Commentary

Last month, in a videotaped appearance for a “Pod Save America” live show, Stacey Abrams, a celebrated Democratic activist and the Democratic nominee for governor of Georgia, said Black men have the power to determine the election in that state. After explaining that some Black men chose not to vote because “often the leadership that gets elected is not reflective of their needs,” she said: “I know that if we have the kind of turnout possible among Black men, and they vote for me, I will win this election. That is why my campaign has been so focused on making sure we’re addressing those challenges.”

On the heels of last week’s column on the rise of youth carjackings in D.C. came a Labor Day news conference by Prince George’s County Executive Angela D. Alsobrooks (D), who drew a sharp focus on growing youth-involved crimes in her jurisdiction just outside D.C. Statistics provided by Alsobrooks and county Police Chief Malik Aziz tell the story: 438 juveniles arrested so far this year in Prince George’s, a big jump from 207 juvenile arrests through the same time last year. In D.C., youth arrests are up about 12 percent, with two-thirds of this year’s 330 carjacking arrests involving juveniles.

In response to an uptick in gun violence, Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks last week announced a month-long enforcement of a longstanding curfew for children age 16 and younger. Early returns — one weekend’s worth anyway — appeared favorable as the D.C. suburban county reported just two shootings, neither fatal on Saturday and Sunday. As it happens, the move has proven trendy. The District of Columbia had already quietly resumed enforcing that city’s youth curfew as well with at least 16 young people picked up by police for violations since Aug. 1, according to The Washington Post. District officials aren’t claiming they’ve made inroads but recognized that with violent crime and youth arrests up this year, something needed to be done.

When Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine by land, air and sea on Feb. 24, 2022, the images of war were conveyed to dismayed onlookers around the world. Far from the action, many of us became aware of the unprovoked aggression by reading online coverage or watching TV to see explosions and people running from danger and crowding into underground bunkers. Half a year later, the violence continues. But for those who have not been directly affected by the events, this ongoing war and its casualties have been shifting to the periphery of many people’s attention. This turning away makes sense.

Once upon a time, the legendary U.S. Speaker of the House Tip O’Neill proclaimed “all politics is local.” Nowhere was this truer than in K-12 classrooms. Chief Justice Warren Burger wrote in a U.S. Supreme Court decision in 1974: “No single tradition in public education is more deeply rooted than local control over the operation of schools.”

Independence Day festivities are almost always associated with fireworks, picnics, and concerts. Celebrations of the nation’s Constitution in September, meanwhile, are usually more cerebral and muted. Those outside of public colleges and universities, which are mandated to commemorate the occasion, might not even know that the U.S. Constitution was signed on Sept. 17, 1787. An even more overlooked date is Sept. 14, which marks Francis Scott Key’s writing in 1814 of what would become known as “The Star-Spangled Banner.” The poem, later set to music, served unofficially as the national anthem long before Congress declared it to be such in 1931.

I happened to be watching television this past weekend when I stumbled upon a gentleman doing his demanding job near-flawlessly at an advanced age despite the chorus of doubters around him. Yet he found himself in conflict with his disapproving spouse. I instantly recognized the fellow. Why, that was me. The similarity was uncanny. High achiever? Check. Working hard? Of course.