Washington Informer

Chinua Achebe, the Nigerian author and towering man of letters died on Thursday in Boston. He was 82.

His agent in London said Achebe – who'd used a wheelchair since a car accident in Nigeria in 1990 left him paralyzed from the waist down -- died after a brief illness.

Chinua Achebe (pronounced CHIN-you-ah Ah-CHAY-bay) achieved worldwide acclaim with his first novel, "Things Fall Apart." The 215-page book, published in 1958 when Achebe was 28, would become a classic of world literature and required reading for students, selling more than 10 million copies in 45 languages.

The story was inspired by the history of Achebe's own family, part of the Ibo nation of southeastern Nigeria, a people victimized by the racism of British colonial administrators and then by the brutality of military dictators from other Nigerian ethnic groups.

"Things Fall Apart" gave expression to Achebe's first stirrings of anti-colonialism and a desire to use literature as a weapon against Western biases. As if to sharpen it with irony, he borrowed from the Western canon itself in using as its title a line from Yeats's apocalyptic poem "The Second Coming."

"In the end, I began to understand," Mr. Achebe later wrote. "There is such a thing as absolute power over narrative. Those who secure this privilege for themselves can arrange stories about others pretty much where, and as, they like."

Achebe's political thinking evolved from blaming colonial rule for Africa's woes to frank criticism of African rulers and the African citizens who tolerated their corruption and violence. Indeed, it was Nigeria's civil war in the 1960s and then its military dictatorship in the 1980s and '90s that forced Mr. Achebe abroad.

In his writing and teaching Mr. Achebe sought to reclaim the continent from Western literature, which he felt had reduced it to an alien, barbaric and frightening land devoid of its own art and culture. He took particular exception to "Heart of Darkness," the novel byJoseph Conrad, whom he thought "a thoroughgoing racist."

(Source: The New York Times)

In an ongoing effort to strengthen ties and increase trade and investment with one of the world's fastest-growing economies, Victor L. Hoskins, the District's deputy mayor for Planning and Economic Development, has embarked on a nine-day mission to China.

The mission is follows up to the China trip Hoskins took in June with Mayor Vincent Gray, other city administrators and officials from the private sector, including representatives from Howard University and the University of the District of Columbia.

"Last year, I took part in a similar trade trip to strengthen our business relationships with several cities across China, and I am proud that Deputy Mayor Hoskins will continue that overseas economic-development work to ensure that the District continues to diversify our economy," said Mayor Gray. "As we work to increase the District's profile in the global marketplace, this trip will focus on securing foreign direct investment, attracting technology companies and building academic partnerships."

Hoskins is leading the business-development mission to promote investment, trade, and education opportunities for the District in China.

The delegation will stop in:

• Beijing, where District representatives will meet with government officials, sovereign wealth funds, universities and technology companies;

• Shanghai, where the District will meet with government officials, the local chamber of commerce, and potential investors; and

• Suzhou, where university officials will visit The George Washington University's new satellite campus and learn from its academic expansion efforts.

The trip is meant to continue building on the relationships that have emerged between many District-based businesses, academic institutions, individuals and their Chinese counterparts.

While there, Hoskins and the delegation will work on attracting foreign direct investment into the District, inviting Chinese high-tech companies to open research and development facilities in the District, and establishing new partnership agreements between D.C.-based education institutions and China-based universities.

WASHINGTON, DC— Three months after the tragic shooting in Newtown, Conn., President Barack Obama said that the Senate has taken important steps forward to help protect our kids by reducing gun violence. The American people made their voices heard, and the Senate made progress to make it harder for criminals and people with serious mental illnesses to get guns, to crack down on anyone trying to funnel guns to criminals, and to reinstate and strengthen a ban on the sale of military-style assault weapons. Each of these ideas deserves a vote. President Obama urges Congress to pass these commonsense measures while affirming our Nation's tradition of responsible gun ownership.

In his weekly address on March 23 from the White House, Obama stated:

"It has now been three months since the tragic events in Newtown, Connecticut. Three months since we lost 20 innocent children and six dedicated adults who had so much left to give. Three months since we, as Americans, began asking ourselves if we're really doing enough to protect our communities and keep our children safe.

"For the families who lost a loved one on that terrible day, three months doesn't even begin to ease the pain they're feeling right now. It doesn't come close to mending the wounds that may never fully heal.

