Grand African Run
 On July 21, 2019, the Mayor's Office on African Affairs partnered with Nova Connections, the African Union Mission to the United States for the Grand African Run, a celebration of Mandela Day.
Grand African Run was inspired by the interest and value that is placed upon the success of running sports in Africa. Over the past 60 years, Africa has produced multiple distance runners who have gone on to win major international honors on the global stage. Young and old alike rejoice in the successes of their athletic heroes, and many have embraced and been inspired by these successes. The Run served as a platform to develop and nurture community, and enhance linkages within the African diaspora.
Thank you to everyone who attended the event!
Mayor Muriel Bowser's FY2020 Immigrant Justice Legal Services Grant: Request for Applications (RFA)
 The Executive Office of the Mayor (EOM) is soliciting grant applications from qualified private organizations and Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) serving District of Columbia residents for its FY 2020 Immigrant Justice Legal Services Grant Program (IJLS). The $2.5 million IJLS grant program will support the provision of legal services to the DC immigrant population, as well as language access services to other grantees to effectuate the legal services provided.
Interested applicants who have questions about the program or application process are encouraged to attend one of the pre-bidders' meetings.
NB: The deadline for the FY 2020 Immigrant Justice Legal Grant is 5:00pm on Friday, August 16, 2019.
Submission Details: Online submissions only. Please submit your complete application through the following online portal: ZoomGrants
Availability of RFA: Download from MOAA's website (www.oaa.dc.gov) and/or the District's Grant Clearinghouse website.
Mayor Muriel Bowser's National Maternal & Infant Health Summit
 Join Mayor Muriel Bowser at the National Maternal & Infant Health Summit to build on the growing public awareness and interest in this important issue and the District's new approach to ensure the health of women, babies and families.
The summit is an opportunity for elected officials, health officials and DC residents to explore strategies to improve perinatal health and address racial disparities in birth outcomes.
The event will feature panel discussions, a luncheon, and workshops focused on successes from around the country that could serve as models for best practices.
When: Tuesday, September 10, 2019 | 9:00 am
Where: Walter E. Washington Convention Center | 801 Mt. Vernon Place NW | 3rd Floor Ballroom | Washington, DC | 20001
RSVP here
Mayor Bowser Breaks Ground on New Housing and Retail at Ward 5’s Bryant Street Development
 On July 26, 2019, Mayor Muriel Bowser, Ward 5 Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie, and Interim Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development John J. Falcicchio broke ground on Phase I of Bryant Street, a 13-acre mixed-use development that will deliver 487 apartment units, a nine-screen cinema, and 35,000 square feet of retail to Ward 5. The District provided a Tax-Increment Financing (TIF) agreement for the first phase of the development, which is expected to generate about $4 million in annual tax revenue.
“Today’s groundbreaking demonstrates the housing and economic opportunities we can create across all eight wards through innovative investments,” said Mayor Bowser. “We can and we must continue to build new housing if we are going to meet our goal of creating 36,000 new homes by 2025, and this bold, ambitious development is going to help us get there. I am excited to see Bryant Street move forward and contribute to this vibrant, growing Ward 5 community.”
Phase I is a joint venture by MRP Realty and FRP Development Corp. The project at full completion will include 1,500 apartment units and 250,000 square feet of retail and significant public realm improvements, including a plaza, new urban grid, dog park, and ample outdoor seating.
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Mayor Bowser Urges Parents to Take Advantage of Free Services and Get Their Children Vaccinated Before School Starts
 On July 17, 2019, Mayor Muriel Bowser urged DC parents to have their children receive immunizations before school starts, stressing the importance of immunizations for children and teens attending schools in the District. Specifically, as part of the #dontwaitvaccinate campaign, the Mayor highlighted the importance of ensuring children and teens are up-to-date on the measles vaccine and announced sites across DC where families can access free immunizations.
“Immunizations are the single most important way to protect families against serious and sometimes deadly diseases,” said Mayor Bowser. “Vaccines are safe and effective, and free services are available in all eight wards. To protect the entire community, especially residents who are unable to safely receive the vaccine themselves, it is critical we get as close to universal vaccination as possible.”
According to the latest preliminary data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 1,109 individual cases of measles have been confirmed in 28 states from January 1 to July 3, 2019. While there have been no reported cases in the District, cases have been reported in Northern Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania, states with high numbers of commuters to and from the District.
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Acclaimed Liberian Writer Makes “Full Professor” at Penn State University
Dr. Patricia Jabbeh Wesley, a Liberian creative writer and professor of 32 years, who believes in molding young people for a prosperous society, was recently promoted as “full professor” at the Pennsylvania State (Penn State) University in the United States after a two-year scrutiny of her credentials and literary works.
Dr. Wesley has taught at the undergraduate level at Penn State Altoona for 15 years. “I teach creative writing and literature to an institution with about 5000 students. Penn State is one of the largest single institutions in the U.S.,” she said.
According to her, there are two committees responsible for promotion, including the College and Campus committees, approved by the campus wide committee.
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The N.B.A. Is Pushing Into Africa. Can It Compete With Soccer?
Even though he was 6-foot-6 by the time he was 14 years old, when an aspiring basketball star in Senegal picked up a ball for the first time, his friends were skeptical: In this soccer-mad region, why bother with a ball you dunk, when everyone else is kicking?
“My friends thought I was weird in the beginning,” said the young player, Mouhamed Lamine Mbaye, now 18 (and 6-foot-9), as he stood on the court of a new basketball academy, the first to be built by the N.B.A. in West Africa.
“Basketball was just a passion,” Mbaye said. “But then I took it seriously when I realized I could make it.”
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Shoe designer taps into traditional African design
 Tucked away on the second floor of a four-story shopping center in the Windermere suburb of Durban is a two-room office space lined with shoes.
