Neighbors,
As we celebrate Black history during the month of February, I want
to share with you the phenomenal achievements of some of the best
of Wards 5, both past and present. African American history and
culture is a core component of the identity of not only the
District of Columbia, but our nation as well. I am honored to share
the story of a Ward 5 African American hero and a group of local
African American teen authors.
Ten African American teen authors between the age of 11 and 13
co-authored the award-winning book “The Day Tajon Got Shot”. On
February 4, I had the privilege of hosting these remarkable young
women to present them with a ceremonial resolution from the DC
Council. Their work on the book began in March of 2015, through a
teen writing program developed by Beacon House, an after-school education and
youth development nonprofit in the Edgewood community of Ward 5. It
came at a time when a national conversation on police interactions
with the community was sweeping the nation. They launched their
book in March 2017 and since then, they have received local and national recognition. These
brilliant young women have represented their families, Beacon
House, Ward 5, and the District of Columbia well. During this Black
History Month, I celebrate T'Asia Bates, J'yona Calloway, Reiyanna
Davis, Jonae Haynesworth, Makiya Holmes, Rose McKoy, Najae Purvis,
Serenity Summers, Jeanet Teneyck, and Temil Whipple on their
well-deserved recognition.
Charles Hamilton Houston, a native Washingtonian and a graduate of
Dunbar High School in Ward 5, was a groundbreaking legal scholar
who served as the first special counsel to the NAACP, mentor to
Thurgood Marshall and Dean of the Howard University Law School.
Charles Hamilton Houston also helped dismantle housing
discrimination. The landmark Supreme Court case that found racially
restrictive housing covenants unconstitutional, Shelley v. Kraemer,
included in a companion case, named Hurd v. Hodge.
That case was based on a house on the 100 block of Bryant Street NW
in the Bloomingdale community. The Hurd family was represented by
Charles Hamilton Houston. You may recall that last year, I
introduced a bill to build a statue to honor the life and amazing
legacy of Charles Hamilton Houston, along with 7 other Native
Washingtonians who are women or people of color. I was able to
secure funding to build a statue honoring Charles Hamilton Houston.
The commission that will determine where and how Mr. Houston’s
contributions will be memorialized met for the first time in early
February. I am very proud to be championing the effort to ensure
Mr. Houston's legacy continues to be honored by future
Washingtonians.
Throughout the month of February, I have shared past and present
stories of African Americans connected to Ward 5. To follow my
Black History month tributes follow me on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook.
In service,
Kenyan
|
|
|
|
On February 4, Councilmember
McDuffie introduced legislation to establish the DC Center for
Firearm Violence Prevention and Research. The Center would address
the nature and impacts of firearm violence on individuals and
communities. The Center is modeled after the successful
California-based Firearm Violence Research Center. It would be housed
at an academic research institution in the District and would be
required to produce a report every three years on the following:
grants made, pending grants, program accomplishments, and the future
direction of the program. Watch Councilmember McDuffie introduce the
legislation above or read the Washington Post's coverage
of the bill.
|
|
Performance Oversight Hearings
|
|
|
Beginning this month, the Council
held a series of Performance Oversight Hearings for each agency in
the District government to review their operations for the previous
year. Along with agency leadership, the public is invited to give
testimony and provide comments. Ward 5 residents are strongly
encouraged to testify and let your priorities be heard. This is
truly one of the best opportunities for residents to be informed
about the work of District agencies, and speak directly to how the
agencies are performing. Below is a schedule of selected
performance oversight hearings, listed by agency. A full list of
agency hearing dates, as well as more detailed information on the
hearings below, can be found on the DC Council
website.
|
|
|
Know Any Moms Who Enterprise?
|
|
|
At the beginning of this month,
Councilmember McDuffie took part in the kickoff for the Moms Who
Enterprise, a program which is designed to develop financial and
entrepreneurship skills for women in the District of Columbia
between the ages of 18 to 30, pregnant or parenting, and currently
looking to take their businesses to the next level. The program
will take place over six weeks at Trinity University in Ward 5 and applications are now open, with a
deadline of Monday, February 25. Councilmember McDuffie was
pleased to support this worthy endeavor.
Be sure to see his comments from
the kickoff from a recent Washington Afro article: “When I heard about the
Moms Who Enterprise program I got really excited about it, I wanted
to make sure we hosted the announcement of this in Ward 5 because
it’s the type of program to train and provide skills about
entrepreneurship to mothers and soon to be mothers who, in many
cases, are heading single family households and coming from
environments where they lack resources.”
|
|
|
|
No comments:
Post a Comment