Washington, D.C
Mount Pilgrim to present drama on teens who traveled to D.C. in ’63 for civil rights march
The Rev. Roderick Thomas was struggling to find a topic for the return of Mount Pilgrim Baptist Church’s community-wide Black History Month program following a two-year hiatus.
Over the decade before the break in 2023 and 2024, while the church attempted a film project, the event had used such media as dance, music and poetry, typically with community participation, to explore and spotlight the people, places and events integral to the Black experience in the United States.
However, Thomas finally stopped close to home for the focus of the production that’s set for 6:30 p.m. Feb. 24 at the historic church at 408 N. Ninth St. in Gadsden.
It’s a drama called “The Three Boys from Gadsden, Alabama,” the story of three teenagers from the city who hitchhiked to Washington, D.C., to take part in the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963.
One of those young men was Robert Frank Thomas — the Rev. Thomas’ father. The others were Robert Avery and James Smith.
“This is telling their story,” the Rev. Thomas said, adding that the roughly 90-minute drama will tell “how they got to Washington, D.C., what they did when they were there and the reason for going. It’s going to be good.”
The trio — Thomas was 18 (and instigated the trip, Avery said in a 2013 Times retrospective), Smith 16 and Avery 15 at the time — left for Washington on Aug. 18, 1963. They walked up U.S. Highway 11, where a few months earlier William Lewis Moore, a white postal worker walking to protest segregation, had been killed in a crime that has never been solved.
They caught a Greyhound bus on the way, which dropped them off in Chattanooga, Tennessee. They walked the roughly 30 miles to Cleveland, Tennessee, then caught rides the rest of the way.
“They didn’t have any money … so they had to come up with a way to get there,” the Rev. Thomas said. “which is something that some young people would do. I call them ‘crazy but courageous.’ It’s crazy when you think about an 18-year-old, a 16-year-old and a 15-year-old hitchhiking to Washington, D.C., but to make it is courageous.”
He said their reason for going, for taking the risk, was they “wanted to be part of change.”
After arriving in Washington with 35 cents between them, they connected with civil rights leaders who found accommodations for them and hired them to make signs and buttons and stuff envelopes leading up to the march.
They carried signs to the Washington Monument on Aug. 28, 1963, the day of the march that drew a quarter of a million participants, and were present for the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s immortal “I Have a Dream” speech. Organizers later provided them bus tickets home.
“I was contemplating on what to do for this year,” the Rev. Thomas said, “because it seemed like we’d been doing this for so long that we’d used up all the Black history ideas that might be good plays. But this is a great opportunity for us right now.”
Robert Frank Thomas died in 2004 and Smith died in 2022. (Smith’s son, Steve, currently serves on the Gadsden City Council.)
Avery, a longtime Gadsden City Council member, remains active in community affairs.
Doors open at 6 p.m. and there is no admission charge for the program, but seating is first come, first served.
Washington, D.C
Bruno Mars tour 2026 coming to DC region
LANDOVER, Md. – Bruno Mars is bringing The Romantic Tour to the Washington, D.C. region this spring!
The Grammy-winning star will stop at Northwest Stadium on Saturday, May 2, 2026.
The stadium’s website lets fans sign up for presale access now. Tickets go on sale Thursday, January 15 at 12 p.m.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 02: Bruno Mars performs onstage during the 67th Annual GRAMMY Awards at Crypto.com Arena on February 02, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)
Bruno Mars – The Romantic Tour 2026 DatesApril – October 2026
Apr 10, 2026 – Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas, NV
Apr 14, 2026 – State Farm Stadium, Glendale, AZ
Apr 18, 2026 – Globe Life Field, Arlington, TX
Apr 22, 2026 – NRG Stadium, Houston, TX
Apr 25, 2026 – Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field, Atlanta, GA
Apr 29, 2026 – Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, NC
May 02, 2026 – Northwest Stadium, Landover, MD
May 06, 2026 – Nissan Stadium, Nashville, TN
May 09, 2026 – Ford Field, Detroit, MI
May 13, 2026 – U.S. Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, MN
May 16, 2026 – Soldier Field Stadium, Chicago, IL
May 20, 2026 – Ohio Stadium, Columbus, OH
May 23, 2026 – Rogers Stadium, Toronto, ON
May 24, 2026 – Rogers Stadium, Toronto, ON
Jun 20, 2026 – Stade de France, Paris, FR
Jun 21, 2026 – Stade de France, Paris, FR
Jun 26, 2026 – Olympiastadion, Berlin, DE
Jul 04, 2026 – Johan Cruijff ArenA, Amsterdam, NL
Jul 05, 2026 – Johan Cruijff ArenA, Amsterdam, NL
Jul 10, 2026 – Riyadh Air Metropolitano, Madrid, ES
Jul 14, 2026 – Stadio San Siro, Milan, IT
Jul 18, 2026 – Wembley Stadium Connected by EE, London, UK
Jul 19, 2026 – Wembley Stadium Connected by EE, London, UK
Aug 21, 2026 – Metlife Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ
Aug 22, 2026 – Metlife Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ
Aug 29, 2026 – Acrisure Stadium, Pittsburgh, PA
Sep 01, 2026 – Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, PA
Sep 05, 2026 – Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, MA
Sep 09, 2026 – Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, IN
Sep 12, 2026 – Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, FL
Sep 16, 2026 – Caesars Superdome, New Orleans, LA
Sep 19, 2026 – Hard Rock Stadium, Miami, FL
Sep 23, 2026 – Alamodome, San Antonio, TX
Sep 26, 2026 – Falcon Stadium, United States Air Force Academy, CO
Oct 02, 2026 – SoFi Stadium, Los Angeles, CA
Oct 03, 2026 – SoFi Stadium, Los Angeles, CA
Oct 10, 2026 – Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara, CA
Oct 14, 2026 – BC Place, Vancouver, BC
More information on the tour can be found online.
