Feb 26 | William O. Lockridge Photo Unveil Ceremony

Dear Friends, 

The unveiling tomorrow [Wed, Feb 26th] of William Lockridge's photo is a tremendous and most historic event for Ward 8 which should be met with all due exuberance, celebration and applause. However, what makes the event poignant and somewhat dissonant is that the unveiling is at a library that is one of the few if not the only one in the city that does not have a functioning library friends group. I realize that I have mentioned this publicly for over a year and have not been able to energize or move the activists and leaders in the Bellevue neighborhood and Ward 8 to rectify the situation. I am personally overwhelmed with work and health challenges and cannot unilaterally spearhead the effort. Also the Anacostia Coordinating Council is struggling to survive and cannot take on the effort due to a lack of resources. 

What is heartbreaking about this situation is that it is one of a multitude of examples of Ward 8 not having what other parts of the city have simply because no one has stepped forward to fill the leadership vacuum. The situation with the Bellevue/Lockridge Library not having a friends group has dragged on for years and it is unconscionable and inexcusable that no one steps forward to rectify it. I hope and pray that at the unveiling ceremony tomorrow someone comes forward with the public resolve that there will be a library friends group established and asks for volunteers on the spot to make it happen. Ward 8, Bellevue, the library and William Lockridge's legacy deserve no less. 

Yours for community progress, 

Philip Pannell