WINNER OF SIX SOCIETY OF PROFESSIONAL JOURNALISTS D.C. AWARDS FOR 2022
Brittney Griner is Home
Celebrating 58 Years - Vol. 58, No. 9 • December 15 - 21, 2022
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U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit Focuses on African Youth
Grassroots Organizers Skeptical about Biden Administration’s Intention
Sam P.K. Collins WI Staff Writer
5 U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken (front row second from left) addresses participants of the U.S.--Africa Leaders Summit African with African Presidents from the Republic of Zambia (front row left) and Republic of Seychelles (front row right). (Courtesy Photo/ U.S. Department of State)
African leaders are meeting with Biden administration officials at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Northwest for the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit Dec. 13 to Dec. 15. With African youth anticipated to account for nearly half of the global youth population within the next decade, young African leaders didn't mince words about what they wanted to come out of these discussions. "We can't ask Africa to invest in education when we [have to] spend money on debt as our currency depreciates," said David Moinina Sengeh, a millennial and Sierra Leone's minister of basic and senior secondary education. On Tuesday morning, Sengeh kicked off a panel discussion at the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) with remarks that outlined Sierra Leone's gains in
Duke Ellington School of the Arts Pushes Back Against DCPS
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A BREAKDOWN OF THE U.S.-AFRICA LEADERS SUMMIT
The panel discussion counted among several breakout sessions that took place at NMAAHC during the Young Leaders Forum on Dec. 13. As part of the U.S.- Africa Leaders Summit, the
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D.C. Residents Voice Support for ‘Marion Barry Avenue’
Councilmember Trayon White’s Bill Renaming Good Hope Road., S.E.
Sam P.K. Collins WI Staff Writer Within a matter of months, Jonathan Hobbs, like thousands before him, will graduate from the Duke Ellington School of the Arts (DESA) with extensive vocal arts training and a bevy of professional experiences guaranteed to prepare him for the next level in his career. Upon entering DESA’s vocal department in 2019, Jonathan found his niche as a bass baritone under the tutelage of Dr. Monique Spells, a DESA alumna, vocal instructor and director of DESA’s celebrated Show Choir. He did so through several hours of group and individual vocal instruction that kept him
expanding educational opportunities to schoolaged children. In the spirit of the panel discussion's theme, "Preparing the Future Workforce for Tomorrow's Careers," Sengeh also issued a charge to his peers. “We need to make our countries the best spaces for entrepreneurs and make sure our young people can help us solve intractable problems,” Sengeh explained. "The question shouldn't be if African youth can lead. We should ask ourselves how we enable youth and get out of the way so we can lead."
James Wright WI Staff Writer
5 Members of the Duke Ellington School of the Arts (DESA) community, including senior vocal student Jonathan Hobbs (pictured), fear that a District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) takeover would eradicate DESA’s dual-curriculum arts programming. (Photo by Robert Roberts)
The overwhelming majority of District residents told members of the D.C. Council at a hearing of the Committee of the Whole on Dec. 13 that they wanted Good Hope Road., S.E. in Ward 8 to GOOD HOPE Page 9 be renamed in honor of late mayor and councilmember Marion S. Barry. D.C. Councilmember Trayon White
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