April 2025. Volume 10. Issue 4.
Moving Into Spring
RECIPIENT OF THE DC BLACK MBA ASSOCIATION 2023 LEGACY AWARD
Serving Our Community in the DMV
Vol 60 No 28
Local Target Protest to Soon Reach OneMonth Milestone
D.C. Government Inches Closer to Furloughs, No Word from Congress District Residents and Organizers Use D.C. Emancipation Day to Reflect on Home Rule, Equity
Long Road Ahead in Galvanizing Shoppers, Vendors By Sam P.K. Collins and Dr. Patrise Holden WI Staff Writer and WI Contributing Writer During the earlier part of April– as civil rights veterans and young radicals observed the anniversary of the assassination of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (April 4)– the Rev. Graylan Hagler, along with other D.C. area clergy and activists, launched a movement in solidarity with a national boycott that has decimated Target Corporation’s profits. The national boycott, founded by three women in Minnesota, in addition to highly promoted efforts by the Rev. Jamal Bryant and the Rev. Al Sharpton, inspired a meeting between Target executives and the two clergy activists. In the nation’s capital, for at least three weekends, Hagler has stood among those posted in front of D.C. USA Shopping Center -- the site of a popular Target retailer. For hours at a time, he and other protesters, some coming from as far as Frederick, Maryland, stand in front of the shopping cen- 5 The Rev. Graylan Hagler, Ernie Fears, Donte O’Hara, ter, passing out information to consumers about the larger CMoneyDGreatest, Dr. Lewis T. Tait Jr. and the Rev. Patricia Fears hold “Boycott Target!” signs beneath the Target sign at goal behind the Target boycott.
BOYCOTT Page 47
April 24 - 30, 2025
Don’t Miss This Month’s WI Bridge Center Section
the Target located in the Columbia Heights Neighborhood on April 19. (Jacques Benovil/The Washington Informer)
By Sam P.K. Collins and Jada Ingleton WI Staff Writer and WI Content Editor As outlined in an order that D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) circulated last week, D.C. government agencies will likely start furloughs and facility closures in response to a $1.1 billion Fiscal Year 2025 budget cut that House leadership has yet to rectify. With the House still in recess, and City
FURLOUGHS Page 34
5A united coalition of concerned constituents gather in droves on April 16 to mobilize against forces jeopardizing D.C. home rule, federal and local government employment, and the wellbeing of marginalized Washingtonians. (Robert R. Roberts/The Washington Informer)
Pope Francis Dies at 88: Nation, DMV Residents Remember First Latin American Pontiff Advocated for the Marginalized, Clashed with Conservative Catholics, Celebrated Diversity
Ward 7 Residents Make Their Case for Equitable Development
ment of the pope’s death from the chapel of the Domus Santa Marta. “At 7:35 this morning, the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the home of the Father. His entire life was dedicated to the Faith leaders, politicians and people service of the Lord and of his Church,” Cararound the world are mourning the loss of dinal Kevin Farrell, the Vatican’s camerlengo, Pope Francis, 88, the first Latin American said in an official announcement from the pontiff and a spiritual leader, who died on chapel of Domus Santa Marta. Easter Monday. More than a barrier-break- Church bells rang out across Rome as the ing pope, Francis is being remembered as a news spread. POPE FRANCIS Page 40 humble servant leader who redefined the Catholic Church through his focus on social justice. Cardinal Kevin Farrell, the Vatican’s camerlengo, delivered the official announceBy Stacy M. Brown, Richard Elliott, and Micha Green WI Senior Writer, WI Contributing Writer and WI Managing Editor
Felder Fights for Investments, While Bowser Hints at New Economic Plan By Sam P.K. Collins WI Staff Writer
For Ward 7 resident Gail Perkins, every moment spent repairing her childhood home serves as a reminder about the hurdles ahead for District homeowners, especially those who become landlords. Last year, on the morning of Valentine’s Day, D.C. police officers serving a warrant for animal cruelty attempted to enter Per- 5Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner kins’ home on Hanna Place in Southeast. What followed was an and landlord Gail Perkins has yet to recoup hours-long standoff with a man by the name of Shephan Claude her losses, as she repairs her child home after tenants left the house damaged, in disarray
WARD 7 Page 34 and with unpaid rent. (Courtesy Photo)
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