May 27 | Grand Opening of Charnice Milton Community Bookstore at Busboys and Poets

The Advoc8te continues to mourn the loss of Charnice Milton, an east of the river resident and accomplishe journalist. It seems like yesterday that I was working with Charnice. The photo on the flyer below is from an event at the Washington School for Girls at THEARC, as the Director of Marketing I had coordinated the press for the day. I invited Charnice to cover the event and I had hired a Ward 8 photographer, Lawrence Green of Time Traveling Media to take photos. Lawrence would capture one of the last photos of Charnice, doing what she loved to do. A few weeks later Charnice would be gone, another victim of gun violence. The person(s) who snatched away her life still haven’t been caught and that too makes me sad. Today as this community bookstore is dedicated in Charnice’s honor, we mourn the loss of another life, 15-year old Maurice Scott, killed Sunday on Wheeler Road. When is this madness going to stop? When are we as members of the immediate and greater community going to start holding people (including ourselves) accountable? Waiting at a bus stop shouldn’t be a death sentence. Going to a neighborhood store shouldn’t be a death sentence. This has to stop! If you know anything about either of these murders (or any other murder or crime) please speak up! - The Advoc8te

On the fourth anniversary of Charnice Milton’s unsolved murder, artists, activists, colleagues, and community members gather to honor her legacy - helping to extend a literacy oasis growing in her name. On Monday, Memorial Day, May 27, 2019, the Charnice Milton Community Bookstore (CMCB) will launch inside Busboys & Poets Anacostia from 4 pm - 6 pm at 2004 MLK Jr. Ave, SE 20020. This free event, will unveil this new collaboration with the Busboys-Anacostia Bookstore, CMCB's used books, a "Gentrification + Displacement" collection, and a permanent display highlighting Ms. Milton's contributions to local journalism, the unveiling of a melted-bullet sculpture "Bullets to Books", music, and a summer reading book giveaway for youth.

We started this journey, two years ago with your support and we thank you for the financial and book donations and encouragement to make this happen.  Please Join Us Memorial Day, May 27, 2019, and celebrate this community accomplishment. #weluvbooks