Serving Our Community in the DMV
Vol 61 No 24
March 26 - April 1, 2026
Young People, Trades, Entrepreneurship: Lewis George and McDuffie Reveal Their Mayoral Vision for Workforce Development
Local Teens Speak Out at Inaugural D.C. Teen Summit
By Arcynta Childs WI Contributing Writer
Youth, Advocates Weigh in on Emergency Curfew Controversy
By Sam Plo Kwia Collins, Jr. WI Senior Writer As the clock winds down to the primary that will determine D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s successor, local and federal law enforcement are still clashing with young people in commercial districts designated as emergency curfew zones. For the adults who spend time with these youth, the
Capture the Moment Page 33
5 Democratic mayoral front runners Kenyan McDuffie and Janeese Lewis George.
MAYORAL RACE Page 9 (Graphic created by WI Photo Team) 4 Students, journalists, and other professionals gather in Blackburn Center to celebrate Black Press Week on March 18. (Keith Golden Jr./HUNewsService and The Washington Informer)
The D.C. Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) held its inaugural D.C. Teen Summit on March 13, providing a forum for residents ages 13 – 18 to openly discuss issues that affect them and ask questions in a safe and supportive environment. “It's for youth to have the space for us to be able to speak up and tell the adults what we need,” said Jordan Williams, 18, a teen panelist at the event. “Closed mouths don’t get fed.” The youth-led summit, held at the Columbia Heights Community Center in Northwest, gave teens a productive way to spend a designated “wellness day” off from D.C. Public Schools and earn community service hours. The Friday gathering was inspired by BET’s “Teen Summit,” filmed in D.C. from 1989 to 2002, which of-
SUMMIT Page 21
Heirs to History: Women of the Black Press Advance Truth, Inspire Change
March Celebrates Future of Media and the Women Behind it
Black Press Week: Tradition, Technology, Rising Talent
Celebrating Excellence, Legacy, Resilience and Power By Kree Anderson WI Intern As the nation navigates racial disparities, war in the Middle East and federal attacks on African American media makers, journalists, students, educators and justice leaders gathered on March 18 at Howard University’s Blackburn Center for
Black Press Day 2026, an event that highlighted excellence, honored legacy and offered a charge to preserve the power of truth-telling. Hosted in collaboration with the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) Fund and Howard’s Moorland-Spingarn Research Center, the convening in Northwest, D.C. commem-
By Jada Ingleton and Mya Trujillo WI Content Editor and WI Contributing Writer With this month marking recognition for women around the world, it also uplifts the heroines building the future of media they see fit. Across generational successors, “publishers-in-waiting,” and communications professionals, women are carrying forth the 199-year traditions of the Black Press with a dual purpose: advancing the pen 5 Held during Black Press Week, Micha Green, managing editor of The as a sword while building a path for Washington Informer, and Mancala Collective founder Misha Cornelius Green underscore the power of African American-led media during “A generations to come.
BLACK PRESS Page 40
Celebration of Black Voices” at Guest House DC on March 19. (Courtesy
HISTORY Page 40 Photo/Latrell Caton)
Celebrating 61 years. Your credible and trusted source for Black news and information. MARCH 26 - APRIL 1, 2026 1
WWW.WASHINGTONINFORMER.COM / THE WASHINGTON INFORMER