"But as a nation, the last three months have changed us. They've forced us to answer some difficult questions about what we can do – what we must do – to prevent the kinds of massacres we've seen in Newtown and Aurora and Oak Creek, as well as the everyday tragedies that happen far too often in big cities and small towns all across America.

"Today there is still genuine disagreement among well-meaning people about what steps we should take to reduce the epidemic of gun violence in this country. But you – the American people – have spoken. You've made it clear that it's time to do something. And over the last few weeks, Senators here in Washington have listened and taken some big steps forward.

"Two weeks ago, the Senate advanced a bill that would make it harder for criminals and people with a severe mental illness from getting their hands on a gun – an idea supported by nine out of ten Americans, including a majority of gun owners.

"The Senate also made progress on a bill that would crack down on anyone who buys a gun as part of a scheme to funnel it to criminals – reducing violent crime and protecting our law enforcement officers.

"Finally, the Senate took steps to reinstate and strengthen a ban on the sale of military-style assault weapons, set a 10-round limit for magazines, and make our schools safer places for kids to learn and grow.

"These ideas shouldn't be controversial – they're common sense. They're supported by a majority of the American people. And I urge the Senate and the House to give each of them a vote.

"As I've said before, we may not be able to prevent every act of violence in this country. But together, we have an obligation to try. We have an obligation to do what we can.

"Right now, we have a real chance to reduce gun violence in America, and prevent the very worst violence. We have a unique opportunity to reaffirm our tradition of responsible gun ownership, and also do more to keep guns out of the hands of criminals or people with a severe mental illness.

"We've made progress over the last three months, but we're not there yet. And in the weeks ahead, I hope Members of Congress will join me in finishing the job – for our communities and, most importantly, for our kids. "

Purchase Season or Mini Plans before April 1 and lock in 2012 pricing for the 2013 Season

The 2012 NL East Champion Washington Nationals will celebrate Opening Day and the start of the 2013 season at Nationals Park on Monday, April 1 when the team hosts the Miami Marlins at 1:05 p.m. The first 20,000 fans to enter the ballpark through Center Field Gate will receive an Opening Day Cap presented by GEICO. Nationals fans are encouraged to show their NATITUDE by wearing red and plenty of Curly W's!

Advance tickets to attend Opening Day are sold out, but fans can still purchase Standing Room Only tickets for $20 at nationals.com/tickets, while supplies last. In addition, approximately 400 Grandstand seats will be available for $15 at the Main Box Office starting at 10:30 a.m. on the day of the game. Fans are encouraged to arrive earlier than normal in order to enjoy Opening Day festivities.

For those who don't want to miss a minute of the 2013 season, only a few days remain to purchase season and mini plans at 2012 pricing. Nationals fans have until Sunday, March 31 to lock in 2012 prices for one or two-year season plans or mini plans with locations on all levels of the ballpark. To take advantage of this limited time offer, visit nationals.com/2013 (season plans) and nationals.com/miniplans (mini plans) or call 202.675.NATS(6287) – Option #1.

OPENING DAY SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

Emceed by Emmy Award-winning sports broadcaster and CBS News Special Correspondent James Brown, the Opening Day pregame ceremony will include:

· Ceremonial First Pitch thrown by former Staff Sergeant and Medal of Honor recipient Clint Romesha

· Game Ball delivery by Admiral Sandy Winnefeld, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

· Lineup Card delivery by D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray

· National Anthem and America the Beautiful performed by the U.S. Army Chorus Quartet

· A giant American flag unfurled by members of the D.C. Air National Guard and the D.C. National Guard in the outfield

· Starting Nine featuring children of deployed service members

· Play Ball announcement made by Winthrop Roosevelt, great-great grandson of Theodore Roosevelt

FAN PROMOTIONS & ENTERTAINMENT

· The first 20,000 fans to enter the ballpark through Center Field Gate will receive an Opening Day Cap presented by GEICO

· N Street festivities will include balloons and fire trucks adorned with a giant American flag

· The Nationals drumline will perform outside Center Field Gate

· The Kids Zone will feature caricature artists, face painters and a sign-making station

· "Scott's New Band" will perform at the Miller Lite Scoreboard Walk

GETTING TO THE BALLPARK

Parking options for Nationals fans begin at $15 and are available for purchase online at nationals.com/parking. Fans are encouraged to purchase parking in advance online to ensure they receive a space in their desired area. Other transportation options include Metro, Metrobus, DC Circulator Bus and water taxi service. Fans are also encouraged to use the bicycle valet (located on First Street, SE near N Street SE) and bike racks around the ballpark.

