Washington, D.C

Wonder women in Washington DC

Published

1 year ago

November 2, 2024

Dressed in a cotton and silk tutu with linen slippers, Belgian dancer Marie van Goethem stands proud, face upturned, and feet in classic ballerina pose. She’s been immortalised for eternity as Little Fourteen-Year-Old Dancer, a wax sculpture by Edgar Degas. Today revered for being one of his greatest works, Little Dancer wasn’t warmly received by critics and French bourgeois society who called it “ugly”, “repulsive” and oddly, a “threat to society”. All because Marie didn’t fit the society ideal—she was, after all, an “opera rat”, a term given to working-class young dancers with the Paris Opera ballet.

Today, a recast of Marie is one of the highlights at Washington DC’s National Gallery of Art.

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Little Fourteen-Year-Old Dancer. (courtesy National Gallery of Art)

It speaks volumes that even today women are still often lambasted for not fitting a perfect society ideal. As Marie shows us, it is absolutely alright to stand out from the crowd because history will remember you.

It is my maiden visit to Washington DC, the capital of a country that could soon be electing its first woman President. There, I find many other powerful women, like Marie, whose stories fascinate and delight.

At The National Museum of Women in the Arts, I am reacquainted with that legendary feminist painter, Frida Kahlo. It’s a self-portrait painted for her lover, Russian revolutionary leader Leon Trotsky, during their brief affair. She’s dressed in a pink embroidered skirt, gold jewellery and honey-hued shawl, black hair woven with flowers.

Frida Kahlo, a self-portrait. **(courtesy National Museum of Women in the Arts)**

The revolutionary artist and feminist may be the most famous woman in the museum but hers isn’t the only inspiring work. The museum is the first of its kind dedicated only to women (or those identifying as women) artists, with paintings and sculptures that are big, bold and powerful.

Take Lalla Essaydi’s Bullets Revisited #3, a staged photo where a henna-d model sleeps on bullet casings. “This photograph is to showcase the role of women in revolutions, which often gets ignored. It’s also a way of talking about how the white gaze has impacted perceptions of Arab women,” says our guide, Micah Koppl.

There’s a floor dedicated to heavier work, sculptures in iron and wood because “work by women are thought to be delicate and small”.

The beauty of this museum is that it is all inclusive—there are non-binary artists’ work on display, it features transgender artists during exhibitions, there’s a nursing lounge for mothers, and all-gender bathrooms.

Interestingly, its grandeur is owed to the fact that it sits in what was once a Masonic temple. Elsewhere, on a visit to a functioning Masonic temple, Scottish Rite House of the Temple, what stands out in this all-male bastion is the fact that my guide is a woman. She has no connection to the freemasons and yet, conducts a tour that is informative, knowledgeable and extremely witty.

While on the subject of women breaking the mould, there’s aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, which deservedly pays tribute to this record-setting aviator and pilot. I learn that Earhart was also a trendsetter when on the ground. She designed and wore her own clothes. The line, Amelia Fashions, released in 1933, was revolutionary for its time, being practical, fuss-free and meant for “active women”.

America’s many women icons can be found in museums and institutions across Washington DC.

A tour of the US Capitol takes me to the rotunda with its paintings and heavily decorated ceiling, and the National Statuary Hall. There, the newest statue is of civil rights leader and journalist Daisy Lee Bates. In the rotunda, a white marble sculpture honours three prominent Suffrage pioneers, Lucretia Mott, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony.

Tour guide Ann mentions that Rosa Parks (also in the hall) was the first woman to lie in honour in the Capitol when she passed in 2005; her statue was the first full-length statue of an African American.

Rosa Parks' statue at Capitol. — Rosa Parks’ statue at Capitol. **(courtesy Architect of the Capitol )**

Helen Keller is here too, captured as a seven-year-old showing her expression the first time she touched water. The disability rights advocate’s ashes are interred at the Washington National Cathedral.

The Neo-Gothic structure is the second largest church building in the country but perhaps best known for possessing a gargoyle of Darth Vader.

The Episcopal cathedral looks like a traditional religious structure, but offers much for those with a keen eye. In the section titled the “Human Rights Porch”, are small sculptural heads of Mother Teresa, Rosa Parks and Eleanor Roosevelt. This year is important to the cathedral—it marks the 50th anniversary of the first ordination of women as priests in the Episcopal Church, and they hired their first woman stonemason.

As religious structures go, it certainly is unique.

