The Washington Informer - November 27, 2025

From Crisis to Community: Inside D.C.’s Collective Stand Against Hunger

Demand for Food Rises to Critical Levels While Funding Rapidly Decreases

By Dr. Patrise Holden WI Contributing Writer

Across the District, food insecurity has soared to levels nonprofit leaders say they have never seen before. This hunger crisis is not confined to one neighborhood or demographic; it stretches across the city.

Lines for food assistance in many locations extend out the door, stretching down sidewalks, in some locations, for blocks. Those in need arrive on foot, by bus, in older model cars, and even sleek new luxury vehicles. Many never imagined they’d ever end up here.

“Most people in these lines for assistance are working,” said Ashley Domm, chief development officer for Bread for the City. “They’re doing everything right, but it’s still not enough.”

While communities of color remain disproportionately affected, to-

By Sam P.K. Collins WI Staff Writer

During its Nov. 18 additional legislative meeting, the D.C. Council kept it relatively short with its confirmation of Rachel Pierre as director of the D.C. Department of Human Services (DHS), and the approval of revenue bonds projects for The Field School, Children’s National Medical Center, Early Childhood Academy Public Charter School, and Richard Wright Public Charter School.

Other agenda items concerned the jurisdictional transfer of National Park Service land for the construction of the 11th Street Bridge Park, and the approval of a resolution recognizing the

By Jada Ingleton WI Content Editor

Reflecting on the catalyst for civil justice in his life, Frank Smith Jr., founder of the African American Civil War Museum, credits the “quiet strength” of a 42-year-old seamstress on December 1, 1955, when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat and sparked a revolution in the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

“Not only did she ignite that fire in

Page 17

3 Dr. Rubin Patterson, dean of Howard University’s College of Arts and Sciences, leads a discussion on environmental justice and stewardship with District advocates Kari Fulton, Akiima Price, and the Rev. Dr. Benjamin Chavis Jr., in Northwest, D.C., on Nov. 13. (Jada Ingleton/The Washington Informer)

Advocates Push Black Youth to Live Green

By Jada Ingleton WI Content Editor

From threats to eco-friendly policies and protections, to reneges on climate action, the Trump administration has taken a clear stance on the environment that won’t stand

for the District’s green advocates. Howard University’s Gwendolyn S. and Colbert I. King Endowed Chair of Public Policy program, chaired by Marie Johns, presented a two-hour panel on Nov. 13 titled “From Awareness to Action: Building Resilient Com-

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STACY M. BROWN WI SENIOR WRITER

Plans Set for the 2026 National Cherry Blossom Festival

The National Cherry Blossom Festival unveiled plans for the 2026 Festival and unveiled the Official Artwork created by Tim Yanke, at a launch and unofficial reveal event at Sequoia DC and Washington Harbour in Northwest, D.C. on Nov. 20.

District officials, National Cherry Blossom Festival leadership and sponsors, staff from the Embassy of Japan and special guests not only announced the plans for next year’s programming, but brought beautiful spring vibes despite the chilly November day.

“Each year’s launch sets the stage with a countdown to spring and for an unforgettable festival season— one filled with music, art, community, and new experiences for everyone to enjoy,” said Diana Mayhew, president and CEO of the National Cherry Blossom Festival.

Festival officials revealed “America in Bloom,” the original artwork for the 2026 festival by Tim Yanke.

A Detroit-based artist represented by Park West

Gallery, Yanke’s distinctive “Neo-West” style blends abstract expressionism and Americana. The artist is known for his bold use of color and rhythm, drawing inspiration from vivid hues and cultural symbols, with recurring motifs such as dragonflies and the American flag.

Yanke’s art has been exhibited internationally and collected worldwide.

“Being chosen as the official artist for the National Cherry Blossom Festival is both an honor and a heartfelt moment in my journey as an artist,” said Yanke. “My underlying abstract approach allows me to translate the spirit of the Festival—its color, its movement, its joy—rather than simply depicting the blossoms literally. I hope to foster a personal connection while reminding people that beauty and friendship, like the blossoms themselves, are fleeting and meant to be shared.”

CHERRY BLOSSOM Page 5

Viola Fletcher, Voice of Greenwood and Global Symbol of Resilience, Dies at

111

Viola Fletcher, who carried the memory of Tulsa’s shame and the nation’s unfinished business longer than any other living soul, died on Nov. 24 at age 111.

She stood as the oldest known survivor of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, the burning of Greenwood and the attempted erasure of Black prosperity that white mobs tried to silence forever. Tulsa Mayor Monroe Nichols said her death marks a moment of mourning for a city still learning how to reckon with its own truth.

“Today, our city mourns the loss of Mother Viola Fletcher, a survivor of one of the darkest chapters in our city’s

FLETCHER Page 5

Remembering Imam Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin: Activist Formerly Known as H. Rap Brown Dead at 82

Death Reignites Demands for Justice and Recognition of a Life the Government Tried to Silence

Long before his death on Sunday at the age of 82 in a North Carolina federal medical facility, Imam Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin— the activist formerly known as H. Rap Brown— did not wait for permission to define himself.

Far before federal agents called him a menace and politicians wrote laws in his name, he was a young man from Baton Rouge who believed the country needed an honest confrontation with its own history.

“Violence is necessary. Violence is a part of America’s culture. It is as American as cherry pie,” he said during the height of the Black Power movement.

Al-Amin grew up fighting his way to and from school.

He was sent to a Catholic orphanage for discipline

and learned early that resistance required both strength and wit. He earned the nickname “Rap” for his unmatched wordplay on the streets of Baton Rouge.

His political direction began with his older brother, Ed Brown, who introduced him to the Nonviolent Action Group at Howard University, where the activist met future movement leaders like Courtland Cox, Muriel Tillinghast, and Stokely Carmichael, who later described him as a serious and strong brother whose calm presence inspired confidence.

By 1967 the activist became chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee at just

Page 16

AROUND THE REGION

FLETCHER

from Page 4

history,” Nichols stated. “Mother Fletcher endured more than anyone should, yet she spent her life lighting a path forward with purpose.”

She spent that long life fighting for justice that too many leaders tried to bury along with the bodies from Black Wall Street. In Greenwood she was a child watching terror reshape a world that had promised her nothing but possibility. For more than a century she bore witness so the country could never again pretend not to know.

“Her legacy will be carried forward with the courage and conviction she modeled every day of her life,” Nichols said.

Fletcher’s mission reached the halls of Congress when she demanded reparations for survivors and descendants of the massacre. She testified with a steadiness that shamed a nation still unwilling to repair what it helped set ablaze. She reminded lawmakers she had lived through state sponsored violence and had lived long enough to see the excuses that followed.

She co-authored her memoir “Don’t Let Them Bury My Story” (2023) with her grandson, refusing to allow America the comfort of forgetting.

She left her words in the archives of Oklahoma State University through oral histories that insisted history would not escape the sound of her voice. Her labor began early. During World War II she worked in a shipyard as an assistant welder. Later she cleaned houses with a determination that carried her well into her eighties. She built a life out of the ashes she was never meant to rise from.

The world took notice of her strength.

During a 2021 journey to Ghana, she received the title “NaaLamiley,” translated as someone strong enough to stand the test of time. Her vision

inspired the Viola Ford Fletcher Foundation, which promotes education, health, and economic opportunity. Community members honored her in ways large and small, including the gift of custom dentures created to recognize her legacy and impact.

Three years ago she stood with her brother, Hughes Van Ellis— known as Uncle Red— inside Ghana’s embassy in Washington. She was 108 then. He was 101. Both were sworn in as citizens of Ghana in a ceremony filled with music, dancing children, and the full weight of ancestral return. It was the first time anyone had been sworn in as a citizen inside the Ghanaian embassy.

“I’m so grateful to all. I thank you so much for this honor,” Fletcher said before signing her citizenship papers.

Her brother echoed her sentiment.

“I’m so thankful to Ghana, and all of you,” Ellis stated.

Oklahoma State Rep. Regina Goodwin attended the ceremony, along with journalist Tiffany Cross and Ambassador Erieka Bennett.

Bennett spoke of heritage that surpasses borders.

“You don’t have to be born in Africa to be an African,” Bennett declared. “Africa is born in you.”

Cross spoke of feeling the presence of ancestors moving through the room, a presence made sharper by the endurance of Fletcher and Ellis. Goodwin said their lives proved that the African spirit cannot be broken.

“This is what it’s all about,” Cross stated. “The spirit of Africa, its powerful and rich history.”

Their citizenship ceremony became more than a celebration. It became a reminder that the diaspora carries stories the world still needs to hear, and that the road home is long but never closed. Bennett told the gathering that Ghana opens its doors to all who seek connection.

“Welcome home,” she said.

WI

CHERRY

BLOSSOM from Page 4

At the Nov. 20 event, festival officials announced exciting updates about the 2026 National Cherry Blossom Festival, including continuing programs such as Blossom Kicks for Kids and Blossom Tea Party presented by Events DC.

They also announced the Blossom Block initiative, an expansion of City in Bloom, which will partner with local Business Improvement Districts around the city to showcase the magic of the cherry blossoms throughout the city’s streets.

For the first time, the Opening Ceremony will be held at DAR Constitution Hall in Northwest, on March 21, expanding visitor access to view the cross-cultural ceremony. The Blossom Kite Festival on March 28 will recognize America’s 250th Birthday with a “Red, White and Bloom” theme for the Kite Competition.

Additionally, the April 4 Petalpalooza®, a signature event, will feature a new component, Cherry Blast.®

The 2026 Pink Tie Party will be on March 13 under the theme “Art of Fashion.” Attendees will be immersed in the world of fashion, from conception to couture, having the opportunity to strut their fashionable Pink Tie Party looks on the runway.

The event concludes with the announcement of the 2026 National Cherry Blossom Festival Parade® performers on April 11, which

will feature Season 7 American Idol runner-up, David Archuleta; Season 23 American Idol finalist, Gabby Samone; and ‘80s funk band Club Nouveau with more announcements to come.

The National Cherry Blossom Festival, one of the world’s greatest celebrations of spring, will take place March 20 – April 12, 2026. “D.C.,” Mayhew said, “is the place to be this spring.” WI

AROUND THE REGION

black

NOV. 27 - DEC. 3, 2025

SOURCE:

Nov. 27

1928 – Marjorie Joyner is issued a patent for a hair wave machine.

1942 – Rock legend and guitar virtuoso Jimi Hendrix is born in Seattle.

Nov. 28

1929 – Berry Gordy, record producer and songwriter best known as the founder of the Motown record label and its subsidiaries, is born in Detroit.

1960 – Author Richard Wright, whose best-known works include "Native Son" and "Black Boy," dies of a heart attack in Paris at 52.

1961 – Ernie Davis, a halfback at Syracuse University, becomes the first Black Heisman Trophy winner.

Nov. 29

1908 – Politician Adam Clayton Powell Jr., New York's first Black congressman, is born in New Haven, Connecticut.

1919 – Pearl Primus, noted 20th-century choreographer, dancer and anthropologist, is born in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago.

Nov. 30

1875 – Alexander P. Ashbourne patents an improved biscuit cutter.

1897 – Inventor J.A. Sweeting patents a cigarette-rolling device.

1912 – Famed photographer and film director Gordon Parks is born in Fort Scott, Kansas.

1924 – Shirley Chisholm, the first African American woman elected to the U.S. Congress and the first Black major-party candidate for president, is born in New York City.

1966 – The Caribbean nation of Barbados gains its independence from the United Kingdom.

Dec. 1

1933 – Grammy-winning singer Lou Rawls is born in Chicago.

1940 – Iconic comedian Richard Pryor is born in Peoria, Illinois.

1955 – Rosa Parks refuses to yield her seat to a white man, initiating the Montgomery Bus Boycott, which lasted for approximately a year.

1971 – Arthur Spingarn, lawyer and former NAACP president, dies in his New York City home at 93.

1987 – Carrie Saxon Perry begins her term as the mayor of Hartford, Connecticut, becoming first Black woman elected mayor of a major northeastern U.S. city.

1987 – Novelist James Baldwin dies in France of stomach cancer at 63.

Dec. 2

1884 – Inventor Granville T. Woods patents the telephone transmitter.

1891 – Charles Wesley, historian and educator who served as president of Wilberforce University and Central State University, is born in Louisville, Kentucky.

1922 – Politician and civil rights leader Charles C. Diggs, the first African American elected to Congress from Michigan, is born in Detroit.

1969 – Marie Van Brittan Brown patents a home security system with television surveillance.

1975 – Ohio State running back Archie Griffin becomes the first person ever to win consecutive Heisman Trophies.

1989 – Andre Ware of the University of Houston becomes the first African American quarterback to win the Heisman Trophy.

Dec. 3

1847 – Frederick Douglass starts The North Star, an anti-slavery newspaper. WI

P INT

BY KEITH GOLDEN JR.

With all the organizations requesting donations during this season, how do you decide which to support?

IBRAHIM MUMIN / SHAW D.C.

“I work with people I have a relationship with already. For example, I live in Shaw, around the corner where I live is Bread For The City. They are not just there for the holiday, they are there 365 days a year. There’s another organization that my wife is involved with that we give to. That’s how we do it, we try to go with people who we know and have a track record of making sure stuff goes to people who need it.”

LAWRANCE FELLS / SE D.C.

“Basically, I look around. I see lots of homeless people, I see tons of people that could use my help. I don’t really donate to companies, I donate to people I actually see need.”

JARELL BROGINS /

SHAW D.C.

“On my part… [it’s] community based… More so giving in a sense like feeding the homeless, keeping it old fashioned.”

NELL RICHARDSON / D.C.

“If there are kids that need toys then I would support one that [supplies] toys. If there are people that need food, then I would support food banks. Anything that helps others. That’s how I decide. Anything that provides assistance to others, people that are in need, people who are less fortunate.”

Our staff is made up of writers, just like you. We are dedicated to making publishing dreams come true. Trusted by authors for nearly 100 years, Dorrance has made countless authors’ dreams come true.

AROUND THE REGION

Republicans Escalate Federal Takeover of D.C. in Sweeping Attack on Home Rule

By Stacy M. Brown WI Senior Writer

For generations, the District of Columbia has lived under the heel of a Congress that does not answer to its people. Today the grip tightens once again.

With President Donald Trump (R) and his loyalists working to take much of the powers of Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) and the D.C. Council, MAGA Republicans have advanced new measures aimed at: weakening the city’s authority; overriding local decision; and placing greater federal control over more than 700,000 residents who still lack full representation.

On Nov. 17, Rep. Summer Lee, a Democrat from Pennsylvania, confronted Republicans on the House Rules Committee as they moved forward with two bills that would dismantle police accountability reforms and revive cash bail across the District.

“We are not in a country where one is presumed guilty just because they’re Black or poor,” she said, “but they’re assumed innocent if they are a white-collar criminal living on Pennsylvania Avenue.”

Lee warned that the foundation of basic rights was being chipped away.

“It seems Republicans have forgotten about ‘innocent until proven guilty’ and the Fifth Amend-

ment,” she said, “which are core tenets of our democracy.”

She added that fairness depends on access to counsel.

“It’s also why it’s so important for these people to have an attorney during these hearings,” Lee continued. “Which is why I introduced the True Justice Act to provide grants to public defender offices to expand their services to include bail hearings.”

At the center of the push are two bills.

H.R. 5107 would repeal the District’s 2022 Comprehensive Policing and Justice Reform Amendment Act, stripping back restrictions on chokeholds, weakening body camera rules, and restoring the use of military grade equipment in local law enforcement.

H.R. 5214 would overturn the city’s long standing pretrial system and reintroduce cash bail and mandatory detention, trapping poor residents behind bars before trial and erasing one of the nation’s most progressive pretrial protections.

D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton called the proposals both unjust and antidemocratic.

“We

are not in a country where one is presumed guilty just because they’re Black or poor, but they’re assumed innocent if they are a white-collar criminal living on Pennsylvania Avenue.”

