Once threatened by development, the club’s recent historic designation now offers it protection and potential partnerships as the 11th Street Bridge Park and the reimagined Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium development transforms the Anacostia waterfront.��

In a prime, almost hidden corner of Boathouse Row, Seafarers was founded by mariner and educator Lewis Thomas Green in 1945 with the support of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and civil rights activist Mary McLeod Bethune. ��At a time when boat clubs were exclusively “white-only,” Seafarers stood as a haven for Black boaters and a symbol of resilience. ��

“It’s not about nostalgia. It’s about protecting what still serves the people,” said Roger Legerwood, Seafarers Yacht Club historian and 30-year member.

Historical designation offers legal protections��

Seafarers gained its historic designation in 2022, sponsored by the D.C. Office of Planning—shepherding in new protections against emerging developments.��

“We’re not scared, we’re historic. We’re in partnership with the D.C. government,” said Seafarers Yacht Club Commodore Tony Ford. ��

Seafarers falls within Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, which requires federal projects to assess and mitigate adverse effects on historic properties. �� ��

“If the review identifies potential adverse effects, the parties will coordinate to resolve them,” the D.C. Office of Planning said.��

Legerwood began documenting the history of the club about 25 years ago, almost by accident. ��He said he found the history fascinating, and his chronicled account eventually became the basis for filing historic preservation.��

“They just can’t run through here without checking,” Legerwood said. “When we see or hear of threats, we look at it as an opportunity to engage.” ��

The designation opens new doors for grant funding and restoration support. Seafarers partnered with the 11th Street Bridge Park team—the project to transform the abandoned 11th Street Bridge piers into a state-of-the-art park—to ensure the club’s legacy is cemented in the future of the waterfront. ����

“Connecting to the river has always been one of our key goals,” said Scott Kratz, director of the Bridge Park project.�� “Seafarers started the Anacostia River Cleanup in 1985.�� They’ve been critical to restoring and healing the river.”��

Kratz’s team secured a U.S. Coast Guard permit to maintain the navigational envelope—increasing visibility for organizations like Seafarers. ��The new park will include an environmental education center, which could feature Seafarers’ history and community programming. ����

Ford, who has led the club for seven years, said he views the Bridge Park partnership as a model for respectful collaboration. ��

“We’re already partners,” Ford said. “We offer free boat rides during cherry blossom week and talk about the history. ��It’s not adversarial; it’s community.”��

Ford is less certain about the RFK Stadium development, a $3-billion project expected to generate thousands of jobs and billions in tax revenue. ��

“We haven’t had a mutually respectful conversation with those developers,” Ford said. The club’s relationship is only through the mayor’s office, he said.��

Over the years, Ford said developers have used intimidation tactics. In one case, Ford said a developer sent an email alluding that Seafarer would sell its property before even having a conversation. Ford said he is used to the tactics—and some have already begun.

“Forming, storming, norming and performing, that’s how we figure out where we fit in,” Ford said. He added this is a teambuilding process that goes through different stages to understand their relationship and roles in the development projects.��

Despite concerns, Ford said he remains optimistic.����

“We are the oldest African American boat club in the country—not DC—in the country,” Ford said. ��

Seafarers started the Anacostia River clean up, and we will continue to do what serves the community, Ford said.��

It’s about the community��

For longtime D.C. resident and recreational fisherman Derick Jones, this is personal.�� Fishing on the Anacostia River for over 20 years, Jones acknowledged that the RFK development is good for the city.������

“I hope they don’t mess it up—a lot of young brothers come here to fish instead of getting in trouble,” Jones said.��

Jones urged developers to protect community spaces.����

“This is my fishing spot,” Jones said while laughing. “This is my peace of mind.” ��

Seafarers Business Manager Captain Anthony Hood echoed the sentiment.��

“We are a working club. Members bring their skills—woodwork, law, electrical—to keep things going.” ����

Hood joined the club in 2020 after his wife passed. He said she always had encouraged him to buy a boat. ����

“It has occupied my time and helped me heal—now I’m part of something bigger,” Hood said.��

As the business manager for Seafarers, Hood focuses on infrastructure and restoration efforts. ��Partnered with Anacostia Riverkeeper and the Council of Governments, Seafarer received a grant to remove abandoned boats as part of an initiative for cleaner waterways, Hood said.��

With work-in-progress projects all around the club, Hood said the infrastructure needs attention. ��Members are replacing old dock woods themselves, but with development funds, Hood said. ��

“We could rebuild the docks, the rail system and even the clubhouse,” Hood said.��

Legerwood said the club wants to amplify Seafarers’ legacy and make boating more affordable and inclusive. ��

“Inclusivity was our original mission,” Legerwood said. “Mr. Green built boats by hand but couldn’t find a place to dock because of his race—that’s why this place exist.”��

The D.C. Preservation League, which maintains the city’s historic inventory, said it added Seafarers to its public database after the designation and is now part of the public record. ��

D.C. Preservation League said, “That visibility matters.” ��

“We’re not just a boating club.” said Legerwood. “We’re a living archive of Black maritime history.”��

The post This last Black institution along the Anacostia is navigating development with intention first appeared on 91����.