A select group of publishers who belong to the National Newspaper Publishers Association met with Education Secretary Arne Duncan in Washington, D.C., recently to discuss education issues that directly impact African Americans throughout the country.

Each publisher voiced their concerns which ranged from the closure of public schools and the onslaught of charter schools in urban school districts, which also includes the District of Columbia, to the future of public education, violence in schools and school security, along with access to higher education for African American and Latino students.

Duncan addressed those issues after sharing his concerns about the impact of the sequestration on funding for education programs that specifically serve minority communities. He said his major concern for the country, "not exclusively in Black communities, it's all across the country, but when it comes to dealing with Black communities, we don't have enough parents demanding a world-classneducation for their kids."

"A dropout today," he said, "is basically condemned to poverty and social failure. There are no good jobs today for a high school dropout. That wasn't always true. The stakes have risen dramatically for high-quality education. The issue we have here is very few parents demanding a quality education for their children."

Duncan proceeded to talk about America's "drop out factories" which he defined as school districts in communities that mass produce dropouts. "With a [drop out] rate in the Black community at 30, 40 and 50 percent, it is no way to sustain a strong middle class.

How can parents in communities allow for decades to be served by schools that are mass producing dropouts? How can we awaken parents to say that our children can't compete, can't get a good job if they don't get a world-class education? I struggle with that, and bany insight you have will be really helpful?"

Well, Secretary Duncan, clearly you are ignoring the facts and ignoring the outcry of Black parents.

If African-American children were provided equal access to an"world-class education", do you believe the rates would be so high?

Do you really believe that parents send their children to school every bday expecting anything less than a "world-class education" if bsuch an education exist and was made available to them? What do you expect parents to do?

Sure, greater parental involvement may be an answer but not to your question. The Black community knows very well the value of education, and it has suffered, historically, and it continues to reel from government policies that deny them access to high-quality schools. Next year will mark 60 years since Brown vs. Board of Education outlawed separate but equal education, but schools in predominately black and brown communities remain separate and unequal.

Schools do fail. But it's not always due to parents. In the District, parents are choosing schools that almost meet their educational expectations. Show them a world-class school and they will choose it.

We don't deny that there are an extraordinarily high number of high school dropouts and truants in the Black community. That's why The Informer has decided to zoom in on this issue each and every week. However, we continue to grapple with the idea that the victims of unequal education policies are also to blame.

We're reminded of Frederick Douglass' famous quote: "Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will."

So, the Informer will ensure that parents' demands on behalf of their children to have a "world-class education" are heard.

But Douglass also said: "Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have found out the exact measure of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them, and these will continue till they are resisted with either words or blows, or both. The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress."

Mayor Vincent Gray has selected a former Teach for America executive as his deputy mayor for education. Abigail Smith, who also has experience as an administrator in both public and charter schools, replaces De'Shawn Wright, who left last year to become deputy secretary for education in New York state.

In addition, Smith has worked under schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson and her predecessor, Michelle Rhee.

"Abigail has devoted her entire career to working with families, teachers and schools to deliver on the promise of a great public education for all children, and she has extensive experience working in education reform nationally and in the District," Mayor Gray said. "She's extremely well qualified to steer my administration's efforts to ensure that every child in the District has access to a top-quality education."

The deputy mayor oversees the mayor's education initiatives, and Smith will be asked to develop a plan for the coexistence of public and charter schools.

Smith said she's been in the local education arena long enough to have seen the best of the District's public education in both sectors.

"There's an urgent need to do more as quickly as we can," saidSmith, who lives in Ward 1. "I look forward to working with Mayor Gray, the council and the city's other education leaders – and, most importantly, families and students – to give every public-school student in the District the chance they deserve to reach their potential."

Henderson said she was excited to work with Smith as her administration continues to improve the quality of education for District public schools students.

Said Henderson, "Abby's deep knowledge and experience in both traditional DCPS schools and in DC Charter schools makes her especially qualified to help us improve collaboration and coordination to ensure that we really are one city where every student can succeed and achieve at the highest levels."

Prior to beginning her new job, Smith will have to be confirmed by the D.C. Council.