“D.C.’s local legislature, the D.C. Council, was elected by D.C. residents,” she said. “And its members are accountable to D.C.” Norton denounced efforts by lawmakers from far away states

to govern a city they do not represent.

“They are the appropriate elected officials to dictate D.C. laws,” she noted. “Not Republican members of Congress representing the interests of faraway districts.”

Norton’s warning followed earlier condemnations after the House passed two additional anti autonomy bills.

“Today’s vote is yet another shameful assault on the democratic rights of more than 700,000 taxpaying D.C. residents,” the longtime delegate determined.

“And, House Republicans, none of whom represent D.C. or are accountable to its people, are once again engaging in disingenuous partisanship to impose their preferred policies on D.C.”

More Legislative Efforts to Control the District

These bills are only part of a larger slate.

Thirteen Republican driven proposals reach into nearly every aspect of District governance. They would give the president the power to appoint D.C. judges and the attorney general, lower the age at which children can be prosecuted as adults, widen congressional veto authority over local laws, and authorize federal enforcement of bans on tents or makeshift shelters across the city.

The combined impact is a systematic effort to shift local authority into the hands of federal lawmakers who do not live in the District and do not answer to its people.

District leaders have answered in one voice.

AROUND THE REGION

“We stand united against all 13 anti-DC Home Rule bills in Congress,” District Attorney General Brian Schwalb said. “D.C. is home to more than 700,000 residents who pay taxes, run businesses, and serve in the military,” he said, “and we deserve the right to set our local laws. Congress should reject this unprecedented federal overreach.”

Bowser joined that warning.

“We are united in our forceful opposition to the bills recently advanced by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform,” she proclaimed. “These bills are an affront to Home Rule and the principles of democracy and local self-governance on which this country was founded.

The mayor emphasized District residents deserve the right to elect local leaders who have the authority to determine the local policies that govern them.

“We urge members of Congress to reject this unprecedented federal overreach and vote against these bills,” she said. WI

Bridging Resources in Communities (BRIC), Inc. in honor of its 20th Anniversary and National Prevention Month, hosted its fifth Community Walkfor Drug Use Prevention and Mental Health Wellness in partnership with the Washington Nationals Youth Baseball Academy, Urban One's DJ Flava, the East of River Steelband and several drug use prevention, treatment and recovery partners on October 25. Approximately 50 adults and youth participated in the 6,000 steps/5K/3 miles walk at the Nats Academy field. (Courtesy photo/BRIC by way of Black Robin Media)

AROUND THE REGION

The Rev. Dr. James E. Terrell (center), pastor of Second Baptist Church of Washington, D.C. with wife, Judge Mary Terrell (left) and the Rev. Pamela A. Smith, chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (right). Smith served as guest preacher during the church’s 177th anniversary celebration on Sunday, Nov. 16. (D.R. Barnes/ The Washington Informer)

Visionary entrepreneur Delmus Nelson reads The Washington Informer. (Roy

– Alice Walker

Refuse Fascism Encourages Indefinite Mobilization Until Trump's Removal

By Keith Golden Jr. WI Intern

On the one year anniversary of the 2024 presidential election, hundreds of people assembled with signs and chants of resistance for the launch of a rally that has no plans of stopping until President Donald Trump (R) is out of power.

Presented by Refuse Fascism, a nonprofit established in the first Trump administration, the Nov. 5 demonstration brought numerous speakers and musical performances to Sylvan Theater on the National Mall, challenging issues and mobilizing support against what Sunsara Taylor calls “illegitimacy” within the government.

“Our time is now,” Taylor, a founding member of Refuse Fascism, told The Informer. “Either we drive him out nonviolently, or we give him the future. There's no compromise.”

Refuse Fascism established in 2016 with a mission to drive non-violent mobilization against, according to the website, “Trump’s fascist regime.”

Taylor credits her involvement in the creation of the organization to revolutionary leader Bob Avakian, who studied the rise of facism in America for 30 years and developed what is called “New Synthesis of Communism.”

While studying Avakian's work, Taylor came across a belief that America is split between two countries that can no longer be contained.

Citing Trump-led executive orders, federal cuts and militarization against American citizens, she likened the theory to the modern examples of facism– which is defined by elements of dictatorship, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition.

“It's not just Trump being a racist, it's not just Trump being a woman-hater, it's not just Trump being a fascist,” she continued.“It's the fact that the country and its coherence is being ripped apart.”

Thus, the organizer noted the unique factor of the rally is the daily desire to affect change and reshape

5 Protesters gather at Sylvan Theater in Northwest, D.C. on Nov. 5, with many yelling “Trump must go now,” as part of the Refuse Fascism rally. (Keith Golden Jr./The Washington Informer)

the political climate, topped with a promise to peacefully rally in various places around the district until Trump is removed from office.

“We need to stand together in this fight because their future [is] my future,” she said, “even if we have different visions, none of them are possible if we don't stand together now.”

Micheal Fanone, a police officer who endured the January 6, 2021 insurrection, was among the main speakers, hoping to fuel courage in the continued fight against the Trump administration.

Following a riveting speech atop the National Mall, Fanone told The Informer his testimony to the crowd served as a reflection of what his comrades experienced during the attack on the U.S. Capitol, which is approaching its five-year anniversary.

“I think that it's important to counter the narratives that this administration is putting forward, especially now in their attempts to completely whitewash and rewrite the history of Jan. 6,” he said.

“Those of us that lived it and those of us that fought side by side to protect the Capitol and defend one another need to be telling the story of what really happened on Jan. 6.”

Having served in the Army for almost 23 years, Retired Master Sergeant Rig Madden said he attended the protest to represent Black liberation and stand against racism.

Donning an army dress uniform and holding a “f–k Trump” flag, Madden said to overcome the government, constituents need to attack what they value most: the financial system of America.

“As long as someone [is] going hungry, it should be illegal to be a billionaire,” said the veteran during the Wednesday, Nov. 5 rally. “As long as someone doesn't have housing, it should be illegal to be a billionaire, period.”

Additional items on the nonprofit’s action calendar included a Nov. 6 march through George Washington University, followed by a nextday rally before the Supreme Court to protest the since-denied congressional debates on changing legislation for same-sex marriage. The group also organized rallies at the White House on Nov. 15 and 17, and at Columbus Circle on Nov. 20. Veterans also planned a rally at Columbus Circle on Nov. 21 and two events Nov. 24: a March on Washington at the Lincoln Memorial and a “Surrounding the White House” event.

Taylor told The Informer she feels inspired by the Nov. 5 turnout and the continuous support for the Refuse Fascism movement. However, she adds, there is more to be done.

“I's a great beginning. It's also [why] we want it to be so much more,” Taylor said, “not just because we want it WI

PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY

Prince George’s County Public Schools Superintendent Discusses First 100 Days

Dr. Shawn Joseph Talks Literacy Goals, Achievements, Hopes for the Future

By Richard Elliott WI Contributing Reporter

Nearing 100 days in office, Prince George’s County Public Schools

(PGCPS) Superintendent Dr. Shawn Joseph is proud of some of the trends happening in local education and ready to tackle challenges through a comprehensive approach.

A key focus of Joseph’s administration is literacy improvement, in alignment with Maryland Superintendent of Schools Carey Wright’s efforts statewide.

“The big things I’ve found out that are significant for how we move forward is assessing how our

3In his first 100 days, Dr. Shawn Joseph, interim superintendent for Prince George’s County Public Schools (PGCPS), is proud of his administration’s success in improving transportation and assessing literacy. (Courtesy Photo/ PGCPS)

first historically Black college or university (HBCU)— Joseph described himself as “meticulous and focused on detail.”

County Executive Aisha Braveboy (D) appointed Joseph to serve as the interim superintendent on June 18, pending a national search by the Board of Education.

children are doing in reading and math. We get a lot of different data sources in the state. In one file, we can compare our kids to other kids,” Joseph said in a recent WIN-TV interview with Washington Informer Publisher Denise Rolark Barnes.

“What I’ve found is that, in Prince George’s County, which is 96% Black and Latino, our students do equal to or better than Black and Latino students across the state. In fact, Black and Latino students had higher achievement rates in Prince George’s.”

He also touted improvements to the county’s transportation system, including a significant reduction in bus driver vacancies.

“We’ve had a dramatic increase in getting our bus routes filled. Our new app, Chipmunk, gives families much more insight on where the buses are and if they are coming on time,” he said. “We have worked to ensure that families have access to this information.”

Some of his additional focus areas include: addressing truancy, expanding dual-enrollment programs for high school students and improving special education. He also plans to invest in professional development opportunities for educators.

“As I think about the budget for next year, I think we have to make major investments in professional development. We need to recruit and retain the best teachers we can find,” he said. “We need to make sure that we train new teachers as well.”

Who is Superintendent Joseph?

A Long Island native who attended Lincoln University— the nation’s

“I could not think of a better person, and I happened to be right,” she said during an Oct. 3 speech recapping her first 100 days as County Executive. “Within days of his appointment, he solved a nearly year-long standoff with the teachers. Our teachers entered this school year among the highest paid in the region, and supported by a superintendent and administration with experience in the school system and a history of listening and offering collaborative solutions.”

She spoke alongside Joseph at Crossland High School to announce the expansion of tuition-free dual-enrollment opportunities for PGCPS students.

“The Dual in the Schools expansion is another vision that has been made real as my administration prioritizes achieving a world-class education system for our young people, and one that demonstrates how we elevate the County when we work together,” said Braveboy on Nov. 19. “I am thrilled by each new opportunity that we can provide for families and students pursuing higher education.”

The superintendent’s journey into education started after getting a teaching opportunity with a college student.

“How do we put someone on the Moon, and we can’t teach Black children to read?” he asked himself, after engaging with the students.

This curiosity drove Joseph to become an English teacher, Howard University professor, principal, and ultimately, a superintendent in one of America’s largest public school systems.

He previously served as the super-

SCHOOLS Page 13

SCHOOLS from Page 12

intendent of schools in Nashville— the first African-American to hold that role. During his tenure, reading and ACT scores improved while suspensions declined.

He was honored as the Tennessee Tribune’s Person of the Year in 2020, and Nashville Mayor MeganBarry (D) called Joseph “an inspired choice” following his appointment.

“His commitment to equity and access is critical to ensuring that every child has access to a world-class public school, regardless of their zip

code,” Barry said.

Now, Joseph is hoping to expand excellence to every corner of the county.

“As we look toward the future, we need to support our special education students and for us to better incorporate artificial intelligence in our day to day work, to reduce the workload of teachers and to streamline processes,” he told The Informer. “We need to make some bold investments in quality programs in science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics.”

WI

TWO RIVERS PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS Pour and Play Installation

Two Rivers PCS solicits proposals/price quotes from qualified, competent, knowledgeable, and experienced vendors for pour and play installation on outdoor playground at our Charles Young campus. To request a copy of the RFP, email Tameka Faison at procurement@tworiverspcs.org.

Proposals are due by December 15, 2025.

PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY

BUSINESS

St. Elizabeths Project is Set for Next Phase of Development

‘We Are in a Historic Transition’

By James Wright WI Staff Writer

Leaders of the St. Elizabeth East Redevelopment Project and area residents converged at the Old Congress Heights School located on Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue SE to talk about the latest developments on Nov. 18, and the event offered a great deal of good news.

“It is a good day in ‘the soul of the city,’” said Monica Ray, nodding to the moniker many Congress Heights residents call their neighborhood.

Ray, president of the Congress Heights Community Training and Development Corporation, was one of a half of a dozen speakers

talking about the positive actions taking place at St. Elizabeths East campus.

One of the first mental health institutions in the nation, the campus has evolved over the past two decades to become an emerging site for residential units, commercial and entertainment activity and health and welfare facilities.

Located in Ward 8, sitting on 182 acres of land in the middle of Congress Heights, the campus is buttressed by Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue SE on the west and Alabama Avenue SE by the east.

There is already so much to offer at St. Elizabeths East, including: Sycamore and Oak, a retail village and entertainment space; R.I.S.E. Demonstration Center,

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a mini-convention hall; CareFirst Arena, home to the Washington Mystics and Capital City Go-Go; and Cedar Hill Regional Medical Center GW Health, the only comprehensive medical hospital in that part of the District.

There is more development on the horizon, which is why Ray was so enthusiastic on the cold, damp night of Nov. 16, as she met with residents.

“We are in a historic transition,” she said. “It is people who look like us developing St. Elizabeths East.”

Key Developments at St. Elizabeths

Jaspreet Pahwa, director of planning for the D.C. Public Library, shared highlights about the new Congress Heights Library, replacing the Parklands-Turner branch, located at a nearby shopping center.

“The Congress Heights Branch will be the first in the city to be close to a Metro station, the eastern

3 Monica Ray, president of the Congress Heights Community Training and Development Corporation, is involved in the promotion of the development coming to St. Elizabeths East campus. (WI File Photo/ Robert R. Roberts)

entrance of the Congress Heights station,” said Pahwa, noting that residents requested this accommodation. “All people have to do is to leave the eastern entrance and they will walk right into the library.”

Additionally, she said there will be large areas dedicated to children’s books and materials, an adult reading room and a recording studio for young people.

“It was the young people who wanted the recording studio and we decided to accommodate that,” she said, emphasizing community engagement was critical to the process of bringing the library to St. Elizabeths campus.

Omar Karim, founder and owner of Banneker Development, said he plans to build two mixed-use residential developments in honor of celebrated civil rights leaders: The Martin and The Malcolm.

“They are two of my heroes,” said Karim. “The housing will be workforce rentals.”

Ray said the development on the new parcels, consisting of Karim’s building and the public library, will be massive and historic.

“If you link Parcel 6, 7,8,9 and 13 together, you have a property the size of The Wharf,” she said, referring to the huge residential and retail establishment on the banks of the Potomac River. “It is my understanding that no Black developer has land there. What we have here at St. Elizabeths are Black developers and other professionals developing this project. You don’t have anything else like this here in the country.”

WI @JamesWrightJr10

Business

By James Wright WI Staff Writer

VABCC’s Hall Picked for Spanberger Transition Team

Ernisha M. Hall, president and CEO of the Virginia Black Chamber of Commerce (VABCC), has been selected to serve on the transition team for Abigail Spanberger, Virginia’s governor-elect.

“I am delighted and humbled to accept this important role,” said Hall. “The work ahead is pivotal for Virginia’s economic trajectory.”

Spanberger described the committee as part of a comprehensive effort “putting Virginia first” with a focus on lowering costs, expanding economic opportunity, increasing business investment, and creating a safer state for all families.

Hall has a commitment to econom-

ic empowerment for Black business owners in Virginia.

Under her leadership, VABCC has experienced significant growth and developed several notable initiatives including the Virginia Black Chamber Expo and Conference, the GovCon Conference, and the Empowering Business Ecosystems (EBET) business accelerator program. In addition to her role at VABCC, Hall serves on the Virginia African American Advisory Board to the Governor and is working toward a Ph.D in entrepreneurship.

“We are honored that Ernisha Hall has been chosen to serve on Governor-elect Spanberger’s transition committee,” said a spokesperson for the VABCC. “Her selection underscores the importance of inclusive economic leadership and the value of Blackowned businesses to Virginia’s future prosperity. We look forward to the positive impact this will have for our members and the broader community.”

Hall’s voice will contribute to shaping policies and programs that drive inclusive economic growth, support small and minority-owned businesses, and build generational wealth.

As a member of the transition team, Hall will help engage business stakeholders, amplify the needs of Blackowned enterprises, and bring forward perspectives that ensure equitable opportunity across all regions of the Commonwealth.

“I look forward to partnering with the transition team, business leaders, and community stakeholders to ensure that all Virginians have access to opportunities, investment, and sustainable growth,” Hall continued.

“This appointment aligns closely with VABCC’s mission of building a thriving business ecosystem and advancing Black businesses across our Commonwealth.”

