RECIPIENT OF THE DC BLACK MBA ASSOCIATION 2023 LEGACY AWARD
Serving Our Community in the DMV
Vol 60 No 44
August 14 - 20, 2025
President Trump Announces Takeover of MPD, While Residents Respond to Federal Law Enforcement Presence
By Sam P.K. Collins and Stacy M. Brown WI Staff Writers
Federal infringement on local affairs reached, what some would describe as, astronomical levels over the last several days. More than a dozen federal law enforcement agencies encroached on District neighborhoods; a federal prosecutor demanded the reversal of legislation that has secured the early release of those sentenced to prison as youth; and on Monday, President Donald Trump announced he is seizing control of the Metropolitan Police
Department (MPD). Although Trump explained his decision is about combating crime in D.C., “formally declaring a public safety emergency,” data from his own Justice Department reveals a different story. In 2024 the violent crime rate in the nation’s capital fell 35% from the year before, hitting a 30-year low. He said that his announcement marked “Liberation Day for D.C.,” vowing to “wipe out crime, savagery, filth, and scum” in the capital. Howeve, homicides dropped 32%, robberies: 39%, armed carjackings:
TAKEOVER Page 23
Lydia Curtis has long been a supporter of the Anacostia Community Museum (ACM) located in Ward 8 in Southeast Washington, visiting there many times throughout the years. However, when she heard a few
LGBTQ+ Youth Crisis Line Cut, Nonprofits Scramble to Fill the Void Local and National Organizations Still Working to Help, ‘We Haven’t Gone Anywhere’
By Ve Wright WI Intern 5Protestors with Free DC take to 16th Street, near the White House, after President Donald Trump’s announcement that he is seizing control of the Metropolitan Police Department. (Ja’Mon Jackson/The Washington Informer)
A Grieving Mother Fears the Worst for D.C. Jail Residents
D.C. Area Residents Rally and March to Save Anacostia Community Museum By James Wright WI Staff Writer
Capture the Moment Page 45
Former Resident Says D.C. Jail ‘Needs to be Shut Down Immediately’
By Sam P.K. Collins WI Staff Writer 5Washingtonians gather in front of the Anacostia Community Museum, holding up the “power” fist, during the Save Our Museum march and rally on Aug. 9. (Robert R. Roberts/The Washington Informer)
weeks ago that the museum’s funding had been zeroed out by the Smithsonian Institution’s latest overall budget with the support of the Trump administration, she sprung into action. On Aug. 9, Curtis, a resident of Ward 1 in North-
MUSEUM Page 37
Despite those who believe otherwise, the District has experienced a significant decrease in violent crime in recent years, due partly to what local officials credit as the passage of emergency public safety legislation, and subsequently the Secure D.C. and Peace D.C. omnibus bills. Such legislation, in turn, has caused the D.C. jail population to reach levels some advocates find unsustainable
While research shows that many LGBTQ+ youth are battling mental health crises, a major lifeline to help them has gone silent. The Trump administration discontinued the LGBTQ+- youth specific “Press 3” option within the U.S 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline on July 17, a move that many mental health advocates note is already causing a dangerous domino effect for queer youth, and the people working to help them. “This is outrageous,” said Brad Becker, founder and president of LGBT National Help Center. “The folks that call 988 are obviously, by definition, in crisis. When LGBT folks call, it’s extremely helpful to have someone that they can speak to who has a personal understanding of what it’s like to be a member of the community.” Since 2022, “Press 3” has provided LGBTQ+ youth, under the
DC JAIL Page 19
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LGBTQ Page 41