Week 5 of Historic Federal Government Shutdown
Serving Our Community in the DMV
Vol 61 No 4
November 6 - 12, 2025
The D.C. SNAP Saga Continues
The Collins Council Report
How Are the Children?
City Officials, Activists Weigh In on Dilemma
By Sam P.K. Collins WI Staff Writer In the days leading up to the D.C. Council’s Nov. 4 legislative meeting, council committees conducted hearings on: the prospect of an emergency juvenile curfew extension and the post-surge conduct of Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officers working alongside federal agents. The feedback collected from those hearings, along with Halloween weekend events in Navy Yard and D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s declaration of a limited curfew, informed actions taken by the council during its most recent convening. This edition of The Collins Council Report highlights the conversation around the juvenile curfew extension and the highly coveted child tax credit. Be on the lookout for future reporting on the Office of the State Superintendent of Education’s Department of Transportation— the subject of a recent council Committee of the Whole hearing.
COLLINS REPORT Page 33
Capture the Moment Page 37
By James Wright WI Staff Writer
5 With D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s emergency juvenile curfew extension, the D.C. Council is working to address rising challenges with local youth. In the Nov. 4 legislative meeting, the council passed the Juvenile Curfew Second Emergency Amendment Act and an accompanying declaration on its first reading. (WI File Photo/Ja’Mon Jackson)
When Sierra Perry was waiting to get into the D.C. Department of Human Services’s Anacostia Service Center on Martin Luther King Jr., Avenue SE Oct. 30 to take care of a personal matter, she learned of the looming Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) suspension on Nov. 1 due to what is now the longest federal government shutdown in history. Puzzled, Perry, a Congress Heights resident, asked her friend, Sierra Stephens, who just happened to walk by, about what was going on with SNAP. When Stephens confirmed about the suspension, Perry was livid.
Black Virginians Talk Historic Election: Spanberger Elected State’s First Woman Governor
SNAP Page 44
3 Dr. Frank Smith, founder and director of the African American Civil War Museum, with historic interpreter Marquett Milton at an event in 2022. While Black veterans are particularly navigating hard times amid the second Trump administration, many local leaders, including Smith, are uplifting African American contributions to the military this Veterans Day. (WI File Photo/Roy Lewis)
Hashmi First Muslim, Indian-American Elected Statewide
Veterans Reflect on Holiday Amid Trump After highly contested races, it was a barrier-breaking Administration, Uplift Black Military Election Night for the Commonwealth of Virginia. In a historic race, former Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D) Contributions defeated Republican candidate Lt. Gov. Winsome EarlBy Richard Elliott WI Contributing Reporter
Sears, becoming Virginia’s first woman elected as governor. “Thank you! Thank you all so much. My fellow Virgin5 Former Democratic Virginia Rep. Abigail ians, tonight we sent a message,” said the governor-elect Spanberger is now the first woman elected governor of during her election watch party in Richmond, after stepVirginia. She defeated Republican candidate Lt. Gov. ping astage to cheers and lengthy applause. “We sent a Winsome Earle-Sears, a Black woman and Jamaican immigrant. (Courtesy Photo/Abigail Spanberger)
GOVERNOR Page 32
‘This is the Worst Time to be a Black Veteran’
By James Wright WI Staff Writer As Americans are set to celebrate Veterans Day on Nov. 11 nationwide, Dr. Frank Smith, founder and executive director of the African American
Celebrating 61 years. Your credible and trusted source for Black news and information.
Civil War Museum in Northwest, D.C., said he will be particularly uplifting the accomplishments and contributions of Black people who served. “It was Black people in the military, many
VETERANS Page 15