What was the groove? “,” a go-go style, funk track rooted in the D.C. sound. The song, which will serve as the official anthem of the 11th Street Bridge Park, was released Oct. 5 at the Go-Go Museum.

The 11^th Street Bridge Park, a transformational elevated bridge park development, held its song release party to celebrate development and determination—honoring the city’s past and future.

The song was written by D.C.’s own grammy-nominated artist Raheem DeVaughn, produced by the famed Lorenzo Johnson aka Zo Smooth and co-produced by go-go legend, Salih Williams, better known by his stage name Bootsy Vegas, brings local rhythms interwoven with community spirit.

Devaughn and Williams said they took on this project because it was more than just a musical endeavor; it was a community driven initiative to create positive change and celebrate D.C.’s rich cultural history.

“Through music, we can communicate,” Williams said, “There’s a lack of historical understanding about a lot of these projects.”

A bridge like no other.

Thirteen years in the making, the project is now fully funded, is expected to break ground in spring of 2026 and launch in 2028.

A collaboration between the D.C. government and Building Bridges Across the River non-profit, Bridge Park strives to be the model for equitable development—strategically focused on housing, the arts, workforce and small business development.

Scott Kratz, the president and CEO of Building Bridges Across the River, said Bridge Park is a different kind of project.

“We’ve learned from projects of the past where residents have been displaced,” Kratz said. Gentrification, emblematic of D.C. evolving neighborhoods, has long plagued well-intentioned projects across the District.

“We had to be intentional about this work,” Kratz said. “It would have been easy to say, gentrification is a serious issue, but that’s not our job—we’re building a park.”

Kratz said before engaging a single designer, Bridge Park spent two years talking to residents, asking, “What did they think about transforming an old freeway into a park?”

The inclusive, community-led development will be the first of its kind—transforming the old, abandoned 11^th Street Bridge piers into a cutting-edge, elevated park. The vision is to create a community space that integrates historically disenfranchised neighborhoods east of the Anacostia River and the surrounding communities.

The Bridge Park will include playgrounds, urban agriculture, an Environmental Education Center and a 250-seat outdoor River Amphitheater.

Lovail Long, a Ward 8 resident and owner of DC Black Broadway, said, “This project means everything to me.”

Long, who produces stage plays and musicals, said the amphitheater will offer a space where he’ll be able to perform live for the community. Like his fond childhood memories of performances in Anacostia Park, Long said he and his wife wants to create memories through arts and music for a new generation of children.

Kratz said intentional development puts the community at the center.�� Building Bridges has invested more than $100 million in the community—more than needed to build the park.�� Through community-based initiatives like Homebuyer’s Club, 182 Ward 8 renters became homeowners and Bridge Park has secured 230 units of permanently affordable housing.

Bridge Park even worked with local artists and the community to create the anthem song befitting of this visionary park.

And the go-go beat goes on.

The percussion-driven go-go anthem was commissioned and curated by Ronald Moten, co-founder of the Go-Go Museum, along with Bridge Park leaders to symbolize the partnership between the Bridge Park development and the community.

Natalie Hopkinson, co-founder and chief curator of the Go-Go Museum and professor at American University, said, “go-go music is the official music of the D.C., codified in legislation,” so elevating the music is only natural.

Just as Moten cofounded the museum to preserve the culture and history of his beloved go-go music, he said he partnered with the 11^th Street Bridge Park because of its community-led, community-driven approach.

Through the loud, reverberating music, Moten said, “We started differently from most museums—most opened with an endowment—we opened with no money and people banging on the door asking us why aren’t you open,” noting parallels to the Bridge Park grassroots development approach.

DeVaughn, host of “The Original Quiet Storm,” the number one night-time show in D.C., said creating the anthem was a passion project to help the community and elevate go-go music.

After being “schooled” on the historical context of the bridge and learning enslaved people walked the original 11 Street Bridge every day, he said the project resonated with is lifelong commitment to the music and community.

DeVaughn said he views the song and performance as a way to bridge gaps and support black-owned businesses and create a platform that celebrates go-go—the heartbeat of D.C.

“Most importantly, we’re about having a footprint in the community and being of service,” DeVaughn said.

