Today is Emancipation Day — marking 164 years since D.C. freed enslaved Black people, a year before the Emancipation Proclamation did so nationwide. Not only does this holiday force us to reckon with our past, but it’s a reminder for us to keep advocating for rights like statehood, so that D.C. residents can truly be free.
In that spirit, The 51st is proud to co-host a mayoral forum on Monday, April 20. Our initial run of tickets sold out, but please join the waitlist if you’re interested in coming. And if you have questions for the candidates, you can submit them here.
Killer Queen is a 10-player arcade game designed to get you off your phone and playing with strangers. In one D.C. bar, dedicated fans are trying to get new players hooked.
We're hosting an election forum on Monday, April 20! The initial run of tickets sold out, but get on the waitlist if you're interested. We're working on a livestream option that should help us get more people in the room, whether virtually or in person at the MLK Library.
As we prepare for that event, we want to know what matters to D.C. residents, and what questions you have for the candidates! Tell us using this form.
SPONSORED
The DC History Conference brings together historians, students, and community members for a weekend of (free!) interactive sessions and fascinating topics that connect our past with today’s D.C.
The 51st is a proud sponsor of this gathering — as a local newsroom, we help write the “first draft of history.” You’ll find us tabling both days: Friday, May 1 and Saturday, May 2 at MLK Library.
Here are some stories you may have missed this week:
The D.C. agency that permits many home development and renovation projects hasn’t met in three months, following the departure of several of its members. The board says it can’t convene until at least June. [City Paper]
Applications for DCPS pre-K are down from last year, and more dramatically for bilingual Spanish-English programs and in neighborhoods where more immigrants live. Contributing to the decline: ICE enforcement, federal layoffs, and a decades-long birth rate decline. [The Post]
The race for D.C.’s congressional delegate got spicy this week when Councilmember Brooke Pinto publicly shared an opposition research memo about Councilmember Robert White that included personal information like White’s home address. [City Paper]
Montgomery County is the country’s most religiously diverse county, according to a recent study. Photographer Lance Lokas has been documenting one corridor that’s dense with houses of worship. (Not the region’s only “Highway to Heaven,” we’ll note!) [Washingtonian, WAMU]
Nonprofit Hill Family Biking bought a tiny street sweeper to clear debris from local bike lanes — and you can help name it. [Greater Greater Washington]
None of D.C.’s individual, emergency, family, or domestic violence shelters are pet friendly. Advocates want to change that. [Street Sense]
With your help, we pursue stories that hold leaders to account, demystify opaque city and civic processes, and celebrate the idiosyncrasies that make us proud to call D.C. home. Put simply, our mission is to make it easier — and more fun — to live in the District. Our members help keep local news free and independent for all:
