RECIPIENT OF THE DC BLACK MBA ASSOCIATION 2023 LEGACY AWARD
American Dream or Pipe Dream: Harris-Walz Housing Plan
Serving Our Community in the DMV
Vol 59 No 48...September 12 - 18, 2024
Religious Leaders Lift Councilmember Trayon White in Prayer By Sam P.K. Collins WI Staff Writer
Local Prospective Homebuyers Share Journey, Hopes, Goals
By Zerline Hughes Spruill WI Our House Managing Editor With her work keeping her near Capitol Hill, Ward 6 renter Rasheedah Hasan has been on the hunt for her first home in Washington, D.C. for four years. The St. Louis, Missouri transplant had her eye on Ward 6, but like many local prospective homebuyers, Hasan has grappled with the region’s slim pickings, so she has since expanded her
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5 Members of the community gathered to pray for Ward 8 Councilmember Trayon White as he fights a federal bribery charge that’s jeopardizing his freedom and re-election prospects. (Sam P.K. Collins/ The Washington Informer)
D.C. Councilmember Trayon White (D-Ward 8) will, once again, stand before a judge on Sept. 12 as he fights a federal bribery charge that’s jeopardizing his freedom and re-election prospects. In preparation for that legal battle, White, and several religious leaders, are turning to a higher power. On Sept. 7, dozens of people converged on Union Temple Baptist Church in Southeast for “Prayers of Redemption,” an event that the Rev. Dr. Willie F. Wilson hosted in support of White. After Wilson, White and several religious leaders walked into the main sanctuary of Union Temple, Wilson set the tone with scripture and what he called a reminder to those critical of the beleaguered Ward 8 council member. “We can redeem…with love,” Wilson, pastor emeritus of Union Temple, said to guests. “Each of us has fallen short. We are here to show love and intercede so that [Councilmember White] can be redeemed. We’re walking about reclaiming a life. Nothing is more precious than that, to be redeemed. We’re not here to adjudicate what happened, but to give honor
By Sam P.K. Collins WI Staff Writer As family members requested, the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) released body camera footage from the morning of Justin Robinson’s police-involved killing. The videos that are currently online each span more than
18 minutes, with only Robinson’s body, and that of a special police officer on the scene, obscured. However, there’s more than enough on the tape to determine what happened on Sept. 1. Some of those who watched
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WHITE Page 44
Ny’lah Newkirk: A District Ambassador for Youth Violence Prevention
MPD Releases Full Body Camera Footage from Justin Robinson Shooting Community Members Focus on Peaceful Protest, Controlling Narrative about Robinson’s Life
5Rasheedah Hasan, founder of Collective Impact Strategies, a legislative consulting firm based in Washington, D.C., says her journey toward homeownership has taken years of saving, participating in programs, and house hunting. (Ja’Mon Jackson/The Washington Informer)
DC Jazz Fest Page 40
By Sam P.K. Collins WI Staff Writer
Throughout much of her adolescence, Ny’lah Newkirk came to understand the severity of gun violence in her Southeast commu5Ny’lah Newkirk currently serves as a nity--- so much so that she doesn’t commute gun violence prevention specialist and youth across the District on the Metro, unless on a ambassador with The T.R.I.G.G.E.R. school field trip. She also doesn’t engage in Project, a local organization that sets out to unsupervised group activities outside of her provide safe spaces for survivors of gun violence home. and ensure that gun violence is no longer the However, as Newkirk, 18, explained to The norm in D.C. (Courtesy Photo/Tia Bell, The T.R.I.G.G.E.R. Project)
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YOUTH Page 52