Museums and their food

One of my favourite finds in the city is the Mitsitam Native Foods Café in the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian, which showcases native foods. Mitsitam offers a taste of native foods, some in new avatars. There is frybread, manoomin (wild cakes) with smoked salmon, bison burgers and hotdogs, wild rice salad and corn pudding. This kitchen is pathbreaking also because it is led by chef Alexandra Strong and sous chef Toshiba Veney—the first all-female team at a Smithsonian museum café.

Right outside the museum I find presidential candidate Kamala Harris staring at me. Given that it is election time, she and Donald Trump are everywhere.

The stretch of road in front of many Smithsonian museums is parked with vans dishing out hotdogs, pretzels and souvenirs. Harris’ face adorns many of the vans, and you can also find it on tees, caps and magnets. Her famous “I’m Speaking” phrase (from the 2020 vice-presidential debate with Mike Pence) is a particular favourite. It may seem like just a cheap souvenir but it is a sign of the time, or possibly of history in the making.

At the Made in Washington store promoting black artists, it is easy to see whom they support—Harris shows up on candles, magnets, coasters, and tea towels.

Like many of the other iconic women in Washington DC, Harris seems set to become a part of the country’s history.

Joanna Lobo is a Goa-based journalist.

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Washington, D.C

DC celebrates boost in college grant program for students – WTOP News

Published

6 hours ago

February 27, 2026

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DC celebrates boost in college grant program for students – WTOP News

The expanded funding aims to make college more affordable for thousands of D.C. students, continuing a program that has already helped nearly 40,000 graduates pursue degrees nationwide.

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser went back to school on Thursday. She headed to the gym at Coolidge High School in Northwest to make an announcement that could make college more affordable for eligible D.C. high school students.

Standing at the podium in front of a vibrant mural in the gymnasium, Bowser told the students, “A few weeks ago we got some good news from the United States Congress!”

“Even they can get it right sometimes!” she added.

The news from Capitol Hill was that funding for the 25-year-old D.C. Tuition Assistance Grant program, or DCTAG, has been increased, something Bowser said she’s been working toward for 10 years.

Starting in the 2026-27 academic year, the maximum annual award for students who apply and qualify for the grants will go from $10,000 a year to as much as $15,000, and the overall cap increases from $50,000 to $75,000.

“These are real dollars guys, a real $15,000!” Bowser told the students. “This year alone, 4,500 students were approved for DCTAG, and that’s the highest number that we’ve had in the last five years.”

Since DCTAG was established, Bowser said nearly 40,000 D.C. high school students were serviced through the program, attaining degrees at more than 400 colleges across the country.

Among those who benefited from the DCTAG program was Arturo Evans, a local business owner who grew up in Ward 7 and graduated from D.C.’s Cesar Chavez Public Charter School.

Speaking to the Coolidge students, Evans explained that as a high school student, he didn’t know if his dreams would ever come true.

“Do your homework, go to class, be on time, listen to your teachers,” he said. “Do not let your current situation determine who you can be tomorrow.”

Evans said without the grant money available in the DCTAG program his college prospects would have been “very limited.”

“I probably would have stayed local, probably would have had to go to a community college,” he said.

But he told WTOP, since he applied for and received grant money through the program, “TAG was able to pave the way for me to go ahead and achieve my dreams and go to my dream school,” at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

While he was at UNLV, Evans said his mother’s illness meant he had to return to the District to help care for her. But thanks to help from his DCTAG adviser, he was able to complete his degree before becoming the CEO of his own D.C.-based business.

Among the Coolidge students attending the event was senior Victoria Evans (no relation to the speaker Arturo Evans), who also was in the DCTAG program and serves as the Command Sergeant Major of the Coolidge Junior Army ROTC.

Victoria Evans said she hopes to study medicine, and explained, “I found out about DCTAG through my school counselors and my college and career coordinators.”

Asked about the application process, she said, “It’s not hard at all. I would definitely say go and get the money they’re providing.”

D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton pushed to establish the funding when she introduced the D.C. College Access Act, which passed Congress in 1999. It was designed to address the fact that, since D.C. doesn’t have a state university system, D.C. students had limited access to in-state tuition at public colleges and universities.

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Washington, D.C

Six months into federal surge, questions persist over MPD’s level of involvement

Published

19 hours ago

February 26, 2026

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Six months into federal surge, questions persist over MPD’s level of involvement

WASHINGTON (7News) — More than six months into the federal law enforcement surge in the District, questions remain about how the Metropolitan Police Department’s level of involvement in joint operations and what information the department tracks to ensure accountability.

Councilmember Brooke Pinto (D – Ward 2), chairwoman of the Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety, held an oversight hearing of three public safety agencies on Wednesday, including MPD.