D.C. Chamber Picks Perry as VP of Government Relations and Policy

The DC Chamber of Commerce recently announced the appointment of Keith Andrew Perry as vice president

of government relations and policy. Perry brings extensive experience across the public and private sectors.

“We are excited to have Keith join the DC Chamber of Commerce’s team. He will play an invaluable role in driving the chamber’s advocacy mission,” said Chinyere Hubbard, president and CEO of the DC Chamber of Commerce. “His wealth of experience in governmental affairs, public policy and organizational leadership will be essential in driving policy that will benefit growth and innovation across all industries.”

A native Washingtonian and graduate of Morehouse College and Howard University School of Law, Perry understands the importance of championing equity and access in public and private organizations. As executive director of the National Dental Association, the National Bar Association, and Southern Maryland Chapter of the American Red Cross, he has led high-level government engagement and policy efforts that have advocated for public initiatives.

In this role, Perry will shape legislative priorities, support the chamber’s mission and executive engagement and advance policy for regional businesses. His experience will be instrumental as the organization continues to foster the city’s innovative policies that will encourage economic growth. WI Read more on washingtoninformer.com.

NATIONAL

AL-AMIN from Page 4

23 and immediately pushed the group to remove the word “nonviolent” from its name. His speeches captured the rage of Black communities across America. He reminded audiences that Black people had waited a century after emancipation for promises that never came.

“Black folk built America, and if it don’t come around, we’re gonna burn America down,” he told crowds from college campuses to street corners.

Federal authorities responded with surveillance and suppression. FBI COINTELPRO documents placed him on a list of four men considered top targets to disrupt.

Congress passed the federal anti-riot statute in 1968 and openly called it the “H. Rap Brown Law.”

When asked for comment, AlAmin, then Brown, rejected the idea that a statute could contain widespread fury.

“We don’t control anybody,” he said. “The Black people are rebelling.”

His arrest record grew as law enforcement pursued him across

states. In 1971 he was wounded in a police shootout in New York, denied the charges, and was convicted of robbery and assault. He served five years in Attica.

That time behind bars reshaped him. The foreword to “Die Nigger Die,” originally published in 1969 and went through seven printings, describes his spiritual shift as a change rooted in self-discipline and study, noting that he embraced Islam and emerged committed to building a moral path forward.

“The mission of a believer in Islam is totally different from coexisting or being a part of the system,” he once said, according to Grassroots Thinking.

From Spiritual Leader to Political Prisoner

After his release, now known as Al-Amin, he settled in Atlanta’s West End. He founded a mosque, ran a small store, organized youth programs, and worked to rid the neighborhood of drugs.

He preached self-control and responsibility. He explained that the Muslim’s duty began with

teaching oneself and then guiding one’s family, adding that successful struggle required remembrance of the Creator along with the doing of good deeds.

To many in Atlanta he became a trusted spiritual leader. A local Islamic civic leader called him a pillar of the Muslim community. To law enforcement, he remained the militant figure they had pursued in the 1960s.

FBI agents infiltrated his religious circle. The New York Times reported that some investigations began shortly after the first World

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Trade Center bombing in 1993.

In 2000 two Fulton County deputies were shot while serving a warrant. One died. The surviving deputy identified Al-Amin. He denied involvement. Federal inmate Otis Jackson later confessed repeatedly and under oath to being the shooter.

The Fulton County District Attorney’s Conviction Integrity Unit interviewed Jackson but never moved to vacate the conviction.

In early February, The Informer reported many people, including the imprisoned activist’s son and members of the Imam Jamil Action Network, were fighting nationwide to help Al-Amin, who was suffering from a growth on his face while in prison.

His son called for immediate care in order to avoid the malformation killing him.

“He’s definitely deteriorating so I’m not going to do the whole ‘He’s okay, alhamdulillah’ sugar coating that we usually do. We need to keep making noise. He needs treatment,” said his son Kairi Al-Amin, an attorney and rapper known as Shaykh Ri, in a Jan. 30 Instagram post. “This doesn’t have to kill him, but it can….don’t stop mentioning the Imam. Keep his name alive, and make these people understand that people care about him.”

More than nine months later in a joint post announcing his death, Imam Omar Suleiman, the

younger Al-Amin, and Students for Imam Jamil celebrated the longtime activist and faith leader’s life and many contributions to the world, while emphasizing his newfound liberty.

“Imam Jamil Al Amin (H Rap Brown) has returned to His Lord. For years we fought to free him. Today he is free. From prison to paradise God willing. He never lost his dignity, his voice never shook,” Suleiman wrote in the collaboration post. “His innocence was proven, but the system didn’t care. We cared. We loved. And InshaAllah, we will continue to move forward with his legacy.”

Al-Amin’s Death Sparks Call to Action

After Imam Al-Amin’s death in federal custody, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and its Georgia chapter renewed their call for justice.

“To God we belong and to Him we return,” CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad said in a statement. “Imam Jamil Al-Amin was a hero of the civil rights movement and a victim of injustice who passed away in a prison, jailed for a crime he did not commit.”

Awad added that the justice system should reopen the case and clear his name.

Al-Amin’s life spanned eras of open segregation, mass rebellion, state repression, spiritual transformation, and community leadership.

He understood that freedom movements required structure and purpose.

In one of his clearest reflections on struggle, he said liberation movements had to rest on political principles that gave meaning and substance to the lives of the masses.

“And it is this struggle,” AlAmin said, “that advances the creation of a people’s ideology.”

WI

5 As part of a Rosa Parks Day commemoration in December 2022, members of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority stand near a replica of the segregated bus where the civil rights leader refused to give up her seat, leading to her December 1, 1955 arrest. (WI File Photo/Ja’Mon Jackson)

ROSA PARKS from Page 1

Montgomery, but she ignited that fire in the Civil Rights Movement all across the country,” Smith, a longtime activist, told The Informer during an Oct. 24 commemoration in honor of Parks’ death at the O Museum in the Mansion in Northwest, D.C. “It inspired me as a young Morehouse College student to start a…movement in Atlanta, to get in marching, and eventually to go to Mississippi for a group called the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee.”

As Dec. 1 marks the 70th anniversary of Parks’ arrest in Alabama, civic leaders and institutions nationwide are celebrating the revered “mother of the [Civil Rights] Movement” by emphasizing her lifelong legacy of resilience.

“It took somebody special in Montgomery,” said Smith, a former Ward 1 D.C. Council member. “She sat down, made us all stand up, [and] gave us the courage that changed the United States of America.”

The October event is one of many this year honoring the freedom fighter and emphasizing her vision, in a time when African American history, inclusion and contributions, for many, equate to a sitting grenade.

Institutions such as the Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation in Dearborn, Michigan— home to the bus where the civil rights leader took her seated stand— and Rosa Parks Museum in Montgomery will commemorate the Dec. 1 milestone with free day-of admission, interactive discussions, and mobilizations that highlight Parks’ overall legacy.

“We do a disservice by limiting her to this one action when it's really her decades of activism beforehand that prepared her for what she does in December of 1955,” said Amber Mitch-

ready making waves in civic activism throughout her home state.

Born Rosa Louise McCauley on February 4, 1913, Parks turned a lifelong battle with racial and gender discrimination into a catalyst for reform at an early age.

Soon after marrying husband Raymond Parks at 19, the civil rights icon joined the Montgomery chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored

People (NAACP) where she served as youth leader and secretary to former local president E.D. Nixon until 1957.

Guided by a deeply-rooted belief in the power of young people “to change the world,” Mitchell says Parks worked closely with a roster of emerging leaders, including a young Claudette Colvin – the 15-year-old who refused to give up her seat and was arrested nine months earlier.

“At [the time of Parks’ arrest], they’re coming off a number of different activities happening throughout Montgomery,” Mitchell explained. “Mrs. Parks had not only the backing of the NAACP in Alabama, there was also much work that had already been done…that kind of prepared for this moment.” WI Read more on washingtoniforrmer.com.

ell, the Henry Ford Museum’s curator of Black History. “A lot of civil rights veterans…tend to say they were at the right place at the right time, and then a combination of things happened. That definitely was the case with Mrs. Park.”

In Ohio, due to efforts led by Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-OH.), constituents will mark 20 years of celebrating Rosa Parks Day, one of several “lasting tributes” to the movement that began seven decades ago.

“As a member of the Ohio General Assembly, I led the fight to make Ohio the very first state in the nation to recognize Rosa Park's Day, and it was a proud moment for me,” said Beatty earlier this year. “For nearly two decades, Ohio's Rosa Park Tribute has engaged thousands of children, educators, and community leaders. That is the power of a holiday like this.”

However, the congresswoman’s mission extends beyond Ohio.

On Feb. 4, what would have been Parks’ 112th birthday, Beatty introduced the Rosa Parks Commemorative Coin Act, and joined Reps. Terri Sewell (D-AL.) and Shomari C. Figures (AL-02) to designate Dec. 1 as a federal holiday.

“Rosa Parks did not just make a moment; she transformed a nation,” Beatty told The Informer in a recent statement. “Her courageous refusal to give up her seat on that Montgomery bus sparked a movement that still guides us today. It is a fight we continue in our communities, in the halls of Congress, and across this country for our people and the soul of this nation.”

December 1, 1955: ‘More Than A Moment’

By the time Parks boarded the Cleveland Avenue bus late 1955, the Tuskegee, Alabama native was al-

INTERNATIONAL PETWORTH PRINTING

Global Ballet Collaboration Seeks to Provide Affordable, Inclusive Pointe Shoes for Dancers

Dance Institute of Washington and Joburg Ballet Tackle Elitism in Giving Tuesday Campaign

By Mya Trujillo WI Contributing Writer

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In an effort to combat limited access to resources in ballet, the Dance Institute of Washington (DIW) and Joburg Ballet of South Africa have partnered to launch a Giving Tuesday campaign aimed at spreading awareness and raising money to help ballerinas worldwide.

The organizations’ Point Shoe Fund will help dancers across the globe acquire pointe shoes that are affordable, durable and represent a wide array of skin tones.

“Access and barriers to participation in dance as an art form is widely problematic for me because I feel like dance is a human right,” Kahina Hayes, DIW’s executive director, told The Informer.

Considered a rite of passage in the ballet world, the pointe technique symbolizes the hard work and intensive training that ballerinas must endure. This rigorous dance style, along with its frequent rehearsals and performances, causes pointe shoes to deteriorate quickly, meaning ballerinas must replace their shoes multiple times a month. Doing so becomes difficult, especially when each pair can cost anywhere from $90 to $200, and when diverse tones aren’t readily available.

“It is very important to me that dancers from all backgrounds, but specifically, Black dancers, do not experience barriers to participate,” Hayes continued, “that they have the same opportunities and the resources to access it as everyone else.”

Having access to the right resources is critical in ballet, as one of the art form’s main goals is creating a perfect line with their body. If students aren’t able to buy them or can’t find any that match their skin tone, that perfect line is at risk.

At DIW, one student goes through approximately four pairs of pointe shoes each training season, and as they become more advanced, they may need two to three pairs a month.

The Pointe Shoe Fund prompts people to make the following donations: $50 to cover the cost of one

student’s toe pads, ribbons and elastics; $100 for the same materials for two students; $200 for a pair of pointe shoes for one DIW dancer; $500 for two pairs of pointe shoes and the required accessories; $800 to fund the purchase of pointe shoes for one student for an entire season; and $1,000 to buy five pairs of shoes for those training at the highest level.

Professional dancers can go through anywhere from 75 to more than 100 pairs of pointe shoes in a 35-week season. According to professional ballerina Nardia Boodoo, who danced with The Washington Ballet for four seasons, professional dancers’ shoes need to be able to withstand multiple environments and constant running and jumping.

“For a student, it’s pointe class, then it’s pointe class and variations, then

it’s pointe class variations in the show, then it’s what parts you are in the show,” Boodoo said in a conversation with Hayes, posted on Instagram. “So it’s very similar to… how a professional would be using those tools.”

Decolonizing Ballet: A Step Toward Authentic Inclusion

Aside from broadening the scope of access students have to shoes and the resources necessary to thrive on pointe, the Giving Tuesday campaign serves as a vehicle for increasing and enhancing representation in the ballet space to make young Black dancers feel like they belong.

WI

Read more on washingtoninformer.com.

Net Zero Energy Homes: Efficient Living Fueled by Natural Gas

Submitted by Washington Gas

What is a Net Zero Energy Home?

Net Zero Energy Homes are emerging as a smart solution for the future of energy-efficient housing. These homes are designed to produce as much energy as they consume over the course of a year. A Net Zero Energy Home starts with a high-performance design focused on energy efficiency features, advanced insulation, airtight construction, and high-quality windows and doors to reduce energy loss. Heating and cooling systems are carefully selected for high efficiency and paired with renewable energy sources, such as solar panels, to offset consumption. The result is a home that’s comfortable, built to last, and more efficient than a traditional house

How Does Natural Gas Factor into Net Zero Energy Homes?

Net Zero Energy does not have to mean going all-electric. In fact, natural gas can play a vital role in helping to achieve net zero energy goals. Natural gas appliances such as high-efficiency furnaces and water heaters offer reliable performance and efficiency, and can help lower energy bills. Natural gas offers dependable performance, even during peak energy demand or unexpected power outages. Its steady availability helps keep your home comfortable and your essential systems running throughout the year.

Washington Gas Partnership with Alair Homes

Washington Gas is excited to partner with a local builder, Alair Homes, to create a groundbreaking Net Zero Energy Home in Alexandria, Virginia — a home that represents the future of comfort and efficiency. This innovative project is designed to show what’s possible when style, efficiency, and smart design come together. Completion is expected later this year, and we invite you to follow the journey. Connect with Washington Gas on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram for exclusive updates and a behind-the-scenes look at how we’re building a home that sets a new standard for modern living.

Want to learn more? Visit washingtongas.com/netzeroenergyhomes or scan the QR code below for details.

HEALTH

Silent Symptoms, High Stakes:

By Stacy M. Brown WI Senior Writer

Pancreatic Cancer Awareness

Month is moving toward its final days, and in Washington the concern has only grown louder. Doctors, advocates, and families across the District say the disease is claiming lives with alarming speed, often striking without clear warning and leaving little time for intervention.

Conversations about sudden diagnoses, rapid declines, and missed symptoms are becoming more common from one ward to the next.

Across the nation’s capital, residents and health professionals are

pressing for wider awareness, quicker medical attention, and clearer direction on a disease that remains one of the deadliest in the country.

“It has been several people who have just died of cancer,” resident Eleanor Farar told WJLA in Washington.

Farr and her neighbors have drawn Xs across a map of their blocks to mark the homes where people recently died or are critically ill. What stands out for them is how often pancreatic cancer appears in these stories. One person died about a year and a half ago. Then another. Now six houses in a small radius carry the mark of grief.

At first, residents believed the wa-

Cancer Rates in the DMV, Combating Challenges

The District’s challenges with cancer have been documented for years. Georgetown University’s Office of Minority Health and Health Disparities Research has reported that D.C. continues to record high cancer incidence and mortality rates, especially among Black residents. That trend includes pancreatic cancer, which remains more common and more deadly in Black communities across the country.

Maryland and Virginia have their own concerns, but the two states also provide lessons in access and survival. Maryland was an early adopter of Medicaid expansion. Virginia expanded later.

ter supply might explain what they were seeing. D.C. Water said its evaluation found no issues and referred them to the Department of Health. The department later sent a formal response saying the area did not meet the criteria for an epidemiological “hot spot.”

Officials cited nine pancreatic cancer deaths in the area between 2004 and 2013. Residents say that number does not capture the four cases they have experienced this year alone.

Others in the community describe recent breast cancer diagnoses as well, deepening their concern that the neighborhood needs a more current investigation.

“My mom died and there is no history of cancer in my family ever,” said resident Aaron Holloway. “My mom is the first one to die of cancer.”

About Pancreatic Cancer

Pancreatic cancer is known for its silence in the early stages. The pancreas sits deep inside the abdomen, so tumors often grow undetected.

