AFRO review 2022: highlights from the District

• In honor of the late Martin Luther King, the Anacostia Business Improvement District held a peace walk starting at the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge and stopping at the Ambassador Christian Church. Several family members of the civil rights leader joined the trek. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the annual MLK Holiday Parade was canceled but is expected to return in 2023.

D.C. students hold walk-out demanding tighter COVID-19 protocol on Jan. 25 

• On Jan. 25, D.C. Public School (DCPS) students staged a walk-out calling for stronger COVID-19 protocols and safer learning conditions. The protest was coordinated by the Students 4 Safe Learning (S4SL), and students demanded that schools exercise more transparency about Coronavirus cases, institute weekly testing and provide a larger supply of masks.
• Persistent bomb threats at Howard University

• Over the course of 2022, Howard University (Howard) received several bomb threats. The warnings were a part of a string of bomb threats that historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and houses of worship received across the country, according to the Howard received its first bomb threat in January, and three more followed into February. In August, just ahead of the first week of classes, the school’s Cook Hall and East and West Towers, which are home to 1,800 students, received threats. The FBI has since identified six teenagers as persons of interest, allegeding that they used technology to disguise their voices and carry out these racially-motivated bomb threats. The U.S. Department of Education also deployed funds for HBCUs, including Howard, to provide security and mental health resources in the wake of the threats.

• Washington football team renamed to Washington Commanders

• On Feb. 2, the Washington Football Team became the Washington Commanders. Team President Jason Wright said the name was fitting for the football franchise’s 90-year history, and it embodied the values of service and leadership that define the Greater Washington Metropolitan Area. While some fans preferred other contenders, like Red Hogs, the Presidents, the Admirals or the Red Tails, those names were eliminated because of the possibility of copyright and trademark right infringements. The name change came after the Washington Football Team rebranded itself from the Washington Redskins during the 2020 racial reckoning.

Second Quarter (April – June)

• DC mayor and police chief announced new gun violence task force in wake of violent surge

On April 25, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and Metropolitan Police Chief Robert J. Contee launched the collaborative Violent Crime Intelligence Task Force (VCIT), after a surge in District violence. The week before, a sniper, who later died from an apparent suicide, launched an attack in broad daylight in the Van Ness neighborhood in Northwest D.C., injuring 3 adults and one child. Hours after, two men and a woman were shot in the Brightwood Park neighborhood. The new task force is focused on removing illegal firearms from the community and detaining armed perpetrators through intelligence-driven operations and federal agency partnerships.

• Karine Jean-Pierre became the first Black press secretary for the White House on May 13, 2022.

• State Board of Education issued charges against Prince George’s County School board chair

On June 3, the Maryland State Board of Education reacted to complaints from county residents who filed a petition to remove Prince George’s County School board chair Juanita D. Miller. The former delegate of the Maryland General Assembly was accused of misconduct in office, willful neglect of duty and incompetence by former and current school board members. On Nov. 28, Miller’s virtual hearing before the Maryland Office of Administrative Hearing commenced. The court case is still in progress.

• Full circle moments celebrated at Howard University’s fine arts community at 2022 graduation
• Howard University’s (Howard) 154th commencement ceremony was celebrated on May 7. Oscar-nominated actress and D.C. Native Taraji P. Henson, who is an alumna of Howard’s College of Fine Arts, gave the commencement speech at the graduation and thanked fellow Howard alumni Phylicia Rashad and Debbie Allen for helping her stay in school after she became pregnant. There, she was also awarded an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters by President Wayne A. I. Frederick.

Third Quarter (July – September)

• President Biden awards Medal of Freedom

• On July 1, President Biden announced honorees for the Presidential Medal of Freedom, an award given to individuals who have made commendable contributions to the United State’s prosperity, values or security, as well as to world peace or other exceptional societal efforts. The nation’s highest civilian honorees included Simone Biles, the most-decorated gymnast in Olympic history; Fred Gray, who Martin Luther King Jr. deemed chief counsel for the civil rights movement; Sandra Lindsay, a nurse who was the first American to receive the COVID-19 vaccine; Diane Nash, who co-founded the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee; and Denzel Washington, an award-winning actor most known for his portrayal of Malcom X in civil rights activist’s biopic.

Mary McLeod Bethune statue erected in U.S. Capitol’s Statuary Hall, marking first statue of an African-American woman to be placed on federal land

• On July 13, a statue of Mary McLeod Bethune, founder of the National Council for Negro Women (NCNW), was unveiled in the U.S. Capitol this summer. Bethune became the first Black American to represent a Union state in the National Statuary Hall. The unveiling came after former Florida Governor Rick Scott signed legislation to remove a statue of Confederate General Edmund Kirby Smith and replace it with a statue of Bethune, who founded the Daytona Literary and Industrial Training Institute for Negro Girls, the Mary McLeod Hospital and Training Schools for Nurses and Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach, Fla.
• D.C. Commander football player shot in carjacking

Rookie Running back for the Washington Commanders Brian Robinson Jr. was shot twice in the leg during an armed robbery on Aug. 28, delaying his NFL debut. The third-round draft pick from University of Alabama underwent surgery after the shooting and sustained no serious damage. The D.C. Metropolitan Police Department arrested and charged a 17-year-old male, who was 16 at the time of the shooting, with assault with intent to rob while armed on Nov. 2. The case is still under investigation as a nearby surveillance camera caught another suspect. Robinson was able to take the field on Oct. 9 in the Commanders’ game against the Tennessee Titans.

