We often shed light on the experiences of our sisters and brothers living east of the Anacostia River, in the lower-income neighborhoods with a significant Black population. It's gotten to the point where issues affecting Black people in Ward 4, one of D.C.'s more culturally diverse areas, get swept under the rug.
“My situation’s no different from any Black man who’s been accosted by a belligerent white man."
Questions about what caused Alonzo Smith's death remain unanswered.
Anyone who says differently sure as hell hasn’t had the sense of hopelessness that I felt on the corner of 9th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, contextualized by lessons life thrown my way about what it truly means to be a black man in America.
Despite concerns about safety and the increased presence of Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officers on the premises, the Tenleytown-based school has maintained some normalcy. Some students have taken the changes lightly, saying they hope to move on with their lives.
"Some [of these] people are just trying to get over their past. They should be given a second chance to prove themselves to society.”