Symptoms such as abdominal pain, jaundice, oily stools, nausea, loss of appetite, or new diabetes may mimic ordinary digestive problems.

The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network notes that there is no standard screening test for people without a known genetic or medical risk. Patients often arrive in the hospital only after the disease has quietly advanced.

National attention to the disease intensified this year after Grammy-winning singer D’Angelo died at 51 following a private struggle with pancreatic cancer.

His case was covered extensively by Healthline. Several doctors interviewed stressed that diagnosis among adults under 50 is still uncommon but appears to be increasing. They said family history, smoking, chronic pancreatitis, obesity, and long-standing diabetes remain important risk factors.

“For individuals with a family history of pancreatic cancer or those carrying high risk genetic mutations, screening may involve advanced imaging such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) to detect early changes in the pancreas,” Dr. Ashish Manne told Healthline.

Medical professionals have continued to urge patients to tell their physicians about any unusual symptoms and any relatives who may have had pancreatic, breast, ovarian, or melanoma cancers.

Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D) has publicly supported funding for pancreatic cancer.

“Although awareness of cancer's prevalence in the United States improves and medical advances in the field abound,” Van Hollen said, “pancreatic cancer has largely been absent from the list of major success stories.”

Research published in Cancer Discovery, summarized by Oncology Nurse Advisor, found that Medicaid expansion is associated with improved five-year survival for several cancers, including pancreatic cancer, especially in rural or high-poverty areas. The findings point to the importance of earlier access to primary care, diagnostics, and specialist treatment.

In the D.C. neighborhood where residents have sounded the alarm, the drive for answers continues. The Department of Health has told them their community does not meet the threshold for a cluster investigation, yet residents want the city to revisit the matter using recent data. Each family says they simply want clarity. They want the reassurance that every possible explanation has been considered.

This month, the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network is urging people to learn the warning signs and talk with their doctors without delay. The organization says that conversations about unexplained weight loss, persistent abdominal discomfort, jaundice, or sudden changes in digestion are often the only path to early detection. The group also encourages people to discuss any family history of cancer, since several hereditary syndromes can raise the risk of pancreatic cancer.

Experts maintain that awareness can create a pathway to earlier diagnosis and better outcomes.

“The more we educate ourselves and others about who is at risk and how to detect it early, the better chance we have to save lives,” Dr. Laura Goff of the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center said in a published interview.

WI

AARP DC Staff Reports

Raise Your Hand: Join the Fight for District Caregivers

November is National Family Caregivers Month, a chance to recognize the contributions, commitment, and sacrifices made by America’s 63 million family caregivers every single day.

Across the District, 109,000 family caregivers help their older parents, spouses, or other loved ones live independently at home and in their communities—where they want to be. Family caregivers in the District provide $1.37 billion in unpaid care each year. They are the backbone of our long-term care system, spending countless hours driving to doctors’ appointments, picking up prescriptions, cooking meals, managing medications, and much more.

The Caregiving in the US 2025 report, released in October, finds:

• Two-thirds (67%) of District caregivers assist with activities of daily living such as bathing, dressing, and feeding.

• 58% help with medical and nursing tasks.

• 46% engage in high-intensity caregiving (more hours and higher complexity of care),

• And 31% of District caregivers provide at least 40 hours of care per week or constant care.

Most family caregivers don’t get paid for helping their loved ones, but they still spend plenty out of their own pockets—and it’s not cheap. On average, caregivers spend more than $7,200 a year, roughly a quarter of their income. Many end up dipping into savings, taking on debt, or cutting back on essentials like food and medication. For caregivers who are also working, many must reduce their work hours or leave the workforce entirely due to caregiving responsibilities.

But here’s the thing: while family caregivers do so much for their loved ones, they’re too often overlooked by society and lawmakers as they hold up a broken system. That’s why this month, and every month, AARP DC is shining a spotlight on family caregivers and calling on lawmakers to pass commonsense solutions that will save them money, time, and provide them with more support.

Among the priorities we’re championing:

• Protecting Paid Family Leave caregiving benefits for DC Government employees from proposed reductions.

• Securing funding for the DC Caregiving Institute, including the Homemaker Program, caregiver stipends, and Respite Services

• Advocating for continued investment in memory care programs supported by the Department on Aging and Community Living

AARP DC Is Here for You

AARP DC is proud to stand with our family caregivers, offering free tools and resources to help them navigate their role as a caregiver.

• Visit aarp. org/caregiving/, to find a wealth of information, including access to AARP DC’s Family Caregiver Resource Guide, which helps family caregivers find key programs, services, and agencies in the District.

• AARP Family Caregivers Discussion Group on Facebook. AARP’s official caregiving Facebook group serves as a place for family caregivers nationwide to connect, share practical tips, offer support, and discuss their shared experiences. Search “AARP Caregiving” on Facebook to join.

We can’t do this work alone. Your voice is needed to show lawmakers that family caregivers are a powerful constituency. Raise your hand and join the fight at aarp. org/iamacaregiver.

EARTH OUR

munities Through Environmental Justice,” set to reimagine the future of ecological progress.

Panelists included Kari Fulton; Akiima Price, founder of Friends of Anacostia Park; and the Rev. Dr. Benjamin Chavis, lauded as the “father of environmental justice,” while Dr. Rubin Patterson, dean of Howard University College of Arts and Sciences, led the immersive discussion that prompted the task: how to “build better forward.”

“Environmental justice has a long legacy, [and] it’s…not just an academic study— it's something that is about community and restorative justice and hope,” Fulton told The Informer. “There's possibility growing. I want people

to think about how they can find themselves [considering] being better advocates, stronger advocates, more connected to this work.”

Joined by Charles Lee, a pioneer of the environmental justice movement, and Howard University student-advocate Hailey Morris, Thursday night was nothing short of an American demand for better lives and health–– an exacerbated call in the hands of President Donald Trump.

As WHUT, home of Howard University’s television station, played host in Northwest, D.C., the United Nations annual climate summit–– known as COP30––was taking place in Brazil, with high-level United States delegates noticeably absent for the first time in history.

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5Howard University’s Gwendolyn S. and Colbert I. King Endowed Chair of Public Policy Marie Johns, student-leader Hailey Morris, and Dr. Rubin Patterson with environmental trailblazers Charles Lee, Kari Fulton, Akiima Price and the Rev. Dr. Benjamin Chavis, Jr., at a Nov. 13 panel at WHUT-TV. (Jada Ingleton/The Washington Informer)

During the Nov. 13 conversation, other key topics included: natural disaster fallout, artificial intelligence, and the dangers of water and air pollution in marginalized communities.

As for the nation’s capital, some panelists cited the alarming culture of displacement and “survival mode” as particularly harmful to local communities, notably in the predomi-

nantly Black Wards 7 and 8.

“The spectrum of justice and of the word environment is not…just these trees and grass. It's the living and non-living things that make up your immediate surroundings,” Price said during the panel. “Our people have the passion and commitment [for environmental activism], [but] we are so beaten down mentally— the crime and all these things that we continuously see… To really attack and sustain the level of effort that's needed to address [environmental injustices], I think people have to get out of survival mode.”

‘The Resilience of the River’: Recognizing Environmental Injustice in D.C., Beyond

For many eco-activists, including those at WHUT-TV, addressing environmental racism began with the 1987 “Toxic Wastes and Race in The United States” report, which Chavis, as then-executive director of the United Church of Christ (UCC) Commission for Racial Justice, led the UCC in publishing.

Based on a 1982-sit-in in Warren County, North Carolina, the faith leader and activist officially coined the term “environmental racism” after joining protesters against the state’s polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) landfill in their community— highly considered as the catalyst of the environmental justice movement.

“We can reflect on what happened back…when “Toxic Wastes and Race” was first published, or… when we had the first National Peo-

ple of Color Environmental Justice Leadership Summit [in 1991], and fast forward to now,” Chavis said.

Some 40 years later, Chavis, president of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), considers the state of injustice just as urgent and timely. To cite a few incidents that have since tanked the ecosystem: the ongoing water crisis in Flint, Michigan, "cancer alley” in Louisiana, historic mistreatment of Southeast, D.C.’s Anacostia Park, as well as the fact that 6% of all children in Harlem, New York live with asthma.

“These environmental sciences matter, because they're fundamental to what the future of life will be,” Chavis pleaded, “not only for the next generation, but for many generations to come.”

To that point, Price is taking the reins on a new form of environmental stewardship: healing inner communities, in order to heal the Earth.

The Friends of Anacostia Park founder delivered an oral history of the landmark River, emphasizing the origins of a site once flourishing in crops and trade that fell victim to sedimentation and industrialization, due to interference from colonizer John Smith and the European settlement.

Coupled with the bordering Barry Farms, one of the first places African Americans could purchase property post-Civil War, Price noted it a perfect storm of misconception and racial bias that has since left Black Washingtonians to pick up the pieces.

“There's so much resilience

LIVE GREEN Page 23

EDUCATION

in our people, in nature that we get caught up in this narrative of [Southeast being] dirty and bad from just having that experience,” Price said. “When you intentionally program [the environment] with people that need to spend time together, or intentionally empower family reunions in the park with opportunities to have conversations…[it’s] centered around care, and being trauma-informed is what Restorative Park Engagement is.”

From offering returning citizens work on the grounds, to “practicing love” by giving Southeast’s elders a place to explore “and feel needed,” Friends of Anacostia Park prioritizes the value of human capital in tandem with healing through nature.

Beyond saving the planet, the founder says the practice can help constituents “tap into their inner-power” while shaping mental health among low-income African Americans.

“Focusing on thinking about why people are shooting each other, why are all these things going on,” Price said as an example. “It’s so important to get them out of survival mode. If our mind’s not right, we’re not going to be able to subscribe [to] or join any of these larger movements that are going to ensure our safety down the line.”

Fulton, a longtime admirer of Price’s work, deems local organizing and awareness as key to reversing the trickled-down effects of environmental racism, which isn’t necessarily defined by toxic exposure but also “not having a say in that decision-making.”

The Howard University adjunct professor referenced Chavis’ groundbreaking research in North Carolina as well as the current uproar taking place in Prince George’s County, where Marylanders have been actively protesting a proposed Landover data center that risks raised energy costs, detriments to water systems,

increased air pollution, among other dire effects.

“And if you're targeting Black counties,” she continued, “that means that you're targeting the Black economy and the Black dollar.”

While applauding the continued efforts of Prince Georgians, Fulton also emphasized a need for direct representation in policy-making, fund allocations and statewide autonomy, topped with a way to ensure constituents can recognize what injustice looks like “in their own backyard.”

“Those types of opportunities are key,” Fulton told The Informer, “where we are able to think about the environment, not just from a personal or an abstract perspective, but from ‘every day I walk in this neighborhood. I live in this neighborhood. This is my Earth, this is my block.’”

Encouraging Today’s Scholars to ‘Build Forward Better’

As former president of Howard University Water Environment Association, featured guest Morris told The Informer college students of all disciplines are engaged in the environment, but it just takes a little push to meet them halfway.

For the 21-year-old graduating senior, that push manifests through encouraging Bison to invest in sustainable shopping initiatives, such as thrifting.

“[I ask them]: ‘Do you want to be wearing these clothes with all these toxic chemicals on your textiles? Do you want to use something that was made back when [clothes quality] was a little bit better [and sometimes more organic]?’” Morris explained. “This is the way to pull them in. And then I was able to talk more about other environmental impacts and community impacts that really pulled them in even more.”

With the 2023 launch of Howard’s Department of Earth, Environment and Equity (E3), Fulton works with E3 chair Dr. Janelle

Burke to expand the pipeline of environmental stewardship, including co-teaching courses for Title I high school students across the country. The courses offer young scholars college credit and a chance to reimagine a healthier planet for themselves.

“[We’re] getting students, out side of the classroom aspect, think ing about their own communities and how to use the resources that are available,” Fulton said. “You have a lot of technology that can be utilized…in how the day to day of our community works. People will be surprised how much they can make a difference just by get ting involved.”

While Morris encourages all Black environmental stewards to focus on “diversifying these spaces for better advocacy,” Fulton touts the importance of daily tools such as checktheweather.net and communal collaboration, shouting out her own pending database that will connect affected groups nationwide.

Growing Minds Start Here—

Early Education for Infants and Toddlers at the National Children's Center (NCC)®

Finally, Chavis tasked the room of young Black champions to think about how they can “build forward better,” starting with an increase in writing and research, effective distribution, and self-advocacy.

“We should not allow people to have a paternalistic attitude toward our community, as if they know what's better for us when we know what's better for ourselves,” the longtime activist and NNPA president explained. “There's no better expression than self expression— so how do we transmit our self expression about these issues?” WI

The Early Learning & Early Intervention Center (ELC) is NCC's flagship program and is accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).

The ELC's mission is to provide high-quality early childhood education and early intervention for children (ages 8 weeks up to 5 years) in an inclusive educational setting that supports every child's growth.

• Individual Learning Pathways

• Health Education Hub

• Daily Nutritious Meals

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• Urban Garden-to-Table

LEARN MORE AT www.nccinc.org/education

LIVE. GROW. WORK. THRIVE.®

70 Years After Rosa Parks, Courage Still Demands a Seat

The Montgomery Bus Boycott and the Legacy We Need Now

Seventy years ago, on December 1, 1955, a quiet but determined seamstress in Montgomery, Alabama, refused to give up her seat to a white passenger. Rosa Louise McCauley Parks’ arrest sparked a movement that would transform America—and the world.

Four days later, on Dec. 5, the Montgomery Bus Boycott started, marking the beginning of the modern Civil Rights Movement and bringing a 26-year-old pastor, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., to national and global attention. What happened during those 381 days remains one of the most remarkable acts of moral courage in American history.

It is important to remember that Parks was not the first person in Montgomery to refuse to give up her

seat. Months earlier, a brave 15-yearold single mother, Claudette Colvin, had done the same thing to protest the segregated bus system. However, local leaders believed Colvin would not be the “ideal face” for the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA).

That decision reflected the gender, class, and respectability politics of the time—realities that should not diminish Colvin’s bravery or the critical strategic sacrifices activists had to make under Jim Crow’s harsh scrutiny.

Parks, who passed away in October 2005, was a lifelong NAACP investigator focused on sexual violence against Black women and understood precisely what was at risk. She later said, “I had no idea history was being made. I was just tired of giving in.”

That simple, unwavering statement was the spark that started a global movement. Her refusal to give in reminds us that meaningful change often begins with ordinary people choosing dignity over fear.

As today’s political climate becomes more polarized— where voting rights, racial justice, and democratic norms face renewed threats— Parks’ example resonates louder than ever. She reminds us that courage isn’t reserved for the exceptional; it’s required from all of us. Her legacy urges us to stand firm, speak up, and refuse to retreat into silence or cynicism.

Seven decades years later, the question facing America is straightforward: Will we honor Parks not just with remembrance, but with action? WI

Ken Burns’ Documentary on the American Revolution Debunks Myth ‘All Men Created Equal’

The highly anticipated documentary, “The American Revolution,” produced by master storyteller Ken Burns and recently premiered on U.S. public television stations, provides an essential history lesson about the ironies, paradoxes and compromises that were necessary for the 13 colonies to secure their freedom.

But for those who prefer to blur the lines of truth about the Founding Fathers and white hegemony, this film may be a mind-blowing experience as it allows people of color— many of whom bled and died for a country that still treats them like second class citizens— to have their say.

Ironically, while Thomas Jefferson’s famous statement regarding equality, found in the Declaration of Independence has become a moral standard and inspiration for liberation movements throughout the world, it has often been accompanied by a disclaimer.

Jefferson, a slave owner whose documents confirm had a long-standing relationship with an enslaved woman named Sally Hemings and fathered her six children, crafted an idea that has sparked revolutions in Afri-

ca, Asia, the Caribbean, and Europe. Here in the U.S., his words have fueled grassroots activists who braved the frontlines for the women’s suffrage movement and the Civil Rights Movement.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness,” he wrote.

