Serving Our Community in the DMV
Vol 61 No 18
February 12 - 18, 2026
Faith Leaders Emphasize Power of Love Beyond Valentine’s Day
Local Leaders Continue to Organize Against ICE and Other Federal Agents
‘Love is Vital in Society’
A Fight for ‘Every Single Right That We Have’
By Micha Green and Hamil Harris WI Managing Editor and WI Contributing Writer
By Kree Anderson WI Intern With rising tensions between community members and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in areas across the United States, D.C. justice leaders are working to protect vulnerable communities from ICE and federal agent presence in the District. The federal government launched “Operation Metro Surge” in Minnesota on Dec. 1, where ICE agents have targeted the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area and neighboring regions. Over the course of two 5 Party for Socialism and Liberation DC Members at the organization’s “No ICE
As people flock to stores for cards, candy, flowers and treats this Valentine’s Day season, faith leaders are emphasizing the importance of spreading love, not only during this time, but year round. “Love is vital in society,” Pastor Ylawnda Peebles of City of Praise Ministries in Landover, Maryland, told The Informer. “It is equivalent to blood in our bodies, we cannot live without facing division and uncertainty. Love has the power to heal, unite and remind us that we are all connected.”
ICE Page 9 Headquarters” Ward 8 Town Hall on Feb. 4. (Kree Anderson/The Washington Informer)
CBCF Celebrates 50 Years of Molding the Nation’s Future
Community Elder Leader Karen Settles Recounts Lessons from Her Late Mother
By Jada Ingleton WI Content Editor In a year of recognition for African American leadership and innovation, the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation (CBCF)’s 50th anniversary celebration is a nod to the institute advancing equity, leadership, and public policy nationwide. The momentous occasion, themed: “Roots. Ready. Rising.,” honors the transformative resilience of visionaries who built a lifeline for Black political influence, all the while asserting the organization as the keepers of the nation’s future. “For 50 years, CBCF has helped
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LEADERS Page 38
Pearl B. Settles: Ward 7’s Queen of ‘The Hill’
More than Longevity, ‘A Declaration of Purpose’
5 Congressional Black Caucus Foundation (CBCF) President Nicole Austin-Hillery speaks during the 54th CBCF Annual Legislative Conference in September 2025. As CBCF celebrates 50 years of driving equity and policy innovation, the nonpartisan, nonprofit is taking a nod from its roots of resilience. (WI File Photo/ Robert R. Roberts)
Capture the Moment Page 37
By Sam Plo Kwia Collins, Jr. WI Senior Local Politics & Education Writer
5 Friends, community members, D.C. Housing Authority officials and elected officials join the Settles family in the unveiling of Pearl B. Settles Way on the 200 block of 37th Place SE in May 2025. (Courtesy Photo/Facebook and Sam Plo Kwia Collins, Jr./The Washington Informer)
This year marks four decades since the death of Pearl B. Settles, a Ward 7 civic leader and youth advocate who, at the height of her tenure as a grassroots leader, fostered a community that was clean and free of crime. These days, Settles’ legacy continues through her children, one of whom is Karen Settles. “Mama was very close to [former D.C. Mayor] Marion Barry,” said Settles, a former
SETTLES Page 14
Celebrating 61 years. Your credible and trusted source for Black news and information. FEBRUARY 12 - 18, 2026 1
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