Washington, D.C
‘Completely avoidable’: DC’s mayor reacts to ICE killing in Minneapolis
D.C.’s mayor and interim police chief took questions on immigration enforcement after an ICE agent shot and killed an unarmed woman in Minneapolis.
“If we don’t want ICE in our communities, we have to stop funding ICE – and that decision isn’t made here; it’s made at the Congress,” Mayor Muriel Bowser said.
The mayor was asked about her reaction to the killing.
“To me, it just is reflected, when you have people who are unaccustomed to urban policing trying to police in an urban environment. What it looked to me like – very bad, and I’m not a police officer, I’m not in law enforcement – but what I saw was completely avoidable, and a woman died,” she said.
“ICE is patrolling American cities. If we don’t want that, the Congress has to stop funding ICE, because thousands of agents who are untrained to police in urban environments are on our streets,” Bowser added.
In two recent incidents in D.C., federal agents opened fire on drivers who the agents claimed were trying to hit them with their vehicles. In those cases, no one was injured.
Interim Chief of Police Jeffery Carroll was asked about public concerns that might happen here again.
“A lot of these individuals, they don’t work in urban policing. So, us working with federal authorities in the policing operations, being out there, actually helps us make sure that we can work in those areas to help control what’s going on,” he said.
“Obviously, I can’t assure you of anything. Obviously, I can assure you every situation is different, right, that officers encounter out there,” he added. “But I think having the relationship and having the federal authorities working with the officers does help to mitigate some of the challenges that we have with that.”
Nadeau’s report on DC cooperation with immigration enforcement
Departing D.C. Councilmember Brianne Nadeau released a scathing report Thursday that’s critical of how MPD and the Bowser administration have cooperated with federal immigration enforcement.
“The primary finding is the loss of trust between the public and MPD,” she told News4. “The challenge that we’re finding is that the mayor and the chief’s interpretation of the Sanctuary Values Act has opened up a vulnerability whereby they are essentially cooperating with ICE in a manner that does not match with the intent of the law.”
Bowser declined to comment on the report.
Carroll said he has not decided whether to make any changes to MPD policies on cooperating with immigration enforcement.
Last month, Councilmember Brooke Pinto, who oversees public safety, sent a letter to the then-chief requesting detailed answers to several questions related to MPD’s cooperation with federal law enforcement. Carroll said Thursday that he will provide a response, which is due to the council by Friday.
In this 4 More Context, News4’s Ted Oberg explains how many people in the D.C. area have been arrested by ICE and why.
Sign up for our free deep-dive newsletter, The 4Front, to get standout News4 stories sent right to your inbox. Subscribe here.
Washington, D.C
DC weather: Dry, mild Thursday with highs in mid 50s; rainy start to weekend
WASHINGTON – A dry and mild Thursday is ahead for the Washington, D.C., region, with highs in the mid‑50s before a rainy start to the weekend.
What we know:
The morning begins on the chilly side with some patchy fog. FOX 5’s Taylor Grenda says conditions stay dry as temperatures climb into the afternoon, with clouds building by evening.
Rain showers may develop late Friday afternoon into the evening, with highs in the upper 50s.
What’s next:
Steadier rain moves in Saturday morning. Temperatures rise into the 60s, but on‑and‑off rain is expected through the afternoon and evening.
Sunday turns much drier, though highs fall back into the 50s. By Monday, colder air returns with highs in the 40s.
The Source: Information in this article comes from the FOX 5 Weather Team and the National Weather Service.
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