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Vol 61 No 45
August 20 - 26, 2026
Back To School Supplement Center Section
Young, Black, and In Business KidBizCON 2026 Highlights Future of Entrepreneurship––and it Looks Youth-Led
4 As the school year kicks off, changes to federal student loans through the One Big Beautiful Act are now affecting college students, worried about funding and next steps. (WI File Photo/Roy Lewis)
By Jada Ingleton WI Content Editor
Students and Universities Start Year in the Shadow of Trump’s ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’
By Sam Plo Kwia Collins, Jr. and Tatiana Allen WI Senior Staff Writer and WI Intern
As had been the case throughout her entire college career, Shelby Brown relied heavily on the Parent PLUS Loan to cover her tuition. However, the implementation of President Donald J. Trump’s so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) called into question if such resources would be in jeopardy. “They sent me a notice saying that, based upon the
data provided by the national student loan data system and based on my grade level, the U.S. Department of Education determined that [I] may have received a total amount of federal student loans, graduate and/or undergraduate, that exceeds the loan limits established for this federal student loan programs,” Brown told The Informer. Brown, a fifth-year biology major at Howard University (HU), will complete her last semester this fall before
STUDENTS Page 30
Built a Vaccine Firewall. Trump’s New Order is About to Test It
With Back to School Season in Full Swing, Experts Say President’s Policy is ‘Sowing Chaos’ By Stacy M. Brown WI Senior Writer President Donald Trump’s attempt to remake the nation’s childhood vaccination system is barely a week old, but Washing5 The nation’s capital will serve as an early test of how far states ton, D.C., has already positioned itself to go its own way. and local governments can protect their residents from a rapidly changing federal vaccine policy. (WI File Photo/Robert R. Roberts) That could make the nation’s
capital an early test of how far states and local governments can protect their residents from a rapidly changing federal vaccine policy. Trump’s executive order calls for separating combination vaccines like the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine
VACCINE Page 15
WWW.WASHINGTONINFORMER.COM / THE WASHINGTON INFORMER
With National Black Business Month in full swing, all eyes are on boosting the entrepreneurial sector that holds the second-strongest link to wealth creation for African Americans. Here in the nation’s capital, advocates say the emphasis starts with an ecosystem as youth-led as it is
action-driven; at least that was the consensus among the scholars who benefited from the Youth Entrepreneur Institute (YEI)’s annual KidBizCON. “It actually just emphasizes how little kids can actually do stuff. Middle school, elementary…our program opens up that base,” said Deloris Betty, YEI alumna and
KIDBIZ Page 13
4 Journey Walker live pitches her Pink Art business model during day one of Youth Entrepreneur Institute (YEI)’s 2026 KidBizCON, where the 9-year-old took home the title as elementary-school-level runner-up. (Jada Ingleton/The Washington Informer)
Soul Searcher: The Chuck Brown Biography Years in the Making
Pan-African Music Historian Sundiata Ramin Chronicles Early Years of the ‘Godfather of Go-Go’ By Sam Plo Kwia Collins, Jr. WI Senior Staff Writer With the granite anniversary of Chuck Brown’s birth right around the corner, District residents near and far have yet another opportunity to reflect on the life of the man known worldwide as
SOUL SEARCHER Page 9
3 “Soul Searcher: Life and Legend of Chuck Brown, Godfather of Go-Go,” chronicles the life of Chuck Brown, the sociopolitical circumstances around go-go’s creation, and the music genre’s connection to Africa (Courtesy Photo)
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