• Maryland Public TV honors Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglas

Maryland Public Television (MPT) in collaboration with PBS and Firelight Films produced two documentaries recounting the life and legacy of Maryland abolitionists Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass. On Sep. 8, MPT held a screening of “Harriet Tubman: Visions of Freedom” and “Becoming Frederick Douglass” at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington D.C. After the viewing, Karsonya “Kaye” Wise Whitehead, host of “Today with Dr. Kaye,” the filmmakers and Kenneth B. Morris Jr., a direct descendant of Douglass, led a discussion with attendees.

• Mayor Muriel Bowser announced a $10 million Black Homeownership Fund

• In an effort to combat long-standing racial disparities and help African Americans afford homes, Mayor Muriel Bowser announced a $10 million Black Homeownership Fund as part of D.C.’s 2023 budget on Sep. 18. The goal is to help 20,000 Black residents achieve homeownership by 2030. This announcement came after Bowser in June launched the Black Homeownership Strike Force (Strike Force), a collaboration between public and political experts in financial counseling, lending and real estate development that included stakeholders from faith-based, senior, immigrant and LGBTQ+ communities. The Strike Force devised recommendations for the Black Homeownership Fund, including leveraging vacant properties to increase the housing supply, providing down-payment assistance to middle-income families and creating a program for Black households who are at risk of foreclosure.

• 51st CBCF Legislative conference

• The Congressional Black Caucus Foundation held their 51st Annual Legislative Conference from Sept. 28 to Oct. 2. Congress members, community leaders and constituents gathered together to discuss the Black agenda and pressing issues in the community such as infrastructural repairs in majority Black cities. In a rare occasion, the CBCF’s Phoenix Awards presented both a sitting U.S. president and vice president together on stage at the same time. President Biden gave the keynote address for the ceremony after a brief speech and introduction from Vice President Kamala Harris. This event was their first in-person conference post Covid-19, though they did have virtual options.

Fourth Quarter (October – December)

• President Biden announces pardon of federal convictions for simple possesion of marijuana

• On Oct. 6, President Biden announced executive pardons for federal convictions of simple possessions of marijuana. With this action Biden hoped to relinquish some of the burden that simple marijuana convictions have had on the lives of numerous Americans. Administration officials said the pardons are expected to relieve about 6,500 people who were charged between 1992 and 2001. Those who were convicted for marijuana which is legal in some states and not in others can cause people to lose their jobs, housing, and educational opportunities.
• Mayor Bowser reelected for third consecutive term

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser was reelected for her third term on Nov. 8. At the end of this term she will have served 12 years. In anticipation of her next four years she created “Together DC,” an initiative where Washingtonians can share their “big ideas” and work with community leaders to help move D.C. forward. She intends to continue pushing D.C. statehood, making D.C. residents prosper and building better communities throughout the eight wards.

• D.C. historic enrollment

• For the 2022-2023 school year, D.C. Public Schools (DCPS) surpassed a milestone of 50,000 students. The announcement came on Nov. 14. With 50,204 students in DCPS, this is the highest enrollment has been in the district since the 2019-2020 school year, which was interrupted by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

• The grand opening of the Silver Line Extension

On Nov. 15, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) opened the Silver Line Extension. The line provides customers with six new stations and adds 11.4 miles to the Metrorail according to the WMATA. The new stations include Ashburn, Herndon, Innovation Center, Loudoun Gateway, Reston Town Center, Washington Dulles International Airport. It also creates service between Reston, Va. and eastern Loudoun County.

• C. Mayor Bowser announced District’s first racial equity plan

• On Nov. 16, just 8 days after Mayor Muriel Bowser was re-elected for a third term, she announced D.C.’s first-ever Racial Equity Action Plan (REAP). The district-wide plan laid out a three-year roadmap detailing the steps the city plans to take to close existing racial equity gaps and measure its progress. As part of REAP’s goals, the District government will aim to employ staff who are committed to reaching racial equity, eliminate racial and ethnic inequities, intentionally engage the community in government decision-making and serve as an equitable employer through racially-equitable hiring, promotion and retention practices.

• RFK Stadium demolished

• The Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium (RFK), which was historically home to the Washington Commanders, Freedom and Senators, was demolished this December after being closed in 2019. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser along with former Maryland Lt. Gov.Kathleen Towsend, Events DC and the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development hosted a ceremonial removal of the last remaining orange seats from RFK’s lower bowl on Dec. 8. The stadium, originally known as The District of Columbia Stadium, first opened in October of 1961 and was later renamed after the assassination of former U.S. Attorney General  Robert F. Kennedy. Mayor Bowser has allocated $60 million of the District’s budget to redevelop the stadium into a new indoor sports complex that will be used for athletics, including gymnastics, indoor track and field and boxing. She’s also using $18.5 million to construct pedestrian and bicycle bridges so residents can travel across the Anacostia River to the new complex, River Terrace and Hill East neighborhoods and Kingman and Heritage Islands.

• Man shot in Adams Morgan

• On Dec. 17, 18-year-old Derron McQueen was shot and killed in the Adams Morgan neighborhood of Northwest Washington, D.C. That night, McQueen got into the passenger side of a white vehicle and was shot and then shoved on the curb. His grandmother reports that McQueen may have been active in street activity upon dropping out of school. His death shocked the neighborhood, reminding residents the threat of gun violence is very much alive.

Help us Continue to tell OUR Story and join the AFRO family as a member –subscribers are now members!  Join here!

The post AFRO review 2022: highlights from the District appeared first on AFRO American Newspapers .

This article originally appeared in The Afro.