A former co-host of the famed Donnie Simpson Show, Williams said he came to “perform with a purpose.” Co-producing the song not only honors go-go pioneer Chuck Brown’s legacy, Williams said, “it brings people together who might not have been checking for go-go but left with an appreciation.”

In addition to creating music, Williams now dedicates his time to teaching kids broadcast journalism. He said he partnered with the D.C. Department of Parks and Recreation to teach journalism and provide scholarships to high school students in Ward 7 and 8.

Williams said creating the Bridge Park anthem with Johnson and DeVaughn was a natural extension of his work supporting his community where he was born, raised and still lives.

It’s about the community.

“A community on the river,” Kratz said. “Many people in the community have never been out on boats.”

Building Bridges works with local boating organizations like Seafarer’s Yacht Club and Anacostia Boathouse Association to connect the community with the Anacostia River.�� Bridge Park partners to offer free boat rides and to give community members an opportunity to kayak and canoe along the river.

D.C. transplant and American University Alum Jayra Collier’s employer Plum Good has been a Bridge Park sponsor for eight years.�� Collier said through its partnership, Park Bridge has promoted its teas, spices and sauces.

Collier said she hopes other transplants like herself will get to see “The real D.C.,” to promote local businesses and have a space to enjoy and rest.

Residents living along the Anacostia River deserve a waterfront just as beautiful as the residents of Georgetown,” Kratz said.

The song release party symbolizes a celebratory reflection of where the project started. Kratz said, “Long term residents who’ve been here through some of the challenging times, through the disinvestment, can be here for the good times.”

Much like D.C.’s syncopated go-go music, the future of the Anacostia community history must be preserved, said Dr. Deborah Evans, board member of the Go-Go Museum.

“Progress is good, but we have to maintain the history of the community.”

The post “Take it to the Bridge”: Go-go song release party celebrates 11th Street Bridge Park first appeared on 91����.

City Developers have plans for Anacostia and it may end up looking more like Georgetown’s storefront-lined main street than home to some of the District’s richest history and culture for the communities who produced it.��

However, one new business hopes to create a third space that doesn’t contribute to the gentrification that many locals have pointed to as disruptive and destructive to their communities.��

“Gentrification is inevitable.”��

That is what Mignon Hemsley, Co-owner of , a coffee-plant-wellness experience located next to the DHCD headquarters in Anacostia, said. Mignon, originally from the DMV area, along with business partner, Photographer, and Pennsylvania native Danuelle Doswell, started Grounded as an online plant shop during the pandemic.��

With a clean-earthy aesthetic that both captured the interest of their peers. Photos of friends and colleagues fill product displays and line the walls of unity that have formed around their business. Grounded thrived online, garnering business contracts from Meta, Google, and ESPN and companies like them who, Mignon explained, wanted to bring a more relaxing and healing atmosphere to their respective office spaces in the post-pandemic era. Mignon hopes that their new storefront will build a community around the cafe seating area.�� The pictures of friends, Mignon told thewash.org, represent long-standing supporters of their business and the community.

The duo opened a storefront for their business earlier this year, adding a cafe, open seating and a Wellness studio to their existing plants and accessories business.��

Grounded is unique, not in its business model, but in its location in Anacostia and what it provided to some big corporations. Coffee shops that offer other bespoke services like and wellness programming are much more prevalent in other more affluent areas of the city. Still, Mignon said she and Danuelle intentionally chose Anacostia as their storefront’s location. They are both committed to continuing to serve their peers and willing ask the question themselves,�� “How is your business helping the community?”��

Stephanie, who works as Grounded’s Plant Care Specialists, considers Grounded a relaxing and healing place.��

��“It’s a chill space,” Stephanie said,�� “where plant care meets self-care.”��

Anacostia has always been a working-class community; like many working-class communities, families still feel the squeeze of inflation.

Fashion stylist Mo, who goes byonline and business partner, and fashion buyer, 2D, runs the

Vintage Charmed boutique in the Anacostia Arts Center is a vintage fashion shop offering high-end, lightly worn vintage garments, accessories, and styling services.

Mo said she thinks consumers can afford higher priced items, but has noticed her customers are thinking twice before making a purchase, and would like to see more businesses the community needs.

2D said, “Customers are buying, but they are being more intentional.”�� 2D would like to see more support for visual artists and is thinking of offering free and discounted art supplies to artists in the neighborhood.��

In the meantime, Mignon is working to bring that “third space” into existence by bringing events and workshops to the space and inviting young people to the space. Mignon and Danuelle have plans to partner with Anacostia, Ballou, and Thurgood Marshall high schools to increase young people’s experiences in nature, teach them about plant care, and provide youth programming from their wellness space.��

Mignon and Danuelle are also sensitive to the different�� socioeconomic circumstances residents of their adopted neighborhood face in comparison to other parts of the city, and have promised to work to lower in-store prices to match price points advertised online, a risky decision that many businesses would avoid in favor of reaping larger profits. But Mignon, confident in her business, and the community she has built around it, said, “If we can survive the pandemic, we can survive anything.”��

The post “Grounded” brings plant wellness, and community focus to a changing Anacostia first appeared on 91����.