Burns underscores the ugly reality of U.S. history, pointing out that Crispus Attucks was not the only Black person who fought and died for our country, and illustrates the heroic decision by African Americans who fought for both the British and the Continental Army on promises of freedom that were summarily broken.

While an estimated 25,000 Black people fought on the two sides during the eight-year fight for independence— after the British surrendered at Yorktown in 1781, and even before the official ending of the war with the signing of the Treaty of Paris in September 1783— it was evident that freedom for American citizens was not to include African

Americans.

In fact, immediately after the cannons were silenced and soldiers were allowed to return to their homes, then General George Washington ordered that African Americans be held by troops in several locations, including New York City, until their owners could locate them and return them to slavery. Both Washington and Jefferson dispatched men to find their slaves and take them back to their prodigious plantations at Mount Vernon and Monticello.

One African American who fought for America, when asked if he would pursue the promise of financial compensation for his military service, said he only wanted one thing: his freedom.

But with dollar signs in their eyes and due to Americans’ selfish belief in Manifest Destiny, it would take centuries of civil unrest, human suffering at an unimaginable scale, and scores of deaths before the promises of the Founding Fathers and the guarantees of the Constitution were extended to African Americans and indigenous people.

This is American history - realistic and unredacted. WI

TO THE EDITOR

“I really enjoy reading the Washington Informer and kudos to Denise Rolark for keeping Dr. Rolark’s vision going!”

- Darrell Oliver

“Great job recognizing HBCUs”

- Frances Brown-Webb (in reference to the article “Third Annual HBCU Honors Celebrates Black Legacies.”)

Readers’ Mailbox

The Washington Informer welcomes letters to the editor about articles we publish or issues affecting the community. Write to news@ washingtoninformer.com. or send to: 3117 Martin Luther King Jr Ave., SE, Washington, D.C. 20032. Please note that we are unable to publish letters that do not include a full name, address and phone number. We look forward to hearing from you.

OPINIONS/EDITORIALS

Guest Columnist

Dr. Lezli Baskerville

Why 340B Matters to HBCU and PBI Students' Health and Futures

America's safety-net hospitals stand between vulnerable communities and the abyss. For students at historically Black colleges and universities and predominantly Black institutions, these hospitals and their community pharmacy partners are often the difference between getting care and going without.

The 340B Drug Pricing Program

— created to help qualified hospitals stretch scarce resources to "reach more eligible patients and provide more comprehensive services" — is one of the most effective tools these hospitals have to do exactly that. We cannot weaken it now. Three current policy shifts would do real harm if they move forward: proposals to sharply restrict contract pharmacies; converting 340B from an upfront discount to a backend rebate; and provisions in H.R. 1 that would push Medicaid-eligible students off coverage and strain safety-net providers.

Contract pharmacies are not a luxury; they are the last mile of access.

Many HBCU and PBI students live off campus, work irregular hours and lack cars. Contract pharmacies — community pharmacies operating under agreements with 340B-eligible hospitals — bring affordable medications within reach. Restricting them to one per 40 miles may sound tidy on paper, but it forces students to travel farther, pay more or delay care. Congress should preserve flexible networks that meet students where they live, study and work.

Don't swap a working discount for drugmakers' rebate scheme. Another proposal would convert 340B's upfront discount into a rebate paid months later. Instead of purchasing these drugs at 340B discounted prices, hospitals would be required to pay full price and submit rebate claims data to drugmakers to receive rebates — essentially floating the upfront higher cost of medications pending payment. A recent survey found that if applied to all drugs, such a model would force disproportionate share hospitals to front an average of $72.2 million an-

nually, costs that could create cash flow challenges. Converting 340B discounts into delayed rebates would starve hospitals of funds they need right now to fund clinics, behavioral health, transportation and covering low-income patients — including college students.

H.R. 1 would hit Medicaid-eligible students and the hospitals that serve them.

The House's H.R. 1 ("One Big Beautiful Bill Act") includes Medicaid provisions that independent analysts

Page 45

Viral Video Exposes Neglect of Black Woman in Labor, Highlighting Systemic Bias

behaved this way. For many Black women, this kind of neglect is not shocking or unusual. It is heartbreakingly typical.

By now, many of us have seen the viral video of a Black woman in labor, crying out, pleading, clearly in agony, while a Texas nurse sat nearby, continuing to ask intake questions, showing no compassion or urgency. The grandmother provides a detailed, firsthand account of what occurred.

Reports indicate this was not the first time that particular nurse had

The holidays are coming, and many financially strapped families are considering how to responsibly manage their use of credit while still enjoying seasonal gatherings, presents, feasts and toasts of glad tidings for all. The yuletide season is also a time to especially avoid predatory lenders that offer workers quick access to cash via loans

While both the mother and baby ultimately survived, the infant was reportedly born with his eyes open and had released stool inside the uterus— something that also happened with my first son. This can be dangerous if the stool mixes with amniotic fluid and may signal significant fetal stress.

This mother's pregnancy outcome could have been tragic and for far too many Black families, it often is.

The United States has the highest maternal mortality rate of any developed nation, and Black women face the worst outcomes. They are three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women. In 2023, the maternal mortality rate for Black women climbed to 50.3 deaths per 100,000 live births, nearly quadruple the rate for white women. These gaps persist regardless of wealth, education, or insurance status.

Emergency room patterns reflect the same inequities. Black patients consistently receive slower, downgrad-

ed, or delayed care, patterns grounded not in clinical need but in systemic bias:

• Black patients experience 35% longer ER wait times, even after adjusting for other factors.

• Black patients are less likely to receive urgent triage scores, leading to dangerous underestimation of their symptoms.

• Black patients have a 1.26 times higher likelihood of dying in the ER or hospital compared to white patients. These disparities are so well known that my father Dr. LeNoir, a longtime

physician and founder of the African American Wellness Project, has often said that if he ever had to go to the emergency room as a Black man, he would take a moment to put on a suit first because he knows all too well that perception can influence care.

Black women in labor encounter some of the most dangerous consequences of bias. Check out this video of a Black mom in labor who was told to go home by the hospital. Their pain is minimized. Their concerns

with triple-digit interest rates and hidden fees that can wreck their finances for months.

The convenience of mobile phones and personal computers removes the need to visit storefront lenders to access easy cash.

Two fast-growing loan products, Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) and Earned Wage Access (EWA), have emerged as new business models that deceive consumers into debt.

"App-based payday lenders have co-opted the language of financial inclusion in an effort to disguise the

ancient grift of exploiting underpaid workers with usurious loans," said Monica Burks, policy counsel at the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL).

"These companies promote a legal fiction that their loans are not loans, pretend the standard measurement for interest rates doesn't reflect their loans' costs, and push borrowers to pay fees deceptively called 'tips,'" she said.

In a new policy brief, "Nickel and Dimed: How Payday Loan Apps Drain Workers' Pay and How

to Stop Them," CRL shows that these lenders' business models are designed to drive repeat borrowing and extract high fees.

EWA often lures underpaid workers into high-cost, small-dollar loans that are repaid from forthcoming paychecks. The danger in this direct debit is that it reduces the money a borrower has available to repay the loan and manage other household bills. BNPL loans let purchasers of a variety of goods and services break payments into smaller installments usually paid

over a few weeks.

CRL's research also found that: Borrowing escalates over time, with monthly loan use doubling in the first year from two loans per month on average in month one to four by month 12.

Overdrafts on consumers' checking accounts increased 56% on average after use of an advance product, demonstrating how these products directly exacerbate financial instability rather

Guest Columnist

Disappearing Districts: How Racial Gerrymandering is Hollowing Out the Black Electorate

American democracy is entering a dangerous stage of decline. While coverage focuses largely on the most recognizable signs of democratic backsliding, such as attacks on free speech and the use of state force against peaceful protesters, a quieter crisis is reshaping the foundation of representation itself.

The second Trump administration is advancing a national policy infrastruc-

ture aimed at reshaping the democratic system from within, not by suppressing votes directly, but by manipulating the structures that determine who gets represented at all. Across the country, redistricting battles are being used to minimize the influence of Black voters and weaken the power and electability of Black legislators who represent them. These maps fracture diverse districts, erase majority-Black constituencies, and recast racial gerrymandering as partisan strategy.

Gerrymandering is the process of drawing legislative maps to favor one

After 43 days, the longest government shutdown in U.S. history is over. But D.C.'s wounds remain. President Biden and Senate Democrats once had the chance to end the filibuster — unlocking a path to minimum wage increases and historic expansions like statehood for D.C. and Puerto Rico solidifying Democratic leadership.

group over another. Partisan gerrymandering exists in both parties, but the distinction between partisan and racial gerrymandering is crucial. The latter targets voters based on race, undermining equal protection and silencing political voices that have historically been excluded. Today, partisan gerrymandering often serves as a facade for racial redistricting, allowing maps that weaken Black and brown representation while appearing procedurally neutral.

The result is a democracy that technically counts every vote but ensures

Guest Columnists

that some count for less.

These efforts to reshape representation operate through coordinated pressure on state and federal institutions. Republican-controlled legislatures in Texas, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio and Florida have advanced or are seeking to advance maps that fracture diverse districts and erase Black-performing seats to manufacture partisan strongholds.

In Texas, the 2021 maps, already among the most gerrymandered in the nation, were challenged by the Department of Justice and civil rights groups

Democrats Let D.C. Down — Accountability Can't Wait

Instead, the present Democratic establishment conceded without gaining a single protection after weeks of negotiations.

Why do Democrats keep giving away their leverage for nothing?

Why do they cut deals with extremists and corporate donors instead of uplifting the constituents who bring cities like D.C. to life?

The answer is clear: the Democratic establishment does not work for us. Over and over, they've chosen donor comfort and political clout

Guest Columnist

over the relief and protection our city needs.

This Thanksgiving, wealthy Congress members ended the historic shutdown to rush home and celebrate with their loved ones. Meanwhile D.C.'s families continue to grapple with lost jobs, stagnant wages, inflation, and a million-dollar-a-day military occupation. Violence against our youth continues, ICE harassment is routine, and the power to govern ourselves remains out of reach. Black and brown Washingtonians, who

built this city, are the first to feel these blows and the last to receive justice.

We need leaders who demand more than photo ops and empty promises. D.C.'s budget isn't shaped by local priorities, it remains subject to federal interference and congressional review, even after our elected officials pass it locally. This is fiscal colonialism, plain and simple, and it keeps Washingtonians under a heel of injustice.

Our city is among the nation's

The Struggle of Small Businesses Amid Government Shutdowns

The recent government shutdown, the longest in U.S. history, has had a profound impact on small businesses and federal contractors. With the Small Business Administration halting $2.5 billion in loans for 4,800 small businesses and $24 billion in federal spending on goods and services suspended in the first month

alone, the effects have been devastating. Many small businesses were cut off from essential government-backed loans and new federal contracts, jeopardizing dayto-day operations and expansion plans. Contractors faced stalled projects, furloughs, and layoffs due to interrupted payments, resulting in cash flow disruptions that cascaded into the private sector and local economies.

Minority- and women-owned small businesses in the technology sector are particularly vulnera-

ble during such shutdowns. These businesses already face persistent barriers such as limited access to capital and funding, with minority entrepreneurs and women receiving disproportionately fewer loans and higher interest rates. Gender bias, discrimination, and underrepresentation further impede their growth, affecting networking opportunities, mentorship, and leadership advancement. The shutdown exacerbated these challenges, as government agencies that support these businesses, such as the

Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) and the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund, are frozen or defunded.

Government agencies like the MBDA and the CDFI Fund play a crucial role in supporting economically disadvantaged entrepreneurs by providing targeted financial resources, technical assistance, and access to critical business networks. Programs such as the Capital Readiness Program and Women’s Entrepreneurship

for intentionally weakening minority voting power, marginalizing the very communities largely responsible for Texas' growth. The latest maps, under Trump's order, have only deepened the imbalance, entrenching partisan and racial control.

This September, Gov. Mike Kehoe of Missouri approved new maps that work to unseat Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, one of the state's two Black Congress members. His district, once a Black stronghold centered in Kansas City,

wealthiest, yet thousands of Black and brown community members go without living wages, fair housing, or basic social safety nets. The establishment would have us believe donor checks and gilded ballrooms solve everything, but Washington, D.C., is not a playground for the rich. It is home to families, teachers, nurses, and service workers who deserve dignity, self-determination, and relief.

Let's call out these corporate

Program offer mentorship and capacity building, while the CDFI Fund empowers local financial institutions to provide affordable loans, grants, and technical assistance in low-income and minority communities, effectively bridging gaps where traditional financing is unavailable.

The shutdown has not only caused immediate financial distress but has also eroded trust in the government as a reliable

LIFESTYLE

Washington Informer Weekend Checklist

WASHINGTON INFORMER'S

Things To Do, DMV!

By Keith Golden Jr. WI Intern

This week, the DMV offers a variety of ways to celebrate Thanksgiving and kick off the holiday season. Find a mix of holiday fun, arts, live performances and family-friendly activities to enjoy throughout the city.

Further, to learn about more fun events around town, don’t forget to check out the Washington In former Calendar.

Thursday, Nov. 27

Fairfax Turkey Trot 4 Miler

9 a.m. | $40

Mantua Swim and Tennis Club, 9330 Pentland Place Fairfax, VA 22031

Hosted by the Fairfax Turkey Trot organizing team, this family-friendly event brings together runners, walkers and trotters on

Fairfax’s Mantua neighborhood

All participants receive a commemorative race shirt and support a cause— proceeds benefit Britepaths, formerly Our Daily Bread, helping local working families access emergency aid, financial literacy and mentorship.

Arts Center Gallery, 800 Florida Avenue NE Washington, D.C. 20002

Gallaudet University’s Linda K. Jordan Gallery invites visitors to explore a new exhibition showcasing decades of creativity within the global Deaf arts movement.

ASALH

luncheon

3CityCenterDC kicks off the holiday season with its 12th Annual Tree Lighting Celebration, featuring a 75-foot Christmas tree, festive displays and live music on Saturday, Nov. 29. (Courtesy Photo/ CityCenterDC)

recently released a Netflix special produced by longtime collaborator Dave Chappelle

Cincinnati Ballet: The Nutcracker 1:30 p.m. | $60.95+ Kennedy Center, 2700 F Street NW Washington, D.C. 20566

The Cincinnati Ballet brings its production of “The Nutcracker” to Washington, D.C., with performances blending choreography from Artistic Director Emeritus Victoria Morgan with whimsical staging, the ballet tells the classic tale of Clara, her Nutcracker Prince, and their magical journey to the Land of Sweets.

Saturday, Nov. 29

CityCenterDC Tree Lighting 5 p.m. - 8 p.m.| Free The Park at CityCenter, 1098 New York Avenue NW Washington, D.C. 20005

CityCenterDC will usher in the holiday season with its 12th Annual Holiday Tree Lighting Celebration. This free, family-friendly event features a 75-foot Christmas tree, two towering 25-foot reindeer, live music, balloon artists, face painters, holiday treats and

Grammy-winning singer Michelle Williams will perform alongside the American Pops Orchestra, adding a musical spotlight to the evening. Festivities begin at 5 p.m., and the official tree lighting starts at 6 p.m., hosted by NBC4’s Eun Yang.

GLEN ECHO

PARK AQUARIUM

9 a.m. - 5 p.m. | $10 Glen Echo Park, 7300 Macarthur Boulevard Glen Echo, MD 20812

Dive into nature at Glen Echo Park Aquarium, where the Chesapeake Bay comes alive through hands-on, interactive exhibits designed for all ages. With timed-entry visits, guests can explore touch tanks, see real local marine life, and learn from experienced edu-

THINGS TO DO Page 29

cators in a personalized, up-close environment.

Sunday, Nov. 30

Garden of Lights

5 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. | $13.99

Brookside Gardens, 1800 Glenallan Avenue Wheaton, MD 20902

Brookside Gardens transforms into a dazzling winter wonderland for its annual Garden of Lights celebration. Visitors can stroll along a half-mile outdoor path winding through 50 acres of beautifully lit landscapes, featuring nature-inspired displays like oversized flowers, forest creatures and whimsical plants crafted from hundreds of thousands of LED lights.