The bulk of the 10.5-hour meeting focused on testimony from concerned residents and Interim Chief Jeffery Carroll about the police department.

“Interim Chief Carroll’s testimony provided a clearer sense of how the federal surge of officers is managed overall; however, many questions still remain regarding the ongoing investigations into the three federal agency involved shootings and how and where deployment decisions are being made and which agencies are handling arrests,” Pinto said in a statement to 7News.

At the same time, more residents are raising alarms about federal agencies responding to 911 calls. Carroll said it is not new for agencies such as the U.S. Park Police and the U.S. Secret Service to respond to those calls, but residents are concerned that other agencies are reportedly starting to show up as well.

SEE ALSO | DC Council committee holds oversight hearing on MPD

“When we say law enforcement in DC in 2026, who are we talking about, who’s there, what are they doing, what limits and regulations and oversight are they beholden to, and what recourse do residents have?” Bethany Young, director of policy at DC Justice Lab, told 7News.

“If you call 911, MPD is showing up,” Carroll testified Wednesday. “Can other agencies hear those calls that have those radio channels? Absolutely, they can. But MPD is being dispatched a call and MPD is responding.”

“You see now the uneasiness of some people calling for help,” Councilmember Christina Henderson (I – At-Large), responded to Carroll. “No, I definitely understand,” Carroll replied. “I’m not saying it’s a situation that we want to be in or where we want to be, but I want to make sure that we’re transparent and clear on what the state is right now. That’s what the state is.”

Requests for comment were sent to the D.C. U.S. Attorney’s Office and the mayor’s office about Carroll’s testimony. The mayor did not make herself available for questions at a public event on Thursday.

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Washington, D.C

DC Courts create new pathway for people without lawyers to get legal help – WTOP News

Published

1 day ago

February 26, 2026

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DC Courts create new pathway for people without lawyers to get legal help – WTOP News

Nonlawyers who receive training will now be able to help with civil matters in D.C., as part of a new order issued by D.C. Courts that expands access to legal assistance.

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DC Courts create new pathway for people without lawyers to get legal help

Nonlawyers who receive training will now be able to help with civil matters in D.C., as part of a new order issued by D.C. Courts earlier this month that expands access to legal assistance for people without an attorney.

The rule, scheduled to take effect in April, creates a framework for Community Justice Workers, or nonlawyers who are supervised and trained to offer limited legal assistance through a partnership with legal services organizations.

The step comes after a yearslong assessment into the possible role for nonlawyers in offering certain types of legal help to D.C. residents.

As of 2017, 97% of plaintiffs in paternity and child support cases, and in small estate matters, represent themselves in D.C. Superior Court, according to a 2025 report from the District of Columbia Courts Civil Legal Regulatory Reform Task Force.

“We are facing an extraordinary need,” said Nancy Drane, executive director of D.C.’s Access to Justice Commission. “There are thousands of District residents who are not getting the legal help they need.”

The Community Justice Worker model could be compared to seeing a nurse practitioner in a doctor’s office. Ariel Levinson-Waldman, director of nonprofit Tzedek D.C., said someone who goes through a supervised program would be able to provide help, “just like your nurse practitioner does.”

Tzedek D.C. offers pro bono legal help and financial counseling. But, Levinson-Waldman said, there are thousands of people who are eligible for their services and the work of similar providers, and only a select few are available to help.

“Many of the court’s high-volume dockets are cases where the individual D.C. resident is not getting any help,” he said. “This effort, we saw that as a way to change that, to bring more people into opportunities for access to justice, to bring more resources to the problem.”

Whether it be divorce, custody cases, small claims or child support cases, the stakes are high.

Without an attorney or someone who can help in some way, cases often go “less well than it would have. It impacts their family, their future, their finances, sometimes access to the custody of their children,” Levinson-Waldman said.

In some instances, Drane said people experiencing issues such as eviction or family conflict navigate cases without help from a lawyer because legal help is expensive. Free legal service groups have limited capacities and budgets.

Under the Community Justice Worker model, organizations could either train their own staffs to help or partner with community nonprofits.

“What this would mean, practically, is that we will have more helpers in the community who are trained and authorized to provide certain types of legal help,” Drane said. “The real beauty of Community Justice Workers is that they receive what I would call ‘bite-sized training for bite-sized tasks.’”

Karen Dale, market president and CEO of AmeriHealth Caritas District of Columbia, said people “need assistance, they need support. Having someone by your side to help you navigate with a level of specificity, get you to the right resources in a timely way, should be able to help less lives and families and communities get derailed.”

The approach, Levinson-Waldman said, will provide a formal way for “public spirited” volunteers to help their neighbors.

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