Washington, D.C
Philosophy books and scholarships: Graduating senior from Southeast DC shares journey
It’s clear to anyone who listens that Herman Buckman’s uncle, Robert Jacobs, is proud of him.
“I see him, what he went through, and look at him now,” Jacobs said. “I love it. We all love it. We all support him, let him know he can do anything.”
Buckman grew up in Southeast D.C., where he, his brothers and his sisters were raised by their grandparents. 18-year-old Buckman now lives with his aunt and uncle — who have plenty to be proud of.
“The sky is the limit, and once you reach the sky…” Jacobs said.
Buckman is a standout student athlete at Kipp College Prep in Northeast D.C.
He’s captain of the school’s track and field team, where he lead the school to its first league championship. His academic achievements include being named a LEDA scholar, a Berea scholar, a Carter G. Woodson scholar and a CBYX scholar.
Buckman also recently got the news that he was named a Gates Scholar, which comes with a full college scholarship. It’s awarded for academic achievement to low-income students — and only about 1% of applicants are chosen.
“I was ecstatic, I won’t lie,” Buckman said. “It just made me proud of myself, you know? And proud of my family for keeping me on that track. Always letting me know even if things weren’t going well.”
Like a lot of kids, Buckman hasn’t always loved going to school.
“I like learning. School hasn’t always been my favorite place to be,” he said. “I didn’t grow up in a household where it was always food on the table, you know.”
But despite those challenges, a few years ago, during COVID, learning changed for Buckman.
“My grandfather was staying with us at the time, and he bought me a book,” Buckman said. “It was called ‘The Art of War’ by Sun Tzu. And I think that was the first book I actually enjoyed reading.”
“And in that time, it just kind of went from there,” Buckman said. “And then coming back into my ninth grade year, I met my coach Wu, and he just kept giving me books, you know, and it was very much philosophy-based. You know, Marcus Aurelius, we’re talking Friedrich Nietzsche, a lot of like philosophy books. And that kind of helped me develop my more holistic worldview of my community.”
That worldview of his community — a community, like many, plagued with crime — further inspired him to learn.
“Most of the time, it’s, the violence is not necessarily from a place of — inherent, you know. It’s not very much like an instinct, but rather it’s something that’s learned through the environment you live in,” Buckman said. “So it’s really just a negative feedback loop, you know. Poverty creates poverty, kind of thing.”
In addition to being a remarkable student athlete, Buckman is also a D.C. Youth Poet Laureate finalist.
He points to his family and his teachers for his success.
“I feel as though without something to push you, or something for you to push, you won’t really get anywhere, right?” Buckman said. “Because at that point you can go everywhere, right? So you need something to kind of burden you, but not so much that you can’t walk, but enough where if you’re walking, you’re gonna walk in that direction for a while, right? So, this was an escape.”
Buckman is also part of a remarkable graduating class. All 200 members of Kipp College Prep’s Class of 2025 have been accepted to colleges, with more than $7 million in scholarships.
WASHINGTON (DC News Now) — A Texas man accused of shooting at a United States Secret Service agent near the Washington Monument earlier this month has been indicted on federal charges, the Justice Department announced Friday.
A federal grand jury indicted 45-year-old Michael Marx with “assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers using a dangerous weapon” and “using, carrying, possessing, brandishing, and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence,” in connection with the May 4 incident, in which a stray bullet struck a teenage bystander.
“Today’s indictment reflects the gravity of the defendant’s actions on one of the most heavily visited public spaces in the nation,” U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said Friday, in part. “The evidence shows Marx not only carried an illegal firearm into DC, but he fired it at uniformed officers, wounding an innocent teenage bystander who was simply visiting the National Mall with his family on a spring afternoon.”
Authorities previously charged Marx with assaulting federal officers with a dangerous weapon, using and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence, and unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
According to court documents, an undercover Secret Service agent initially noticed Marx trying to conceal a gun on the right side of his body near 15th Street and Madison Drive NW shortly after 3:30 p.m. on the afternoon of the shooting.
At the same time, the motorcade for Vice President J.D. Vance was leaving the White House, passing through the area just up the street.
Uniformed Secret Service officers arrived to provide backup, finding Marx along the path of Vance’s motorcade. The attorney’s office said officers began to give the Texas man verbal commands, but he started running through a crosswalk and eventually fired at one of the agents as he reached the sidewalk.
The bullet struck the teenage bystander, who was walking behind the agent, in the leg, according to the DOJ.
Agents quickly returned fire, striking Marx in the hand, left arm, and upper body, according to court documents.
Court documents state that agents used Marx’s Texas driver’s license, which he was carrying, to identify him as the gunman. Investigators also identified various aliases Marx allegedly went by, including Patrick Michael and Michael Zavici.
While in the hospital, he allegedly made statements to officers, including ”F— the White House,” and “kill me, kill me, kill me,” the DOJ noted in a release.
Police found a Sig Sauer P365 handgun loaded with 9mm ammunition from the street where Marx fell.
4 things to know about the weather:
- Abundant sunshine
- Temps slightly cooler than average
- No rain in sight — again
- Mid-week warmup
May is drawing to a dry, comfortable close, in stunning contrast to the very soggy Memorial Day weather we saw last weekend.
That 10-day stretch of rain put a definite dent in our drought, according to the weekly national drought monitor, but it seems that was the end of the improvement for a while: There’s almost no clouds in sight for the DMV for several days.
Enjoy the many hours of sunshine on Saturday. The high pressure coming in from the Hudson Bay brings a stiff north wind, but the day will also be sunny and comfortable, with highs in the mid 70s.
Download the NBC Washington app on iOS and Android to check the weather radar on the go.
The wind will die down after dark, and Sunday morning will be bordering on chilly. Expect widespread mid/upper 40s in most of the D.C. area, with urban centers and bayside communities staying just above 50°. Sunday afternoon will be just a bit warmer, in the mid 70s, but with far less of a breeze.
Highs will be back around 80° for Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, with overnight lows in the comfy 50s. It’ll be a perfect start to meteorological summer (June/July/August).
QuickCast
TODAY:
Sunshine Abounds, Breezy
Wind: North 10-15mph, Gust to 25 mph
Chance of Rain: 0%
HIGHS: 70° to 75°
TONIGHT:
Clear Skies
Winds Diminish
Wind: Northwest 10-15 mph
Chance Of Rain: 0%
LOWS: 46° to 54°
SUNDAY:
Mostly Sunny Skies
Pleasant Conditions
Light Breeze
Wind: NW 5 – 10 mph
Chance of Rain: 0%
HIGHS: 70° to 76°
MONDAY:
Partly Cloudy
Seasonable
Light Breeze
Wind: West/Northwest 10 mph
Chance of Rain: 0%
HIGHS: 76° to 82°
Sunrise: 5:45 Sunset: 8:26
Average High: 80° Average Low: 63°
Stay with Storm Team4 for the latest forecast. Download the NBC Washington app on iOS and Android to get severe weather alerts on your phone.
WASHINGTON – A man is in critical condition after falling into the Anacostia River in Southwestern Washington, D.C., Friday night.
What we know:
D.C. Fire and EMS reported the rescue effort shortly after 10 p.m. at James Creek Marina in Buzzard Point.
Crews believe a man fell from the dock into the water.
By 10:30 p.m., crews were able to pull the man out of the water.
Paramedics took him to the hospital in critical condition.
What we don’t know:
Officials did not identify the man who was rescued. No other information was immediately available.
The Source: Information in this story is from the D.C. Fire and EMS Department.
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