This is the heart and sole of the footwear company ZETU. Reggi Xaba, founder and managing director of the company, headquarters his business in this unassuming space, filled with scraps of leather, design concepts and shelves of shoes.
Xaba established ZETU, a Zulu word meaning “ours,” in 2016 in order to create a product that helps people tap into their African identify, especially in the post-apartheid area.
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Summer Conversation Classes hosted by Washington English Center
 Interested in practicing English conversation? Consider enrolling in the Washington English Center’s six-week conversation-focused English classes, starting July 8. Enrollment is still open and new students are welcome at any time. Students can sign up for morning, evening, or weekend classes at their convenience, with beginner, intermediate, and advanced level classes.
When: Evening classes Mon-Wed, July 8 - Aug 14 | 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm
Weekend classes Sat-Sun, July 13 - Aug 18 | 2:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Where: Washington English Center | 2200 California St NW | Washington, DC | 20008
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District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) Embassy Adoption Program, Teacher Application SY 2019-2020
 The EAP is an award-winning multicultural and intercultural enrichment program, designed for 5th and 6th grade students in the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS). A partnership with Washington Performing Arts, the EAP uses the unique resources of embassies in Washington, DC to provide students with the opportunity to increase their knowledge and appreciation of the culture, government, arts, and geography of other nations. To date, more than 50,000 youth have partnered with over 100 embassies representing countries ranging from Australia to Zimbabwe.
*Application deadline is August 9, 2019. Early submissions highly encouraged!
Learn more
DCPS English Learners' Back to School Fair
DCPS English Learners’ Back-to-School Fair will take place for the fourth year on Saturday, August 10, 2019 from 10:00 am- 2:30 pm at MacFarland Middle School.
The fair is targeted for families of linguistically and culturally diverse English Learner students to connect them to community and academic resources. The event will also include workshops, but the resource fair portion is tentatively scheduled for 11:30 am- 2:30 pm.
When: Saturday, August 10, 2019 | 10:00 am - 2:30 pm
Where: MacFarland Middle School | 4400 Iowa Ave NW | Washington, DC | 20011
RSVP here
Empower the Community Weekend
 This event brings together the largest East African community in the Washington DC metro area. The event provides entertainment, panel discussions, empowering information on education, arts, finance, health & wellness, giveaways and much more. It’s focused on providing resources and family centered activities.
When: Saturday, August 10, 2019 | 11:00 am - 8:00 pm
Where: Walter E. Washington Convention Center | 801 Mt. Vernon Pl NW | Washington, DC | 20001
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National Immigration Forum and Mayor Muriel Bowser's Immigration Info Session
 The District is proud to enter into its second year of partnership with, “The National Immigration Forum’s program, New American Workforce! The District of Columbia Government is dedicated to making citizenship services more readily available to District employees, their families, and hundreds of others who live or work in Washington, D.C. In partnership with the National Immigration Forum, we are helping District employees become naturalized American citizens, if eligible. To support this effort, agencies may authorize administrative leave for employees to take part in one of the sponsored 2019 Citizenship Workshops.
Employees who wish to attend one of the citizenship workshops sponsored by the Executive Office of the Mayor, and provided by the National Immigration Forum (through the New American Workforce Project), may be granted no more than two hours of administrative leave to attend one of the workshops listed in the next section. If an employee requires more than two hours of leave, the employee must request and be approved for annual leave, leave without pay, compensatory time off, or exempt time off, as appropriate.
When: Friday, August 13, 2019 | 4:00 pm
Where: DCPS Central Office | 1200 First St NE | Washington, DC | 20002
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DC Commission on Arts and Humanities (CAH): Request for Qualifications FY20 Playable Art DC Design Competition
 The DC Commission on Arts and Humanities (CAH) in partnership with the DC Office of Planning (OP) is excited to announce a national call to artists for the Playable Art DC, a creative play and placemaking project. This project is made possible through a grant from ArtPlace America. CAH and OP are seeking artists and design professionals with prior site-specific public art experience to design, fabricate and install playable artworks at three unique sites in the District of Columbia. The competition includes two-stage selection process: request for qualifications and site specific designs.
*RFQ Submission Deadline is Friday, August 23, 2019
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Carlos Rosario School: Community Language Classes - Amharic
 Are you interested in learning Amharic? Know someone who is? The Carlos Rosario School's Community Language Classes are a way to develop skills to connect with your clients and community members! This is an introductory level class for students who have never studied Amharic. You will learn the basics of the alphabet, vocabulary, and grammar necessary to have simple conversations. Ethiopian cultural considerations and traditions will also be covered.
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Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) Preschool Development Grant Birth Through Five, Parent Survey
 Attention DC families! Are you a parent or guardian of a child 5 years old or younger? We want to hear from you! Tell us about your experiences with different programs, services and benefits by taking a survey and you can enter into a random drawing to win a $100 gift card! You can complete the survey in Amharic or French.
GED and High School Skills Tutoring
Join DC Public Library for skill assessments for adults who need a high school diploma (GED or National External Diploma) and tutoring for those with skills at the high school level. Tutoring takes place on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 4 to 7 pm Assessments take place on Wednesdays only.
Please note: In order to qualify for tutoring, you must take the assessment first.
When: Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays | 4:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Where: Shaw (Watha T. Daniel) Library | 1630 7th St. NW | Washington, DC | 20001
Learn more
Want Your Event Featured in the African Beat?
'The African Beat' is distributed to over 8,000 subscribers every other Friday. If you would like your event to be featured in our newsletter, please submit the following details: what, when & where, and provide a link to where readers can go for more information. Submission deadline for the next edition is Wednesday, August 7, 2019 by 5:00 pm. Send all materials, along with any questions, to oaa@dc.gov.
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