The event was dubbed a soft launch. It was open to the public but targeted city officials, artists, and organizers who are involved in preserving GoGo music.

Located at 1920 Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue Southeast in the historic Anacostia neighborhood, the new museum honors��the appreciation and study of GoGo music.����

“It’s not just about recognition,” said At-large City Councilmember�� Kenyan McDuffie to a wall-to-wall packed audience.“It’s about preservation. It’s about celebration.”

At Large City Councilmember Robert White described the museum’s opening as a “celebration of resilience and community culture.”��

Mayor Bowser took the stage at 11:30 AM and was greeted by political friends, the press, and GoGo, the official music of D.C.

“We have 80 museums in Washington DC, but until today, we had one missing,” said Bowser.��

The first of its kind, the GoGo Museum is minutes away from the Frederick Douglass National Historic Site and the Anacostia Community Museum. It features a two-level outdoor event space.

Community leaders and educators reminded the packed crowd of the hard work artists have put into legitimizing GoGo, culminating in the museum’s creation. Ronald Moten, co-founder of #DontMuteDC and the GoGo Museum, spoke out about the persistent lack of funding for the arts.��

“And that’s why, that’s why what happened with #DontMuteDC was so important, because it showed that we have a voice and a say in the city,” said Moten.����

“We’re constantly criminalized, constantly being muted. Our voices are muted, our bodies are muted, our music is muted. And now that we have the GoGo Museum we have a home forever and just want to make it last forever,” said Natalie Hopkinson, Associate Professor of Journalism at American University, co-founder of #DontMuteDC, and the GoGo Museum.����

GoGo performers gave their remarks on the impact of GoGo Music as well as the potential impact of the GoGo Museum revealed itself. Performer after performer spoke of the life-changing positive impacts of GoGo music on their life. Son of Chuck Brown, D.C.’s Godfather of GoGo, and speaker of the Chuck Brown Band said.

Anwan “Big G” Glover, one of the lead vocalists of BackYard Band, urged youth to pay attention to their history and said bands like Rare Essence and Junkyard Band paved the way for him.��

“Junk paved the way for Back,” Glover said.��

Reflecting on the moment as the crowd enjoyed dueling performances from the Junkyard Band and Backyard Band, Kelsey Adams, Executive Director of Long Live GoGo, the organization behind the annual Moechella event, said��she was happy to be in a space that was actually preserving DC culture.��

“This is going to be a brick and mortar, so a place where GoGo can actually live, a place where people can come to at any time to kind of witness what the GoGo community produces.”����

The GoGo Museum is set to open officially in February 2025.

The post GoGo advocates and city officials celebrate nation’s first GoGo museum first appeared on 91����.

Carla Brannum described poll workers at Fort Stanton Recreation Center as “dependable” and said she was just happy to “vote without nonsense, no paper fires, no once scratching each other.” 

Carla was referring to reports of ballot boxes that were set on fire in Oregon last week. 

Many voters we spoke to were concerned with national elections, but voters still turned out to vote for local down-ballot issues. Ward 8 voters chose to stick with embattled councilmember Tryaon White. With over 17,000 votes, about 75% of Ward 8 voters, Councilmember White clenched a victory by the end of the night for his re-election bid. 

Residents we spoke to shared mixed reactions to Trayon White’s re-election. 

Edward Ford, a longtime supporter of White and volunteer for the campaign, said, “Councilmember White is walking in the shadow of Mayor Marion Barry,” something we’ve heard before from Ward 8 residents and one that has a basis in history.

Edward said Trayon White is advocating for the people. “The FBI came against Marion Barry because he was an advocate for his people.” 

The civil rights movement From which Marion Barry came is littered with figures the government effectively targeted. 

Ermias Woldu, a D.C. resident of nine years and first-time voter, said that even though our city is divided up by wards, we are still one city. Ward 8 residents should be supported by the rest of the city as the case surrounding White unfolds. 

That’s why he voted for Initiative 83, saying that having more voting options might bring greater accountability among elected officials,  “down the road with Initiative 83, with people having more options, people might not do corruption.” 

But in a part of the district that often doesn’t receive the attention and care it deserves, having a city leader like a council member who remains as present in that community as White garners substantial support shouldn’t be a surprise. 