The event offers a festive, family-friendly experience with opportunities to enjoy hot drinks, snacks from local vendors, and shopping at the Brookside Gardens gift shop. It’s a way to explore

the gardens after dark and take in the beauty and creativity of the holiday season.

Make Your Own Plant

Pot Pottery Workshop

12:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. | $81.88

7 Locks Brewing, 12227 Wilkins Avenue Rockville, MD 20852

Pottery with a Purpose gives attendees a chance to get their hands dirty and creativity blooming at the Make Your Own Plant Pot Pottery Workshop. This beginner-friendly class guides guests through clay-building techniques like pinch pot and coil, in order to create a plant pot, vase, or quirky planter pal, with no prior experience needed.

All materials are provided, and guests will walk away with one to three of their sculpted pieces to enjoy or gift. Expect a relaxed, joyfilled session full of creativity, clay, and optional friendly competition through pottery trivia. WI

Third Annual HBCU Honors Celebrates Black Legacies BET Award Show Set to Air Nov. 30

By Jada Ingleton WI Content Editor

Flashing lights and cameras were no match for the stars on the red carpet of BET’s 2025 HBCU Honors, an annual celebration of alumni from historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) cultivating generational impact.

In its third iteration, the packed event took to the Duke Ellington School of the Arts for a pre-taping on Nov. 20, where influencers, celebrities, CEOs, and supporters of HBCUs basked in a reminder of the importance of sacred and cultural spaces.

“In America right now, there are those that want to erase Black culture, erase Black legacy…and try to tell us that we are not who we are– which is excellent,” said Jotaka Eaddy, a twotime HBCU honorary doctorate and founder of #WinWithBlackWomen.

“HBCUS, I believe, is the antidote.”

Eaddy counted among a bevy of beneficiaries touting the breadth and beauty of a Black-centered education, all the while celebrating the legacies that surpass collegiate grounds.

Set to air on BET Nov. 30, this year’s program honors communal trailblazers Pastor Shirley Caesar, a graduate of Shaw University in North Carolina; David Banner, alumni of Southern University and A&M College in Baton Rouge, Louisiana; and Janice Bryant Howroyd, who earned her bachelor’s arts from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University.

Additionally, Fisk University alumni-comedian Kym Whitley returns as host, bringing a roster of A-list presenters, performers and attendees hailing from Black institutions across the nation, including: actors Lance Gross and Myles Frost; Grammy award-winning artist Raheem DeVaughn; TV host and author Shaun Robinson; and performances from institutional allies DJ QUICKSILVA, Grammy award-winner MAJOR, and more.

“Going to an HBCU made me a man. It allowed me to walk in rooms with my chest poked out, knowing I could do the job because I’m capable,” Gross, an alumnus of Howard

LEGACIES Page 31 Grades

University, told The Informer. “It’s for us, by us. It’s everything.”

HBCUs Demonstrate A ‘Hope for The Future’

More than a party, the HBCU Honors aims to shape the future just as much as celebrate the past.

Along with special performances and featured guests, the Nov. 30 airing will reveal the winner of the 2025 HBCU Rising Stars, whose finalists included Johanna Clarke from Bennett College, David Henderson of Coppin State University, and Maryland’s own Dr. Ronald Johnson, a student at Morgan State University.

While only one finalist graces the national stage at Duke Ellington, all three competitors leveraged the opportunity to take mentorship lessons with celebrity judges Frost, DeVaughn, American Idol Top 7 Finalist Gabby Samone, and HBCU Honors Music Director Shawn Williams.

“When I see HBCU students on a national scale, it gives me hope for the future,” Dr. Tomikia LeGrande, president of the historically Black Prairie View A&M University said on Thursday’s red carpet. “We’re building leaders. And to be able to see our alumnus honored tonight just shows our students what the potential is.”

Among the additional benefits touted for HBCU-bound students: diversity and inclusion in academia, instilled values such as confidence and service,

establishing a lifeline of communal sup port, and exposure to various cultural aspects, including the historically Black Greek letter organizations known as the Divine Nine— six of which were founded at HBCUs.

Duke Ellington School of the Arts

Principal Sandi Logan furthered the foundation of cultural competence in propelling youth forward with a reference to her own creative scholars, many of whom stuck around after hours to assist with the Nov. 20 production.

“[Excellence to me] is every day, from the time you wake up, being intentional. Understanding that even the small movements are going towards a larger goal,” Logan told The Informer. “When you have an experience that is [culturally] affirming, that gives you a higher [probability] of completing your mission.”

On the flip side, Eaddy emphasized how events like Thursday’s offer a full-circle moment for all HBCU alumni.

While applauding the evident success of these institutions, she nodded to the honorary ceremony for solidifying the impetus of preservation and longevity.

“Every time I'm in touch with these great institutions, I’m reminded of the greatness that happens at [HBCUs] and what is seeded there, the excellence that comes into this country as a result,” she told The Informer. “And that’s why it’s so important for us to support [them], fund [them] and lift them up.” WI

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"Genius Unbroken: The Life and Legacy of Dr. Charles R. Drew”

By Craig A. Miller, M.D., with Charlene Drew Jarvis, Ph.D.

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WI Contributing Writer

“Stayin’ Alive.”

That’s the BeeGees song to remember, the song with the perfect cadence for cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Each beat is a pump; each pump, a lifesaving action, which is handy information to know, if you ever need it. So now read “Genius Unbroken” by Craig A. Miller, M.D., with Charlene Drew Jarvis, Ph.D., and meet the man whose legacy takes over when CPR isn’t enough.

Almost from the moment he could walk, Charles Richard “Charlie” Drew was an active boy.

Growing up in Washington, D.C.’s Foggy Bottom neighborhood, an area that was more equal than most in the early 1900s, gave him opportunity to explore his surroundings, to get a good education, to learn to swim and to excel at athletics.

Sports and music were his passions then, in fact. But when his younger sister, Elsie, died, and he incidentally learned while attending Amherst College that he enjoyed the study of biology, Charlie decided to be a doctor.

Sadly, there was no money for medical school. Still, he applied to Howard University School of Medicine, which turned him down, so he went to work at Morgan College in Baltimore as a teacher before heading to Quebec, where he received a fellowship at McGill University to study medicine. He entered Howard in early 1935, for his residency.

In 1938, he was invited to Columbia University to work as a fellow in surgery.

Eagerly, he took on extra projects, one of which was the nature of shock, a condition that could lead to circulatory failure and death. Laboratories everywhere were “were dedicated to studying the phenomenon in all its … physiologic complexity.” World War II was raging, banked blood would save a lot of lives, and Charlie set to work figuring out how to do it. But one of the questions was “whether to accept blood donated by African Americans” like him …

How many times have you been warned not to judge a book by its cover? Probably a lot, so don’t do it here. The cover of “Genius Unbroken” isn’t colorful or splashy, yet this may be one of the more interesting books you read this fall. But it does have its bumps.

Authors Craig A. Miller and Charlene Drew Jarvis belabor Charles Drew’s athletic expertise, and the tales of those exploits melt together in their similarities. It may be a safe bet that readers who pick up this book up will want the story of Drew’s accomplishments in medicine instead of a litany of sports tales. Fortunately, the rest of Drew’s life story and that of his career and his activism eventually become front-and-center here, and then you’ll be riveted. It helps that the authors are careful to explain the medical parts of the story in layman’s terms, making this a book you ultimately won’t want to put down.

That “Genius Unbroken” becomes a lively biography is a nice surprise that will appeal to true medicine readers or Black history fans. Look for it, and you’ll know who to thank when you’re stayin’ alive.

WI

LIFESTYLE

horoscopes

ARIES P Financial innovation unlocks unexpected prosperity as Mars activates your resource sector, bringing abundance through creative monetization strategies transforming specialized knowledge into revenue streams while establishing competitive positioning. Investment opportunities materialize when thorough analysis reveals undervalued assets positioned for appreciation supporting long-term security. Lucky Numbers: 12, 41, 67

TAURUS Communication mastery expands professional reach as Venus illuminates your expression sector, bringing influence through eloquent presentations demonstrating analytical sophistication that establishes credibility while persuading decision-makers. Educational pursuits accelerate when specialized training develops capabilities meeting evolving industry demands. Lucky Numbers: 19, 37, 59

GEMINI Foundational stability strengthens personal security as Mercury energizes your domestic sector, bringing peace through strategic improvements creating environments supporting productivity while nurturing family relationships. Property investments succeed when comprehensive analysis identifies opportunities offering exceptional value. Lucky Numbers: 6, 28, 54

CANCER Creative brilliance reveals exceptional talents as lunar energy activates your artistry sector, bringing recognition through authentic expression resonating with audiences while establishing distinctive positioning. Romantic opportunities blossom when vulnerable communication fosters genuine intimacy transcending superficial interaction. Lucky Numbers: 15, 43, 68

LEO Personal transformation radiates magnetic confidence as solar energy illuminates your identity sector, bringing opportunities through authentic self-expression projecting refined capabilities that attract significant advancement while inspiring stakeholder confidence. Leadership visibility expands when strategic initiatives demonstrate comprehensive expertise exceeding expectations. Lucky Numbers: 21, 39, 63

VIRGO Spiritual insight reveals transformative wisdom as earth energy activates your reflection sector, bringing clarity through contemplative exploration uncovering innovative solutions to complex challenges while releasing outdated beliefs constraining potential. Intuitive guidance strengthens when meditative practices enhance decision-making accuracy supporting strategic priorities. Lucky Numbers: 4, 32, 56

LIBRA Community influence expands social capital as Venus energizes your alliance sector, bringing advancement through collaborative initiatives leveraging collective expertise toward shared objectives while respecting diverse contributions. Lucky Numbers: 17, 45, 61

SCORPIO Career breakthrough achieves milestone recognition bringing advancement through exceptional performance transforming challenging assignments into strategic victories while securing executive confidence. Professional authority materializes when demonstrated expertise qualifies for elevated responsibility overseeing mission-critical operations. Lucky Numbers: 10, 26, 48

SAGITTARIUS Philosophical expansion broadens perspective as Jupiter activates your wisdom sector, bringing insight through cultural experiences revealing fundamental values guiding purposeful direction while maintaining practical application. Lucky Numbers: 14, 38, 65

CAPRICORN Transformative depth strengthens intimate bonds as Saturn energizes your regeneration sector, bringing renewal through vulnerable communication fostering authentic connection transcending superficial dynamics while establishing profound trust. Lucky Numbers: 23, 35, 52

AQUARIUS Partnership harmony cultivates meaningful alliance as Uranus illuminates your relationship sector, bringing opportunity through collaborative ventures combining complementary strengths generating mutual prosperity while maintaining balanced reciprocity respecting contributions. Contract negotiations progress when diplomatic communication addresses underlying concerns fostering understanding supporting agreements. Lucky Numbers: 9, 31, 58

PISCES Professional excellence elevates career trajectory bringing advancement through meticulous attention demonstrating exceptional quality that exceeds standards while establishing reputation for reliability. Wellness optimization improves productivity when disciplined routines support sustained energy maintaining performance during demanding periods. Efficiency improvements materialize midweek when systematic analysis streamlines workflows eliminating redundancy maximizing output. Lucky Numbers: 11, 44, 66

SPORTS

First Ever Capital City National Showcase is Coming to D.C.

By Skylar Nelson WI Contributing Writer

The Capital City National Showcase is coming to the historic Calvin Coolidge High School in Northwest, D.C. Dec. 5-6, bringing together premier teams and rising stars in a celebration of intensity, talent, and the competitive spirit that defines high school basketball.

Having witnessed the wealth of athletic talent in the DMV region, Andre Thompson, Derrick Washington, and Antoine Williams, co-founders of the Washington Warriors— a local AAU program— collaborated to create the inaugural showcase, highlighting athletes not only from the area, but across the nation.

Thompson,Williams and Washington, varsity basketball coach at Coolidge, already knew they wanted to do another basketball venture for local players, but years of networking helped their idea turn from a dream to a reality.

“[Washington] always wants to put his kids on a bigger stage,”

Thompson told The Informer. “He and I have made relationships with high school coaches and college coaches alike, and we always intended to get into the event space, we just wanted to wait until the time was right.”

For the co-creators of the showcase, it was critical to not only highlight the Warriors, but the many players making waves throughout the country.

“Through a couple of mutual friends and acquaintances made, I was able to secure Sierra Canyon (in Los Angeles, California) and then after that we went around and rounded up a lot of the power players in the city, in and around the DMV,” said Thompson. “We had a couple kids that played in our program that are in the Carolinas, so we made sure that we highlighted a few of our players. We tried to get all of the teams that our kids from the Warriors played for.”

This year’s schedule is shaping up to be both thrilling and highly competitive featuring a mix of private-school and public-school matchups.

Friday, Dec. 5:

Phoenix Montessori (NC) vs Springdale Prep (MD) at 5:00pm Coolidge High School (DC) vs Archbishop John Carroll (PA) at 6:30pm

DeMatha (MD) vs Fayetteville Academy (NC) at 8:00pm

Saturday, Dec. 6:

Virginia Academy (VA) vs Cardozo High School (DC) at 11:00am

Mt. Zion Prep (MD) vs Fayetteville Academy (NC) at 12:30pm

Mt. Zion Prep (MD) vs Phoenix

Montessori (NC) at 2:00pm

Coolidge High School (DC) vs St. Frances Academy (MD) at 3:30pm

St. James Performance Academy (VA) vs Bishop O’Connell (VA) at 5:00pm

Broughton High School (NC) vs Archbishop Carroll (DC) at 6:30pm

Bishop McNamara (MD) vs Sierra Canyon (CA) at 8:00pm

Some of the showcase’s sponsors include Events DC, DTLR Sports, TruHeight Vitamins, the D.C. Office of Cable, Tele, Film, Music Music and Entertainment, the Cyber Interscholastic Basketball Alliance, and more.

As sponsorships create valuable opportunities for exposure, Howard University student Kyle Alexander reflects on how meaningful it is to experience a basketball event like this in the DMV.

“I personally think it’s great that high school sports are growing in the D.C. and DMV area,” said Alexander. “As someone from Baltimore who has seen sports grow between Baltimore, Virginia. It’s just been an amazing feeling to see people from my city or people from around the local area to get the recognition that they deserve and they finally get put on the map you’ve had guys like

“[Washington] always wants to put his kids on a bigger stage,” Thompson told The Informer. “He and I have made relationships with high school coaches and college coaches alike, and we always intended to get into the event space, we just wanted to wait until the time was right.”

Carmelo Anthony, Jalen Smith, Angel Reese and even guys like Derik Queen so when looking at the future of DMV sports growing and gaining popularity, it’s an amazing feeling to have and it means a lot to the city.”

Thompson emphasized the two action-packed days of elite high school basketball is also a powerful opportunity to support and uplift youth.

“I hope this becomes one of the premiere events that kids all over the country aspire to play in. You have the National HoopsFest, Hall of Fame Classic, you’ve got those tent pole events that kids just say ‘I wanna play in that when I get older,’” said Thompson. “I hope that our event grows to be one of those things, four, five years down the road that is broadcasted on TV, partners with the NBA and beyond. I just want it to be one of those events that everyone comes out to every year.” WI

CAPTURE the moment

Shooters Food Drive: Shooter Sports and its partners recently hosted their Second Annual Food and Grocery Giveaway on Saturday, Nov. 22, in Forestville, Maryland, where volunteers distributed free bags of food, turkeys, chickens, water, and diapers to more than 500 families in the community. (Demarco Rush/ The Washington Informer)

2025

Thanksgiving Giveaway:

On Nov. 22, the Hour Generation Foundation to distribute turkeys and food baskets to over 300 families. This marked the ninth year the organization has provided Thanksgiving baskets to families throughout the DMV region. (Shevry Lassiter/The Washington Informer)

Turkey Drive Giveaway: Prince George’s County Councilmember Wala Blegay (D) partnered with Metropolitan Baptist Church and The Storehouse to host her annual District 6 Thanksgiving Turkey Drive Giveaway on Saturday, Nov. 22, providing hundreds of free turkeys to families across the county. (Robert R. Roberts/The Washington Informer)

RELIGION

Black Catholic History Month: Honoring Overlooked Leaders of America

Local Priests Discuss Historic Role of Black Catholicism, Continuing the Work

By Jada Ingleton WI Content Editor

With the establishment of Black Catholic History Month in 1990, November became a mark of remembrance for the African American leaders whose stories are too often left out of American textbooks.

