of cynical wealthy manipulators. Why is it that bourgeois, privileged White college students can’t even go out and have a good time, without obsessing about the punishments (rather than the rewards Black folks are due from White America) they’ve inflicted on the very people whose debasement made their ancestors rich? Why? Why sell targets at shooting ranges depicting a Black person running away? Why? I’m no expert, but even I can see that is diseased, pathological, sociopathic behavior which is symptomatic of the need for contrition, atonement, serious prayer, and reconciliation, just the opposite of the direction in which too many ascendant political leaders of White society seem headed. Yes, there appear to be true hearts in the society, after all

these miscreants are quickly out-ed and condemned, but there remains a strong undercurrent which, if they could, would return the country to the robber-baron 1920s, when the Ku Klux Klan was on the rise and it was “open season” on Black folks. For me, I would commend the closing sentence of Abraham Lincoln’s first Inaugural address, for White folks to study and take to heart. “The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature,” Lincoln said. I guess we can say “the better angels of our nature” prevailed 150 or so years ago. There’s no question that White America— from the courthouse, to the police precinct, to the college campuses—needs a whole army of Better Angels on the case today. WI

tricts serving the highest percentage of low-income households spend fewer state and local dollars per student than in districts that have fewer students in poverty. The same shortchanging trend is the norm in 20 states that have a high percentage of students of color, where school districts are spending fewer dollars in those schools than in schools with a lower percentage of students of color. The National Urban League has been — and will remain — at the forefront of this issue, having advocated for equal economic and educational opportunity for 105 years with the clear understanding that neither is mutually exclusive. Last week, the National Urban League released our annual State of Black America report, which we titled “Save Our Cities: Ed-

MUHAMMAD from Page 25 maintain this country’s military hegemony and superpower status, even when those Black veterans had to watch some enemy prisoners of war treated better than them when they got back to the Good Ole USA. But no. Too many White people seem infected with an inexplicable disease which is rotting their moral fiber from within. Like the members of Sigma Alpha Epsilon and other fraternities, recently exposed and humiliated for singing a hateful, racist chant during a party excursion; like Joey Casselberry, shamed and banned from his college baseball team; like countless fraternity and sorority Halloween parties where they don Afro-wigs and blackface makeup; these are all priviliged young Whites, far removed from the lives that the people they mock suffer just growing up, just getting to school every day, The Washington Informer

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PEPCO AND EXELON:

Empowering The District We are a diverse collection of nonprofit and business groups that represent and serve the people of the District of Columbia. We believe the proposed merger of Pepco and Exelon will benefit the District’s residents, communities, civic life and business environment. If approved, this merger will create savings that will be passed on in customers’ utility bills, saving families and businesses more of their hard-earned money every month. It means honoring and maintaining Pepco’s strong commitment to workforce-and supplier-diversity programs. It means more jobs for District workers. That’s good for families, local businesses, and the District’s workforce. It means millions of dollars more that could be used for programs such as bill credits, low-income assistance and energy efficiency programs through a $33.75 million Customer Investment Fund. It also means continued annual charitable contributions and local community support – exceeding Pepco’s 2013 level of $1.6 million for 10 years following the merger. And it means $168 million to $260 million in economic benefits to the District. That’s good for communities and those most in need. It also means enhanced reliability of our electric grid and additional resources to speed storm restoration. It means a commitment to sustainability and corporate citizenship. It means continued local presence and local leadership. And it means millions of dollars more invested in our local economy. That’s good for all of us.

WE SUPPORT THE PROPOSED PEPCO AND EXELON MERGER.

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44 Mar 26 - Apr 1, 2015

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