By Lenore T. Adkins, Special to the AFRO Chadwick Boseman strolled onto Howard University’s campus as a bankable box-office star and walked away with another title on graduation day – doctor. The Howard alumnus and star of Marvel Studios’ “Black Panther” returned to his alma mater May 12 to receive the honorary degree of Doctor of […]
Category: Washington D.C. News
Posted inDistrict of Columbia Government
Top-Ranked DC School Embroiled in Residency Fraud Scandal
By Lenore T. Adkins, Special to the AFRO An audit from the Office of the State Superintendent for Education released May 11 has found that nearly a third of the students enrolled at the acclaimed Duke Ellington School of the Performing Arts were not residents of the District of Columbia and were not paying the tuition […]
Posted inWashington D.C. News
Mayor Awards D.C. Businesses $2.6 Million
By Hamzat Sani, Special to the AFRO D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser capped off DC Small Business Week by awarding grants to 53 businesses based and operating in the District. The $2,648,057.53 in grant funding was distributed to area businesses as part of the Great Streets Initiative. In a press conference held at Fitness Snob Studios […]
Posted inNEWS
Local Black Lives Matter, ACLU Sue Bowser Over Police Data Collection
By James Wright, Special to the AFRO, jwright@afro.com Local chapters of anti-police brutality groups such as Black Lives Matter, the Stop Police Terror Project and the ACLU are suing D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, Deputy Mayor of Public Safety Kevin Donahue and D.C. police chief Peter Newsham over their non-compliance on compiling statistics on stops and frisks […]
Posted inDistrict of Columbia Government
DC Chamber of Commerce Celebrates Businesses
By Hamzat Sani, Special to the AFRO The District of Columbia Chamber of Commerce hosted its 2018 Small Business and Economic Development Summit highlighting the contributions small businesses make to D.C.’s booming economy. As part of a full day of events the D.C. Chamber of Commerce awarded several local businesses and leaders with small business awards […]
Posted inDistrict of Columbia Government
White Addresses Ward 7 Concerns
By James Wright, Special to the AFRO, jwright@afro.com D.C. Council member Robert White was the keynote speaker at the Marshall Heights Community Development Organization’s “First Fridays” meeting May 4 at the organization’s headquarters in Northeast. White is one of a series of speakers designed to bring the District’s leaders to the ward to talk about matters […]
Posted inNEWS
The Challenges Of Being A Black Millennial Mom
By Christina Sturdivant Sani, Special to the AFRO My son turned 10 years old last month, which means I’m a whole decade into this mom life. And truth be told, sometimes I’m still shocked that I’m responsible for an entire little person. After getting pregnant unexpectedly in college, my life shifted and I was forced to […]
Posted inNEWS
Marvin Gaye Recreation Center Opens with Fanfare
By Lenore T. Adkins, Special to the AFRO Patty Robertson lives just two blocks away from the new Marvin Gaye Recreation Center in Ward 7 and she predicts it’ll become a second home of sorts. She’ll be bringing her niece and three grandchildren there often to enjoy the playground, learn arts and crafts, play games and […]
Posted inNEWS
Making DC a Better City for Whom?
By Hamzat Sani, Special to the AFRO In order to address the fears of underserved D.C. communities facing gentrification and displacement the government must embrace a new “operating system” emphasizing openness, collaboration and coordination across its agencies and external institutions. This was the premise put forward by the panelists at the “A Better City for Who?: […]
Posted inNEWS
D.C. Teen Hoping to Win Google Contest
By Lenore T. Adkins, Special to the AFRO When 15-year-old Laila Holsendorff realized Google chose her octopus drawing to represent D.C. in the nationwide Doodle 4 Google contest, she buried her face in her hands and cried. She then quickly composed herself to pose for photos at Brookland Middle School. For three weeks, the eighth grader’s […]
Posted inDistrict of Columbia Government
Black Candidates Are Missing in Ward 6 D.C. Council Race
By James Wright, Special to the AFRO, jwright@afro.com One of the District of Columbia’s most active political and cultural wards has a Black population over one-third and yet there are no Black candidates for that council seat this year. Ward 6 encompasses the U.S. Capitol, the popular Eastern Market, gentrifying Shaw and the booming Southwest Waterfront that includes the […]
Posted inDistrict of Columbia Government
Need a Job in Ward 5? Find the WOW Truck.
By Lauren E. Williams, Special to the AFRO MidCity Financial Community Affairs Director Dr. Robert Johns says he is committed to bringing services to D.C.’s NE Ward 5 neighborhood. By partnering with the District of Columbia Department of Employment Services (DOES) Workforce on Wheels (WOW) program, he is getting closer to doing just that. The DOES […]