Dating back to the 15th century, Black Catholics have been integral in building and shaping the world as it stands today, establishing a lifelong mission of service and commandment that Father Patrick Smith deems

especially critical in 2025.

“Especially in the society we see now, a renewed attack on Black American history…more than ever, people need heroes that look like them,” said Father Smith, pastor of St. Augustine Catholic Church in Northwest, D.C.

“You can't tell the story of Catholicism in the United States without telling the story of Black Catholics. We were there from the beginning.”

Thanks to the National Black Catholic Clergy Caucus–– who established the observance 35 years ago–– Black Catholics have been celebrating all

month, honoring the sacredness of Nov. 1 (All Saints Day), Nov. 2 (All Souls Day), Feast of St. Martin de Porres on Nov. 3, and more, in tandem with community legacies of resistance and leadership.

But beyond moments of tribute, Father Robert Boxie, priest chaplain of Howard University, touts a foundation for year-round stewardship and changemaking, reminding all Catholic leaders to go beyond memorializing and strive to be emulators.

“We should take our marching orders every November…and it should inspire us to to do the work that we are called to do: uplifting our community people, taking care of those in need… [and] do that in a way that highlights the gifts of the Black community,” Boxie told The Informer, “the joy, the holisticness, the song and dance and the richness, [and put] that into into action as men and women of faith.”

Catholic Leaders Tout YearRound Mission, ‘Set the Record Straight’

For the scholar-led Sister Thea Bowman Catholic Student Center at Howard University, the instilled values of its namesake and Catholicism overall is ingrained and kept alive throughout the whole year— from wall decor revering ancestors, to masses and discussions spiriting her name.

Driven by a purpose to inspire youth, Boxie, who serves as chaplain of the Northwest center, told The Informer remembering African American Catholics does more than preserve histories— it lays the building blocks for tomorrow’s changemakers.

“When we tell these stories, our stu-

dents can identify with these holy men and women,” he explained, “and… given that they can see themselves in them, that just opens up a whole door of possibility that had been unknown to them beforehand.”

Father Boxie, a priest of the Archdiocese of Washington, touted the historic leadership of several predecessors that shaped American progress.

To name a few: Diane Nash, instrumental during the sit-ins and Freedom Rides of the Civil Rights Movement; Father Augustus Colton, the first Black priest recognized in 1886; and Venerable Pierre Toussaint, one of several in line to become a Saint through canonization, who’s credited with founding the charitable arm of the Archdiocese of New York.

As for the late Bowman, the priest chaplain lauded her instrumental work in racial justice that “brought forth the beauty of Black Catholicism,” including co-founding the Institute for Black Catholic Studies at Xavier University of Louisiana, the only historically Black Catholic school in the nation.

“All of this reminds [us]...that we are here, we are present. We are part of this global church,” Boxie added, “and we have something important and beautiful and wonderful to contribute.”

He went on to highlight his own connection to faith stems from an upbringing that fueled religious values with diasporic traditions, demonstrating how the Black Catholic experience “combines the best of everything.”

“It taps into all those aspects of… who I understand God to be…and who I am as a Black man,” Boxie said, later calling on a similar desire to reach youth. “We have to present the gospel in a way that is attractive to students,

erase African American narratives. (WI File Photo/ Jacques Benovil)

that meets young people where they are, that speaks to their needs and is also authentic.”

Having grown up in a multi-generational Catholic family in D.C., Smith offered a similar revelation when he realized his future wasn’t a matter of what he wanted to do with his life, but rather “what God wanted me to do.”

As a sophomore at Maryland’s Mount St. Mary’s College (now University) at the time, the pastor recognized a desire to understand, and more importantly, be able to defend “why I believe what I believe” – something both faith leaders stress is instrumental to the work.

“The mission we have [today] is a mission Jesus gave the Apostles: ‘go and make disciples, teach them when I command you, baptize them, teach them as I commanded you,’” Smith told The Informer. “We're all here for a reason, but only for a season. And so 2025 is our season to… [invest] and [do] our part to carry out the Great Commission.”

Smith reflected on the resilient subjects that built the Saint Augustine Catholic School in Northwest, D.C., in 1858, and the converted African Americans who helped found the nation’s oldest city — St. Augustine, Florida — and first freed Black town in the U.S., Gracia Real de Santa Teresa de Mose, or Fort Mose.

To him, that foundation for freedom lives through descending stewards around the world, and particularly in D.C., who work to “set the record straight” and continue the story that began with African American heroes and heroines. WI

Read more on washingtoninformer.com.

A richness of spirit is the true measure of a life well-lived. Ask the Lord, Jesus Christ, to please enter your heart and help your faith to grow stronger every day. When your faith is as small as a mustard seed, ask God to show you how this tiny treasure can create a forest of hope and resilience. When your faith grows as huge as a mighty oak tree, ask God to help you have the humility to see every small, helpless creature in its shadow and offer nourishment, shelter, and shade. Growing successful is a worthy earthly goal, but growing in faith will always remain your ultimate spiritual mission.

The path to that spiritual mission often winds through life's most challenging valleys. One of the lowest times in my life occurred about 14 years ago, during a period of profound difficulty. I was battling a new diagnosis of type 2 diabetes and felt physically weak. My work was unsteady as a substitute teacher, and I found myself unable to make ends meet. It was a humbling experience that led me to use a food stamps card for six months — a first for me at the age of 60 — and found myself depending on help from my sons on a regular basis. This was a first for me, someone God has always blessed to find ways to make it. Legally, too.

During these tough times, the internal strength I cultivated became my lifeline. I committed to keeping my faith strong, turning off external distractions and focusing inward. No televisions or music for me. My daily routine

WITH LYNDIA GRANT

There is a Light at the End of the Tunnel the religion corner

became a sanctuary: I read my Bible daily, awakened early each morning for dedicated prayer and meditation, and visualized my life returning to good health and financial stability. Folks, when you feel this way, it is time to pray, lay down on your floor, facedown, prostrate before the Lord, and pray humbly at his feet. I guarantee, he will hear your prayer, just like he heard mine!

I nourished my mind exclusively with positive wisdom, listening day and night to the empowering voices of motivational speakers and spiritual leaders such as Les Brown, Zig Ziglar, Wayne Dyer and others.

This intentional shift in focus worked. I strengthened myself from within, and my circumstances began to change, and trust me, your circumstances will begin to change for the good, too.

My finances improved tremendously, and my health was restored. The message I carry from that experience is simple yet powerful: Temporary circumstances eventually end, and with unwavering faith and internal fortitude, yours will, too.

Allow the following scriptures to minister to your spirit throughout this week. John 8:12, where Jesus says, "I am the light of the world," symbolizing hope and guidance; Psalm 119:105, which calls God's

word a lamp to our feet and a light to our path; and Hebrews 12:2, which speaks of Jesus enduring the cross for the joy set before him.

Hope through darkness:

• John 8:12: "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."

• Micah 7:8: "Do not rejoice over me, my enemy; when I fall, I will arise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord will be a light to me."

• Proverbs 4:18: "The path of the righteous is like the first light of dawn, shining brighter and brighter until full day."

• Psalm 23:4: "Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me."

In conclusion, always remember that you are never alone. Just accept the Heavenly Father as your savior, then begin to lean and depend on him. You will have your part to play, but stay steadfast; be kind to others. Your personal, sacrificial help doesn't always have to be with money. Give someone a smile, a kind word. Make it your business to help someone else during your time of need. This type of behavior will guarantee you a more positive attitude. You will soon see that light at the end of the tunnel! Amen! WI

RELIGION

1st Sunday

School: 9:00 AM Bible Study: Wednesday, 12 Noon Bible Study in homes: Tuesday 7:00 PM Website: www.themiraclecenterFMBC.com

Service and Times

Person Worship:  Sunday @ 9:30 A.M.

Sunday @ 9:30 A.M.  www.pilgrimbaptistdc.org

& Study:  Wednesday @ 12 Noon and 7:00

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

Bottom - Founded in 1867 728 23rd Street, NW - Washington, DC 20037 Church office: 202-333-3985 Fax : 202-338-4958

Service and Times Sundays: 10 a.m. Holy Eucharist with Music and Hymns Wednesdays: 12:10 p.m. - Holy Eucharist www.stmarysfoggybottom.org Email: stmarysoffice@stmarysfoggybottom.org

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

Rev Kevin A. O'Bryant

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

Service and Times Sunday Worship 10:30 am Zoom: zoom.us/;/2028828331 Bible Study: Wednesday 7:00pm Communion Every First Sunday "Serve, teach and Live by precept and example the saving grace of Jesus Christ."

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

On Purpose

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

2025 ADM 001136

Eddie Prue Clarke Decedent

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

Lisa Clarke-Bell, whose address is 7413 12th Street NW, Washington, DC 20012, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Eddie Prue Clarke who died on 6/6/2024 with a Will and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment (or to the probate of decedent’s Will) shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 5/13/2026. 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 5/13/2026, 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:

11/13/2025

Lisa Clarke-Bell Personal Representative TRUE

Nicole Stevens Register of Wills

Washington Informer

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131 2025 ADM 001159

Yvonne Pruitt Porter Decedent

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

Dwight O. Porter, whose address is 9828 Royal Commerce Place, Upper Marlboro, Maryland 20774, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Yvonne Pruitt Porter who died on April 27, 2023 with a Will and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment (or to the probate of decedent’s Will) shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 5/13/2026. 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 5/13/2026, 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: 11/13/2025

Dwight O. Porter Personal Representative

Register of Wills Washington Informer

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

2025 ADM 001145

Edward Tyrone Green, Sr. Decedent

Iris McCollum Green, Esq. Pro Se 1714 15th Street, NW, Suite B Washington DC 20009 Attorney

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

Iris McCollum Green, whose address is 1714 15th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Edward Tyrone Green, Sr. who died on July 5, 2006 without a Will and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 5/13/2026. 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 5/13/2026, 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: 11/13/2025

Iris McCollum Green Personal Representative TRUE TEST COPY

Nicole Stevens Register of Wills Washington Informer

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

2025 ADM 001142

Willie E. Clark Decedent

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

Tanya C. Clark, whose address is 15402 Jennings Lane, Bowie MD 20721, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Willie E. Clark who died on May 15, 2025 without a Will and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment (or to the probate of decedent’s Will) shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 5/20/2026. 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 5/20/2026, 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: 11/20/2025

Tanya C. Clark Personal Representative

TRUE TEST COPY

Nicole Stevens Register of Wills

Washington Informer

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131

2025 ADM 001192

Mary Margaret Mayes Decedent

Jeffrey K. Gordon, Esq. 5335 Wisconsin Avenue, NW #400 Washington, DC 20015

Attorney

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

David Ulysses Mayes, whose address is 620 Madison Street, NW, Washington DC 20011, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Mary Margaret Mayes who died on January 1, 2021 without a Will and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 5/13/2026. 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 5/13/2026, 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: 11/13/2025

David Ulysses Mayes Personal Representative

TRUE TEST COPY

Nicole Stevens Register of Wills Washington Informer

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

2025 ADM 001165

Gregory Ross Decedent

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

Yvette J. Ross, whose address is 1239 Shepherd Street, NW, Washington, DC 20011, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Gregory Ross who died on 3/17/2024 without a Will and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 5/20/2026. 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 5/20/2026, 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: 11/20/2025

Yvette J. Ross Personal Representative

TRUE TEST COPY

Nicole Stevens Register of Wills Washington Informer

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

2025 ADM 001167

Odell Odom Franklin Decedent

E. Regine Francois Williams 9701 Apollo Drive, Suite 301 Largo, MD 20774 Attorney

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

Elaine P. Crump, whose address is 3903 Briscoe Court, Mitchellville MD 20721, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Odell Odom Franklin who died on 3/4/2018 without a Will and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 5/13/2026. 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 5/13/2026, 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: 11/13/2025

Elaine P. Crump Personal Representative

TRUE TEST COPY

Nicole Stevens Register of Wills Washington Informer

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131 2025 ADM 001176

Earlene Evelyn Smith Decedent

Janell F. Wheeler, Esquire The Geller Law Group PLLC 4000 Legato Road, Suite 1100, PMB 6084 Fairfax, Virginia 22033 Attorney

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

Donna E. Walker, whose address is 407 Falabella Way, Hogansville, GA 30230, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Earlene Evelyn Smith who died on January 21, 2025 without a Will and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 5/20/2026. 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 5/20/2026, 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: 11/20/2025

Donna E. Walker Personal Representative

TRUE TEST COPY

Nicole Stevens Register of Wills Washington Informer

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

2025 ADM 001191

Suzanne Cleland Decedent

Anupa Mukhopadhyay, Esq. 10665 Stanhaven Place, Suites 300A White Plains, MD 20695 Attorney

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

Robin Cleland Allaway, whose address is 104 Fairley Road, Pittsburgh PA 15237, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Suzanne Cleland who died on March 3, 2025 without a Will and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 5/13/2026. 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 5/13/2026, 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: 11/13/2025

Suzanne Cleland Personal Representative

TRUE TEST COPY Nicole Stevens Register of Wills Washington Informer

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

2024 ADM 001436

Charles Leon Willie Decedent

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

Cynthia Amanda Robertson, whose address is 820 Headrow Terrace, Hampton VA 23666, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Charles Leon Willie who died on May 11, 2024 without a Will and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 5/20/2026. 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 5/20/2026, 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: 11/20/2025

Cynthia Amanda Robertson Personal Representative

TRUE TEST COPY

Nicole Stevens Register of Wills

Washington Informer

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15th anniversary of Labyrinth Games and Puzzles, based in Eastern Market. A lot has happened since then.

This edition of The Collins D.C. Council Report explores the emergency rental snafu that unfolded later that week, one council member’s take on the fight against congressional interference, and questions of how D.C. Department of Parks and Recreation can better serve youth.

In Aftermath of ERAP Application Mishap, Ward 8

Councilmember White Criticizes New Process and District Budget Priorities

On Nov. 20, Pierre faced her first test as the official director of D.C. Department of Human Services (DHS) when hundreds of residents struggled to secure emergency rental assistance, more commonly known as ERAP.

In lieu of online registration, DHS had residents make appointments on a hotline that didn’t work throughout much of the day. D.C. Councilmember Trayon White (D-Ward 8) reached out to Pierre for answers, but only after attempting to call the hotline himself five times.

“I'm asking her what precautions did they take to ensure that phone lines was working?” White told The Informer. “We got a budget. This is the D.C. government. People said they was on the phone for 60 minutes and then it just hung up. It just hung up immediately.”

In a statement, DHS explained the reasons for the issues on Thursday and revealed that they scheduled 1,100 ERAP application appointments.

Further scheduling has been paused while those applications are processed. In a statement, officials said that future availability depends on the budget.

“Despite advanced planning, DHS underestimated the high call volumes and in-person demand we experienced, leading to technical issues with our phone system and long lines outside the Virginia Williams Family Resource Center,” DHS said. “While the DHS team was able to quickly shift operations to support residents waiting in line, we could have done better. DHS will be reviewing its performance and working closely with the mayor and council to reassess ERAP moving forward.”

On Thursday, White counted among those on the scene at Virginia

Williams, the District’s only ERAP application site, as the line wrapped around the building.