“His record remains strong of how he shows up in the ward and how everyone knows him because he always shows up. He supports people, he makes people feel seen and heard, and that is probably the powerful thing a candidate can do, especially outside of election season,” said Sandy Patel, who works in Ward 8. 

Despite facing a federal bribery charge, DC Ward 8 Councilmember Trayon White has easily won reelection. I spoke to White earlier tonight, he says this should send a message to the DC Council that it should not vote to expel him.

— Tom Roussey (@tomroussey7news)

The D.C. council ad hoc committee leading an independent investigation of White could restrict White’s power and political influence or remove him from his seat, effectively rejecting the voters’ election day. Their decision is expected to be announced next month. 

Voters in Ward 8 echoed sentiments heard across the country. The issues that guided the voters we talked to were reproductive rights, the economy, and ending the tensions and violence that seem to have animated politics and everyday life in this country over the last 8 years. 

“I hope that we can reach some sort of unity as a country. I hope that we can accept the outcome of the elections without violence,” said Magean Hayes, who we spoke to at Arthur Capper Recreation Center

According to the D.C. Board of Elections, about 26% of Ward 8 residents attended the polls. In a ranked ballot, Councilmember White would not have necessarily won a re-election bid, and voters in Ward 8 would theoretically have more options in candidates to vote for, meaning Candidates would have to work harder for D.C. residents’ votes. 

The post Mixed reactions to Trayon White’s re-election in Ward 8 as DC investigates potential ethics violations first appeared on 91����.

Events DC is in charge of the renewed development of the area. They own many of the district’s prominent event spaces like the Walter E. Washington Convention Center and Nationals Park.��

The demolition of RFK Stadium was initially scheduled for 2019, but according to Events DC, it was postponed first because of the COVID-19 pandemic and then because of a lack of funding to hire proper contractors for the job.

However, when contacted by 91����, a spokesperson declined to provide a clear timeline for demolition. The spokesperson said “Events DC is not the owner of the stadium or the land it sits on. This is a DC Council issue.”

To tourists and residents alike, it continues to be an unpleasant eyesore in the Southeast. Some say they would prefer it gone, but others say they don’t mind the landmark, as long as it doesn’t cause them any harm.��

Deja Williams, 22, is from Hagerstown, Maryland and visits the district to spend time with her boyfriend. She says she doesn’t love the view and she worries about the threats the aging stadium poses to the area’s residents.��

��“I don’t really care for it too much. I think that they’re probably gonna eventually pull it down because if they don’t it’s gonna end up falling apart anyways and create a hazard,” she said.��

However, her biggest issue with the surviving stadium is that it takes away from the beauty of the new parks built in 2019.��

The Fields at RFK are just the first part in Events DC’s five-part plan to rehabilitate the surrounding area. The park includes three turf fields for sports like soccer, baseball and kickball, a pavilion for public events and a playground.

On any given day, anyone can hear children playing and dogs strolling��through the brand-new Fields park.��

But there’s a stark contrast just across the street with unsavory views of weeds growing in abandoned parking lots and paint chipping in the distance.��

The asbestos-riddled behemoth of unused metal that represents a former vibrant D.C. casts a shadow over new development, preventing a neighborhood stuck in the past from moving forward.��

Nick Sanchez, 45, moved to the Southeast area six years ago. He said he wishes they would build a new stadium so he could see the Commanders play so close to home, but he also likes how the Fields have transformed the neighborhood.��

“This has been great here. The Fields are in use every day. The playground is always busy, there’s always people working out and there’s games,” he said. “It’s really livened up the area here so I really dig the Fields.”��

But residents are conflicted about what should replace the old home of Washington football. Some like Williams say they want to see stores and restaurants to replace a distinct lack of businesses in the mostly residential neighborhood, but others like Sanchez say they would like to see football return to the district.��

In March, Mayor Muriel Bowser said part of the area would be turned into an indoor recreational facility according to , but she wants to leave options open for a potential new stadium.��

The issue of land ownership is another hurdle Events DC faces in the demolition process. A representative from the organization said that technically, the federal government owns the land that houses the structure. Events DC is only in charge of the demolition.��

Mayor Bowser and Representative Eleanor Holmes Norton to give the DC Council ownership of the 190 acres so they can get work done faster, but the process involves legislation that has not yet passed. Efforts to line up interviews with Rep. Norton didn’t come to fruition before publishing this article.��

Currently, the District pays $3.5 million in maintenance costs every year to keep the 60-year-old stadium standing, but the home of feral raccoons and cats will soon be a distant memory.��

Earlier this year, two fires broke out in the stadium’s basement level, caused by flammable “trash,” according to D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services.��

After news of the fire, Events D.C. said preliminary removal of hazardous materials has begun. They posted a saying demolition of major structural components will be completed by the end of 2023.”��

The stadium will not have a controlled implosion, according to the Demolition Services Agreement obtained by . Instead, Smoot Construction has begun slowly removing hazardous materials like asbestos, which they expect will be finished in the coming months.��

The post RFK Stadium is still an eyesore after five years first appeared on 91����.

