By Lenore T. Adkins, Special to the AFRO When Anacostia High School students Kelli Johnson and Brenda McKinney took the stage at the Kennedy Center to rap about the Boston Tea Party prior to watching “Hamilton,” McKinney called on the audience of more than 2,000 teens to help the duo overcome stage fright. “The first thing […]
Category: Washington D.C. News
Posted inARTS & ENTERTAINMENT, D.C. Community, ENTERTAINMENT, Music, NEWS, Washington D.C. News
DC Keeps Go-Go Alive
By Nyame-Kye Kondo, Special to the AFRO While the effects of the District’s new developments can be seen in different aspects of D.C. life, Go-go, one of the most famous aspects of the city’s culture remains, having been reinvented and is now being celebrated as it resurges internationally. Go-go music is a culmination of a number […]
Posted inD.C. Community, Health, NEWS, Washington D.C. News
‘All Hands-On Deck’ Effort for Maternal, Infant Health
By Lenore T. Adkins, Special to the AFRO District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser sounded the alarm on maternal mortality rates September 13 at her inaugural Maternal & Infant Health Summit that attracted more than 800 people to the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. In the United States, about 700 women die each year from pregnancy […]
Posted inAfro Briefs, National News, NEWS, Washington D.C. News
The Search for Solutions to School-to-Prison Pipeline
By George Kevin Jordan, Special to the AFRO Congresswoman Frederica S. Wilson (D-FL 24th District) has a mission – pull young Black boys out of the school-to-prison pipeline. She hopes her 5,000 Role Models of Excellence Project is the ticket to providing diplomas and degrees instead of prison sentences. Wilson had big help pushing her project […]
Posted inNational News, NEWS, Washington D.C. News
CBC Conference Mixes Celebrity and Politics
By George Kevin Jordan, Special to the AFRO You may be able to argue about whether politics and celebrity mix, but what is hard to contest is the impact of celebrity on politics. Case in point was a panel discussion, “Music, Criminal Justice and Racial Equality” where hundreds of people crowded into an auditorium to see […]
Posted inD.C. Community, NEWS, Washington D.C. News
Race Becomes Issue in Tipped Workers Fight
By Akira Kyles, Special to the AFRO Many advocates and opponents of Initiative 77 showed up at the Wilson Building September 17 to witness the D.C. Council hold a hearing on Bill 22-913, the “Tipped Workers Fairness Amendment Act of 2018,” which would repeal the voter approved Initiative 77. Initiative 77 was proposed to get rid […]
Posted inAfro Briefs, NEWS, Washington D.C. News
New DC Housing Complex Caters to Grandfamilies
By Micha Green, AFRO Washington, D.C. Editor, mgreen@afro.com As gentrification continues in the District, a new affordable housing complex is offering units to a very specific kind of family- grandfamilies- households headed by grandparents rearing grandchildren. Located in the Mount Pleasant neighborhood of Northwest, D.C., Plaza West is the first of its kind in the area as […]
Posted inARTS & ENTERTAINMENT, D.C. Community, NEWS, Washington D.C. News
DC: Residents: Are You “DMV Certified?”
By Tyra Wilkes, Special to the AFRO A Glenarden man is looking to preserve the D.C culture in the midst of the gentrification boom that has taken the city by storm with a webshow titled, “DMV Certified”. Hail Zel and camerawoman Adey J are making their rounds to the most popular hotspots in the area—most […]
Posted inD.C. Community, NEWS, Religion, Washington D.C. News
Ward 8 Faith Leaders Reach out to Homeless
By James Wright, Special to the AFRO, jwright@afro.com Faith leaders pastoring in Ward 8 participated in an outreach event to help the homeless and possibly bring new members to their congregations. The Ward 8 Faith Partners Breakfast Fellowship was held Sept.8 at the Men’s Shelter, operated by Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington, on the campus […]
Posted inNEWS, Washington D.C. News
DC Charter Schools Educators Honored During CBC Weekend
By Mark F. Gray, Special to the AFRO With the impact of public charter schools continuing to revolutionize the American education system, seven leaders in the field are being honored during Congressional Black Caucus festivities in Washington, D.C. The inaugural #BringTheFunk charter school awards ceremony will pay homage to these academic innovators because of their impact […]
Posted inARTS & ENTERTAINMENT, Books, NEWS, Washington D.C. News
Ward 7 Resident Writes Inspiring Children’s Book
By James Wright, Special to the AFRO, jwright@afro.com Dr. Kelsi Bracmort was bothered that many of the children’s books that she read to her young mentees were so divorced from real life that she decided to do something about it. Bracmort, a native of the District of Columbia who resides in Ward 7, made a decision to […]
Posted inD.C. Community, NEWS, Washington D.C. News
DC Program Matches Residents with Jobs
By Brelaun Douglas, Special to the AFRO Earlier this summer, Mayor Muriel Bowser announced a plan to connect D.C. residents in communities disproportionately impacted by unemployment and violence with work experience and training through the 1,000 Opportunities initiative. The goal was to connect 1,000 residents in 90 days. Bowser announced September 5 that the District has […]