May 2024. Volume 10. Issue 5.
Intersections with Mental Health
RECIPIENT OF THE DC BLACK MBA ASSOCIATION 2023 LEGACY AWARD
Serving Our Community in the DMV
This Month's WI Bridge Center Section
Vol 59 No 33...May 30 June 5, 2024
D.C. Council to Restore Funding to D.C. Futures Program Hundreds of District Residents Were in Danger of Losing Scholarship Dollars By Sam P.K. Collins WI Staff Writer
5District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser and the D.C. Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) joined members of the community for “Jump in, DC” at Anacostia Pool and Recreation Center on Friday, May 24. The celebration marked the beginning of outdoor pool season. (Ja'Mon Jackson/The Washington Informer)
Despite Debate about Tactics, Some Possibility of Collaboration By Ashleigh Fields WI Contributing Writer
LGBTQ Stigma Often the Black Pride Week just wrapped and Capital Cause of Acts of Violence, 5DC Pride starts on May 31. While celebrations are mostly Marginalization fun, the goal of Pride is to advocate to end stigma
While the COVID-19 pandemic has forced many annual celebrations like Gay Pride to either be reduced in scope or canceled altogether, District leaders have declared that events and activities slated
DC FUTURES Page 24
The Path to Full Freedom: Katrina Polk’s Journey to A Presidential Pardon From Biden
Thousands Prepare to Celebrate Pride in D.C. Amidst Warnings of Threats from Terrorists
By D. Kevin McNeir WI Contributing Writer
This week, the D.C. Council is gearing up for the first reading of a budget bill that, among other things, restores funding to a program that has allowed hundreds of District residents to attend college for close to nothing. Since the fall of 2022, District residents who enrolled in the D.C. Futures program have been receiving financial support and mentorship
as they work toward an associate’s or bachelor’s degree at Catholic University of America (CUA), Trinity Washington University, or University of the District of Columbia. Many of them have done so while juggling work and familial obligations. When the impending depletion of federal COVID funds threatened D.C. Futures’ longevity, some of these students testified before the D.C.
unconditional pardon from President Joe Biden. She owns and operates Dynamic SoluKatrina Polk recently celebrated tions for the Aging, a research her 55th birthday as an accomplished development firm in 2006 and business woman with the gift of an Anointed Services Ministries, a
PRIDE Page 42
POLK PARDON Page 42
Capital Heights Clears Junk, Says Nothing About What’s Next for Residential Storage
against members of the LGBTQ community and fight for justice for all. (WI File Photo)
for this year will be bigger, better, more inclusive and packed with star power. The Capital Pride Alliance (CPA) announced celebrated performers Billy Porter and Keke Palmer as grand marshals for the 2024 Pride Parade on June 8. “With Billy Porter and Keke Palmer leading the parade as grand marshals, we’re not only honoring their incredible contributions to the LGBTQ+ community but also amplifying their voices as fierce advocates for equality and accep-
non-profit which serves the aging population during the pandemic in 2020. Polk, who now resides in South-
By Kayla Benjamin WI Climate & Environment Reporter 5Capitol Heights Mayor Linda Monroe, speaking at a May 17 press conference held to celebrate upcoming development around the Capitol Heights metro station, less than a mile away from the newly-cleared Opus Avenue storage lot. (Robert R. Roberts/The Washington Informer)
Ernest and Pamela Buchanan have lived in their home in Capitol Heights since 1978. The couple raised four children there—all now adults. It’s a quiet street, not too far from the metro station,
and lined with tidy houses and neat lawns. Few would expect to find the Buchanans’ across-the-street neighbor on Opus Avenue: a 26,000-squarefoot storage lot housing construction vehicles, big metal equipment and an old Hummer. The town of Capitol Heights owns the property,
Celebrating 59 years. Your credible and trusted source for Black news and information.
JUNK Page 22