Construction on the grocery store was supposed to begin in January 2019, but didn’t begin until March 2020. Federal immigration policy drove up labor costs and steel tariffs are mostly to blame, according to Philip Sambol, the executive director of Oasis Community Partners, which runs Good Food Markets.

Ward 8, which is predominantly Black, had . And the area has been of the city during the coronavirus pandemic. The ward has the highest number of deaths in the District and the third-highest number of positive cases. Many residents have lost their jobs and struggle to afford basic necessities such as housing and food.

Bread for the City, which offers free food and has a location in Ward 8’s Anacostia, has seen demand double during the coronavirus pandemic. The has forced residents to rely on corner stores, said Kenrick Thomas, a spokesman for Bread for the City. “And what that leads to is unhealthy food, and what that leads to is an unhealthy diet, and then that causes health issues.”

The construction delays on the Ward 8 location in Bellevue drove up the costs to over $500,000, Sambol said. The market has received additional funding from the Bainum Family Foundation and the D.C. Department of Insurance Securities and Banking, which recently awarded the organization $500,000 to help complete construction on the Ward 8 store.

“I am excited that we were able to provide funding to Good Food Markets to help finalize construction on a much-needed new grocery store in Ward 8, increasing access to healthy food options east of the river and creating jobs for local residents,” D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser.

The grocery store will share a building with 190 housing units and area neighborhood commissioner offices, Sambol said.

Good Food has one market up and running in D.C., in Northeast Washington. That location has been running since 2015 and is primarily staffed by local residents.

“Grocery stores are some of the most well-funded, data-driven businesses in the entire world,” Sambol said. “And they’re not wrong that their model won’t work in say Bellevue, Ward 8, or Langdon, Ward 5, but that doesn’t mean nothing will work.”

The organization hopes to bring a market to Prince George’s County too. Prince George’s County is the most affluent majority-African American jurisdiction in the country, but has struggled to attract large grocery stores in certain areas of the county.

The Good Food in Prince George’s at the end of 2018 after a Safeway in the Seat Pleasant area closed in 2016, but that opening has been delayed as well. The project has been dormant because funding partners and public sector partners were unable to come to an agreement.��

The challenges Good Food has faced bringing stores to low-income areas highlights the difficulty of addressing, areas where people do not live close to supermarkets. Access to capital, training and entrepreneurship, vendors, and hardware are some of the factors that determine whether an organization can compete in the grocery sector, Sambol said. Poverty experts also of communities of color, especially East of the Anacostia River.

“I think nothing that we’ve encountered is novel, nothing is insurmountable but it does speak to why there are not more of these,” Sambol said.

And while a new grocery store is important, Lisa Fitzpatrick, a doctor who lives in Ward 8, said the city should use more of its resources to “improve food and nutrition literacy to help people feel confident in making healthy food selections.”

“A lot of advice is not tailored to people’s reality,” said Fitzpatrick, who is also the founder of , an organization that strives to help people understand the health-care system.

In the end, advocates hope that Ward 8 will receive more than just a grocery store. Hanna Baker is an area neighborhood commissioner in the Ward. She said economic development is on the minds of residents, and many want affordable homeownership opportunities.

“Community serving retail is a vast gap in need in the community,” Baker said.

The post Year-long delays continue on Ward 8 grocery store first appeared on 91����.

“We consider this massive undertaking essential to our commitment to supporting Black Washingtonians, and to dismantling systems that keep them as second-class citizens in their own country,” George Jones, the chief executive of Bread for the City, announcing the opening.��

The 28,000-square-foot center’s opening comes at a time when District residents face a coronavirus pandemic and the economic fallout from it. More than have died from Covid-19 and tens of thousands have filed for unemployment insurance.

Almost in the District are Black. Bread for the City’s second location, equipped with a medical clinic, is one way to address these health disparities, the nonprofit’s leaders said. It is located in Ward 8, which is predominantly Black and has the third highest number of positive cases in the District.

The demand for Bread for the City’s services has almost doubled during the coronavirus pandemic, Kenrick Thomas, a spokesman for Bread for the City, said.

The new building sits across the street from the old 9,000-square-foot building. The added space will allow the organization to serve 75,000 people annually, compared to the 52,000 it currently serves each year.

The old building opened in 2002. Unity Health Care’s medical practice was housed in the building for a number of years, but Unity Health Care eventually moved out into a larger space.