“I saw people in a panic, not knowing they were going to have somewhere for their kids to live in a couple of weeks,” the Ward 8 council member later told The Informer. “Some people already had rent, some people already had court dates, some people already went to court. I saw a spirit of fear and hopelessness on people's faces. For a lot of people, that's their last resort.”

During the most recent budget season, when Ward 8 lacked ward-level representation, the D.C. Council struggled to restore cuts to ERAP, only ending up with just below $9 million instead of $27 million.

On Friday, White took to Instagram, where he announced a meeting scheduled for Nov. 25 aimed at helping residents better understand the budget deliberation process.

He expressed a belief that more must be done for the least of D.C. residents.

“We have to be real serious about getting people access to capital, careers, and a real education,” White said. “[Residents] have to know how the budget works. They have to know… where we're spending money, because we have more money right now than we ever had in D.C. history.”

In the aftermath of the ERAP application hotline malfunction, a couple council members issued statements.

D.C. Councilmember Brianne Nadeau criticized DHS for, as she explained it, not utilizing tools that had been developed for a problem that District officials know too well.

“WHY are we not using the technology we paid to develop to at least do the initial intake?,” Nadeau asked.

“Community-based organizations could still follow up to schedule appointments after that. Even after the money is exhausted, they could follow up to offer counseling and support

day’s rising grocery prices have pushed even middle-class households into instability.

This year, food insecurity has reached critical levels.

“The time is now for our generation to step up and take action,” said Gail Holmes Taylor, marketing and public relations liaison for Hour Generation Foundation. “We’re not just handing out food. We’re handing out dignity, connection, a moment to breathe.”

With rising job loss, government shutdowns, loss or reduction of SNAP benefits, and high grocery prices, the makeup of those affected by hunger is widening.

through other programs. This is a mess and there is just no excuse for it.”

Nadeau demanded answers from DHS. For White however, the problem goes well beyond oversight.

“You can have all the oversight you want, but oversight is after the fact,” White told The Informer. “It's putting responsible, capable people in place that's going to deliver for God's people. It's really on the mayor's office to get this…right.”

Pierre, who joined DHS in 2020, has served as the agency’s interim director in 2023, and more recently this year. In her role, she oversaw what’s been described as the smooth disbursement of SNAP benefits after the longest government shutdown in the U.S. ended.

Though she’s been commended for her stewardship of DHS, for some council members there remains the question of rapid rehousing processing and how Pierre will respond to the Trump administration’s insistence on “beautifying” the District.

On Nov. 18, during the council’s Committee of the Whole meeting, White and D.C. Councilmember Janeese Lewis George (D-Ward 4) questioned D.C. Councilmember Matt Frumin (D-Ward 3) about Pierre's stewardship of the ERAP application process. Despite their concerns about the barriers that exist with applying via phone applications and in-person interviews, Frumin said that it doesn’t look likely that DHS will revert to online applications.

“The idea [is] doing in-person interviews where you can evaluate what's the best tool for this person,” Frumin told Lewis George on Nov. 18, explaining what he saw as the benefits of the status quo.

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Read more on washingtoniforrmer.com.

“People assume hunger looks one way,” said Domm. “But hunger today looks like your neighbor, your coworker, a retired bus driver, a federal employee, a parent who skipped their own dinner so their kids could eat.”

A City Strained, a Community Awakening

Across the DMV region, rising costs, shrinking resources, and loss of income have forced many families into financial crisis.

“Inflation, job loss, and higher food prices have affected people on multiple levels,” Domm said, “with no time to economically recover.”

Senior citizens face the steepest climb. The District now holds the highest rate of senior food insecurity in the country, driven by fixed incomes, lack of mobility, and isolation.

Meanwhile, the working poor, many juggling two or three jobs, are caught in a cost-of-living crisis that wages simply haven’t kept up with.

“People often think, ‘Americans aren’t starving,’” said Domm. “Americans, however, are suffering from hunger. There is a certain amount of protein and carbohydrates that people are supposed to receive each day. Consistent lack of nutrition can lead to grave and often avoidable health complications. And that’s a conversation that we should all be having.”

The toll of such a sharp spike in the District’s food insecure population extends to the frontline workers who stand in the gap. Bread for the City staff serves thousands of neighbors each day, many voluntarily skipping their own lunch to meet enormous demands for food assistance.

“Staff exhaustion is high,” Domm explained. “You walk with people through the worst moments of their lives every single day. We now offer trauma care to help our staff cope with the emotional toll of constant crisis.”

At Martha’s Table, the need has grown just as rapidly. Their Southeast market, once serving 250 families a day, now regularly reaches 600–800, often with lines stretching out the door.

“When the government shutdown was announced, we immediately began planning,” said Lindsey Waldrop, deputy chief of communications. “People were forced to make impossible choices, like groceries or medication, paying bills or buying food.”

Last year alone, Martha’s Table distributed 2.2 million meals, representing a nearly 50% increase over the previous two years. And their support extends beyond food: they offer workforce training, mental health support, parenting programs, and youth development.

“The battle for food insecurity is not simply won with food,” Waldrop said. “Opportunity is what moves people from surviving to thriving.”

Yet as demand climbs, funding gaps widen. Government cuts have left many nonprofits fighting to stretch fewer resources across larger crowds. Bread for the City alone suffered a 50% loss in government funding while the demand for services doubled.

“You can strip away the politics and ask, ‘What do we think people in this country deserve?’” Domm questioned. “‘How many children going to bed hungry is too many?’”

Hope Grows Here: From Farmland to Philanthropy

Even amidst staggering need, the region is witnessing a groundswell of compassion, proof that hope can take root in the most challenging seasons. At Peppermill Community Center, the Hour Generation Foundation, founded by NBA star Jerami Grant, has transformed its Thanksgiving Grant-ed Meal Giveaway into a yearly reminder of what communities can do when they show up for one another.

Central to that vision is Grant’s Maryland farm, where students from his alma mater, DeMatha High School, plant and harvest crops that are distributed during Thanksgiving and year-round donations to senior living centers.

“It’s sustainability, youth empowerment, and love all wrapped together,” said Holmes Taylor. “We believe food is love. And no one should go without it.”

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BASKERVILLE from Page 26

project will increase churn and reduce coverage. For low-income, first-generation HBCU and PBI students, this means more uninsured visits and more pressure on safety-net hospitals.

What Congress and regulators should do now:

- Protect broad, community-based contract pharmacy partnerships where students actually live and fill prescriptions, not just inside an arbitrary radius. Students' lives are mobile; their access points must be too.

- Preserve the upfront discount as 340B's core. Limit rebate pilots to vol-

LENOIR from Page 26

are dismissed. Their emergencies are questioned or ignored. Delayed or inadequate care can lead to fetal distress, emergency surgeries, long-term complications, or infant mortality.

What we witnessed in that video is not an aberration, it is a mirror held up to a system that has repeatedly failed Black mothers.

Real change requires systemic action: health care providers must be trained to recognize and counter implicit bias; hospitals must implement standardized protocols that limit subjective decision-making; policymakers

CROWELL from Page 26

than alleviate it.

A high incidence of "loan stacking," where multiple payday app lenders extend advances against the same paycheck. Over time, most borrowers are in debt to multiple lenders during their first year of tracked use, creating a built-in monthly financial shortfall that worsens — not improves — financial stability. This cycle of increased borrowing exacerbates the monthly financial shortfall that drives users into their first payday app loan.

In 2025, at least 20 states proposed legislation to address EWA's growth and consumer concerns, according to the National Conference of State Legislators, including but not limited to: Arizona, Connecticut, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, New York, Oregon and Washington.

Similarly, BNPL plans also lead to debilitating, long-term debt that enable cash-strapped consumers to access money without a hard credit inquiry. Unlike the now-extinct retailer layaway plans that offered installment payments with no in-

untary tests with strict safeguards and penalties for late payments.

- Reject H.R. 1's Medicaid provisions that increase churn and uninsured care. Tie federal policy to continuity of coverage for students, not to paperwork that predictably produces hospital losses.

This is about educational attainment as much as it is about health. When students lose coverage or access to affordable medicines, they skip medications, miss class and drop out at higher rates. Every unnecessary barrier to care is a barrier to graduation. Strong 340B and stable Medicaid are equity strategies: they keep

must invest in maternal health equity; and communities must continue supporting doulas, midwives, and advocates who ensure Black women’s voices are heard.

But while we push for systemic reform, we must also ensure that individuals have the knowledge and support they need right now. That is where the African American Wellness Project (AAWP) plays a vital role.

AAWP was created to help the Black community navigate a health care system that has too often failed to treat us fairly. Black patients deserve to know how to advocate for the highest quality of care, and AAWP provides the tools

terest charges, these installment loans are offered through a lender that in turn gains access to checking accounts or debit cards to make installment payments. Exact loan terms and conditions vary among lenders, leaving consumers to be directly responsible for the fine-print terms that often go unread.

Since its emergence during the COVID-19 pandemic, BNPL's still-growing popularity is tied to its promise of zero interest and multiple — often four — installment purchase payments that typically range from $50-$1,000. Payments, directly deducted from bank accounts, debit cards or credit cards, are typically due every two weeks, roughly half the billing length for most consumer payments like rent, utilities or credit cards.

As a result, BNPL consumers tend to encounter rippling negative financial effects like repeated insufficient funds, overdraft fees, other late fees or savings withdrawals. These lenders are largely non-depository institutions with no standard form for consumer redress and scant consumer protection in the face of the easy and built-in temp-

students healthy enough to finish what they started and contribute as professionals, innovators and civic leaders.

NAFEO's mission is to expand opportunity. HBCUs and PBIs fuel social mobility, producing disproportionate shares of Black engineers, teachers, nurses and scientists. Safety-net hospitals and their contract pharmacy partners are essential teammates. Congress must protect contract pharmacy partnerships, preserve 340B discounts and fix Medicaid provisions so students can thrive.

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and resources to make that possible. It is also just as crucial to, ask the right questions, involve a trusted family member who can act on your behalf and raise concerns without hesitation.

This video should not only outrage us, but it should also mobilize us. Black women deserve to be believed. We deserve dignity. We deserve timely, compassionate, and competent care. We deserve to survive childbirth.

Until that becomes the standard for every Black mother, we must continue bringing situations like this to the forefront, and we must keep fighting for accountability, education, and systemic change. WI

tation to incur multiple BNPL loans.

Advocates called for strong consumer protection when the State of New York's Department of Financial Services solicited comments on BNPL earlier this year.

"Strong rules are especially important in light of the facts that subprime and deep subprime consumers take out most BNPL loans and that BNPL credit is disproportionately used by Black and Hispanic consumers, who already face disadvantages in the credit marketplace," advised the National Consumer Law Center. "BNPL lenders tout 'interest-free' loans, implying that the loans are free."

CRL echoed those concerns.

"It is the responsibility of public officials to stop predatory loan apps from breaking the law and from nickel-and-diming workers," said Yasmin Farahi, deputy director of state policy at CRL. "To protect consumers, states should enforce — or, where needed, adopt — strong interest rate caps for all payday loans, no matter how companies sell them."

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MCKINNIE from Page 27

is being divided among three predominantly white districts, reducing the concentration of Black voters and weakening their collective influence. Similar redistricting patterns in Florida and Texas, where the districts of Reps. Al Lawson, Marc Veasey and Al Green, were dismantled, follow the same logic.

These efforts reveal a shift from engaging voters to reshaping the systems that define their representation.

Now, all eyes are on California, where the passage of Proposition 50 has become the first major test of how far states can go in countering gerrymandered maps. The measure introduces new electoral mechanisms for redrawing maps and is expected to offer an example of how other states approach redistricting and opposition efforts ahead of the midterms. While Black-centered organizations such as the NAACP have invested heavily in the measure, its potential impact on Black voting power remains uncertain, though analysts suggest it may strengthen Latino

OWOLEWA/BOGAN from Page 27

players to pay their fair share and fight for true D.C. sovereignty. No more running on promises with no delivery. The federal government should no longer use D.C. as

ASANTE-MUHAMMAD from Page 27

partner in economic growth. The Senate-passed bill to reopen the government aims to stabilize critical sectors by restoring pay for furloughed workers and reversing aggressive reductions in force.

For socially and economically disadvantaged individual (SEDI) business owners, government contracts and agency support often determine whether a business grows or collapses. The shutdown highlighted the fragility of these businesses and the urgent need for a government that actively supports inclusive economic growth.

representation. Still, its outcome will shape national discourse on representation and determine whether state-level reforms can meaningfully alter the balance of power.

While some states experiment with expanding representation, the federal landscape is moving in the opposite direction by dismantling DEI programs, eliminating race-conscious hiring and purging staff in agencies that oversee civil rights enforcement. These measures reflect a broader effort to weaken the institutions that sustain equitable representation and to undermine the legitimacy of a multiracial democracy.

Despite this, the Congressional Black Caucus is the largest it has ever been, reflecting decades of organizing and civic engagement that expanded voting access. But this progress is increasingly fragile. Gerrymandered maps that fracture Black communities and eliminate majority-Black districts weaken not only the ability of Black legislators to hold their seats, but also the capacity of Black voters to shape outcomes. When predominantly

a political experiment, treating our city like a ping-pong ball while our people freeze in the cold. Black and brown Washingtonians built this city and we deserve control, respect, and the right to make decisions for our future.

However, the near-term costs of the shutdown cannot be undone, and the political roots of this crisis threaten an even steeper economic cliff ahead. The longer-term costs stem from the Administration’s ongoing willingness to use government funding as leverage in ideological battles, which could further disrupt economic stability.

For socially and economically disadvantaged individual (SEDI) business owners, government contracts and agency support often determine whether a business grows or collapses. The shutdown highlighted the fragility of these businesses and the urgent need for a government that actively supports inclusive economic growth. Strengthening agencies like the MBDA and the CDFI Fund is crucial to repairing the social contract and ensuring that economic opportunities reach every community.

The economic impact of the shutdown extends beyond immediate financial losses. It disrupted the momentum of innovation and productivity, particularly for

Black constituencies are divided across multiple districts, disguised as routine political realignment, it functions as a racialized control that suppresses minority ballot strength.

Voting power determines not just who wins elections, but whose communities receive investment, whose schools are funded and whose voices are heard in policy debates that shape everyday life. When Black voters are packed into a few districts or split among many, their concerted voting strength is diluted, muting the political voice that has driven social and economic advancement for generations.

The threat facing the United States is not only that democracy could fail, but that it could survive in form while dying in function. Ongoing efforts to manipulate representation risk creating a government that looks democratic but operates as a controlled system of exclusion. To protect multiracial democracy, the nation must confront not only the authoritarianism of power, but the quiet redrawing of the lines that decide who holds it. WI

This fight isn't just about budgets. It's about justice. It's about holding power to account, establishing statehood, and building a D.C. where no one is left behind.

Let's keep the pressure on. The time for accountability is now. WI

SEDI businesses that have been under siege this past year. Further disruption could eclipse the shutdown’s $14 billion in permanent losses many times over, breaking the backs of businesses and workers. Restoring trust in the government’s ability to act as a consistent economic partner is therefore essential.

Now that the government has reopened, the next step must be an act of renewal rather than a simple return to business as usual. Restoring and strengthening agencies like the MBDA and the CDFI Fund is essential to repairing the social contract and rebuilding an economy that works for all. The shutdown underscored the importance of a government that actively promotes inclusive economic growth and ensures that opportunities are accessible to every community. By addressing the systemic barriers faced by minority and underserved business owners, federal policymakers can help drive both individual business growth and broader economic equity across the United States. WI

WHERE THE MONEY GOES.

Thanks to the support of our players, the Maryland Lottery contributed $667.2 million to Maryland’s schools, public health and safety initiatives and other state programs in Fiscal Year 2025. We also paid more than $1.67 billion in prizes to players. Not bad. We’d like to think we generated a few million smiles as well. When you play, everybody wins.

Learn how to play within your limits at mdlottery.com/playresponsibly. For help, call 1-800-GAMBLER. Must be 18 years or older to play.

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