Unity’s health care practice is less than a mile away from the Southeast center, but “I would guess that probably fewer than half of those people have ever made it up to that clinic,” Jones said. “Even that was too much of a barrier.”

The new building will offer primary care, dental care, vision care and behavioral health care. Jones plans to spend October through December hiring medical staff and figuring out how to safely open the building to the public.

Jones said the new Southeast building will likely mimic the safety protocols put in place at Bread for the City’s Northwest location, which only allows people into the building for medical appointments. That location also offers free covid-19 testing and flu shots.

Bread for the City’s leaders hope Southeast residents will no longer have to travel far for their medical needs now that the new Southeast location offers medical services. Many residents travel to Bread for the City’s Northwest location for medical help, or to one of several community health clinics in the area, such as Unity Health Care or Community of Hope.

United Medical Center, a public hospital, is the only hospital located east of the Anacostia River and . Planning for a new hospital east of the River is in the works but anti-poverty advocates say a new hospital won’t solve all of the region’s health disparities.

“Access to really reliable, safe quality primary care is really the secret to helping keep a community healthy,” Jones said.

The new center will also have an expanded food pantry. Clients will be able to walk in and pick their food, instead of being handed a bag of pre-picked food items, Keith Lemons, the supervisor for food distribution, said.

“A lot of people, they need us now more than they used to need us, because it’s kind of hard getting around and plus we don’t have that many grocery stores in this area,” Lemons said.

Michelle Woodward, 36, has been going to Bread for the City since 2017. She said the organization has given her bags of food, helped her pay her electricity bill and provided emotional support when her mother passed away in April.

Woodward toured the new Southeast location last week. “I love the building, I love everything it has in it,” Woodward said. “I can’t wait until it opens.”

The post Southeast Washington to receive new medical clinic first appeared on 91����.

Watson was just 15.

But now, many who knew Watson often ponder whether he would have survived if his commute to the hospital would have been slightly shorter.

“I wonder still to this day, like, what that would have been like had he been taken to a hospital that was significantly closer,” said Nathan Luecking, a social worker at Anacostia High School who knew Watson. “Would he have survived? And that’s the kind of thing that I have to think about every time a student is killed, pronounced dead at the hospital.”

What could have been a brief nine-minute ride in the ambulance to the closest hospital, United Medical Center (UMC), ended up being a longer commute because UMC currently does not operate as a Level 1 trauma center and cannot treat the most seriously injured patients.

According to a spokesperson for the D.C. Fire Department, gunshot victims in Southeast D.C. can be transported to George Washington University Hospital, Howard University Hospital, MedStar Washington Hospital Center or UM Prince George’s Hospital Center.

At the time of Watson’s shooting, the closest active hospital would have likely been Prince George’s, at least 20 minutes away.

The remaining three hospitals are located at least 25 minutes away, excluding traffic.

The Fire Department declined to provide specific emergency care details about the Watson shooting due to concerns over medical privacy.

According to data provided by the Metropolitan Police Department, Wards 7 and 8 have experienced 87 gun-related homicides this year.

But some victims of gun violence in Southeast D.C. don’t get the chance to receive medical treatment, whether at UMC or another D.C. hospital. Community activist Jay Brown said that when he arrives at the scene of a shooting, no one has the necessary training to resuscitate the victim.

“So they literally bleed to death right in front of you,” said Brown. “You literally have to watch somebody bleed to death. They go into cardiac arrest, bleed out, just because we don’t have a trauma center nearby.”��

Brown said that he often sees victims of blunt-force trauma rushed to UMC, only to be transferred to another trauma center, ultimately adding to the amount of time before they are treated by a medical professional.

UMC, the only public hospital in Southeast D.C., offers limited healthcare services to its residents because the D.C. government elected to shut down the hospital by 2023. The decision, spearheaded by Ward 7 ANC Councilmember Vincent Gray, slashed hospital funding for UMC, which forced a shutdown of the trauma center and maternity ward and limited staffing for nurses.��

The decision was made, in part, as a result of the questionable track record of the hospital. According to reports by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, there were at least 26 health violations discovered at the hospital in 2018. Some of these violations included patient rights and infection control.

This decision left residents in Wards 7 and 8, like Watson, with no choice but to be transported across the Anacostia River, into the heart of the city, to address both basic and dire health concerns.

But according to reports by the D.C. Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, homicides by firearm were among the most common cause of death for residents in Wards 7 and 8 in comparison to the rest of D.C. , there were approximately 42 homicides between Wards 7 and 8.��

While the remaining five wards in D.C. only experienced a combined 36 shootings for the year.

Drug overdose and cardiovascular disease were the other two most frequent causes of death in both Wards.

When patients are transferred to hospitals quickly, they are ultimately met with slow diagnoses’ from medical professionals. The lack of funding has placed staffing constraints on hospital employees, especially nurses at UMC.

According to exclusive reporting by 91����, if a patient does get treated at UMC, the average wait time can be up to five hours. Based on average national ER wait times , D.C. takes 2nd place behind Puerto Rico for the longest amount of time patients spend in the emergency room.

“We need supplies, we need to have adequate staffing, we need safety conditions for ourselves,” said Roberta LeNoir, a nurse at UMC and President of D.C. Nurses Association UMC unit. “There are nurses being hurt in the psych department because of inadequate staffing. We don’t have an adequate housekeeping department, so we’re sweeping floors, mopping floors, pulling trash, pulling linen. We do it all.”

LeNoir and several other community members attended a recent hearing on the future of UMC, which turned into a searing six hours of testimony about the dire need for UMC to remain open.

At the hearing, Councilmember Gray said his priority has been developing a new hospital in Southeast D.C., which is reportedly set to open on December 31, 2022.

Gray says the new hospital will include many of the facilities that UMC can no longer provide including a trauma center.

Meanwhile, without a hospital, community members like Luecking of Anacostia High are still fighting for access to adequate medical care.

“The reason I’m here is because the lack of adequate healthcare funding East of the river is literally killing children,” said Luecking, of Anacostia High. “The length of time it takes a gunshot victim to get from Southeast D.C. up to Howard University or George Washington University is the difference between life and death.”

The post Hospital care denied for many victims of violent crime first appeared on 91����.

“I grew up with my little brother and I saw a lot of kids my age saying boys can’t cry,” Riley, a junior at Ballou High School in Southeast Washington, said. “As I got older, I started to get involved in political and social issues and realized gender norms are stupid.”

Riley and about a dozen other teenagers launched their own children’s books Thursday in Northwest Washington. The high schoolers, many from Wards 7 and 8, are part of an after-school tutoring program called Reach. Each year some of the students get to publish books for the second- and third-graders they mentor.

Kids like seeing authors like us. Kids need to see authors like us.

“Kids like seeing authors like us. Kids need to see authors like us,” said DeAsia Scott, a Reach tutor and senior at Dunbar High School in Truxton Circle. She’s written two books through the program.

Now in its seventh year of producing young authors, Reach has given away 13,000 books written by D.C. teens, said Jusna N. Perrin, the organization’s deputy director for programs. The topics range from grief, to go-go music, to friendship.

“These books are valuable and their value is amplified when we put them in the hands of those they’re intended to inspire,” Perrin said.

The books not only provide racial diversity in children’s literature – the characters at the center of these titles are almost always black kids – but they also promote diversity in experiences, Perrin said.

Jocktavious Montford, 15, another student from Ballou, said he wanted to write a book that could help children deal with grief. He worked with three other students to write “Georgia in the Jungle.”

“We agreed on grief because we know it’s a thing a lot of young people go through, but don’t know how to deal with,” Jocktavious said.

The book’s main character, Georgia, loses interest in the things she enjoys when her best friend dies. At an overnight event at the zoo, Georgia is visited by five animals who take the forms of five stages of grief.

The message strikes true for kids in the District, many of whom have lost friends, cousins and siblings. Twenty children and teens under the age of 19 have been killed in the city since the beginning of the calendar year,.

At Ballou, where Jocktavious goes to school, three children died in a single school year between 2017 and 2018.

The book launch gave students an opportunity to introduce their books and share their own stories. The annual event serves as a fundraiser for Reach; dozens in attendance purchased books.����

The event was also hosted by Shout Mouse Press, the group of story coachers, illustrators and designers who collaborate with students, said Kathy Crutcher, the publisher’s founder.

The teens worked for about six weeks with story coaches and illustrators to bring their titles to life. Marisa Kwaning, a Virginia private school teacher, helped the team behind “Georgia in the Jungle.”

“Most of the kids have never done this before, so there’s a lot of doubt, and fear, and worries and just wanting to look cool in front of each other,” Kwaining said. “And then you get to see them dig deep.”

Kwaning not only gave writing advice but also coached students through challenges. When students disagreed over what to name a character or how to develop a plot, Kwaning “had to remind them it will be beautiful in the end,” she said.

In “Game of Pharaohs,” three students struggling in school learn how to persevere when they get trapped in a video game, said Camal Shorter, author and eleventh-grader at Coolidge High School in Takoma. Another book, “Money Marcus,” was written to teach kids that friendships and happiness are more important than money.

“Kids think that money makes the world go round but that’s not the case,” said Dewan Driver, a 16-year-old from Roosevelt High School. “Completing your goals is more important. We try to tell kids to be nice.”

The post ‘Kids need to see authors like us,’ D.C. teens write, launch their own books first appeared on 91����.