Community

Diverse, Spry Centenarians Hailed at Annual Luncheon

WASHINGTON INFORMER — In the not-too-distant past, if someone reached the age of 100, society considered that person to be ancient and functionally useless. Today, those who reach 100 are not considered to be outliers but a standard of living that should be aspired to. That message came through clearly at the 33rd annual Salute to Centenarians at the Kellogg Conference & Hotel Center on the Northeast campus of Gallaudet University on April 29.

Published

7 years ago

May 4, 2019

James Wright

By James Wright

In the not-too-distant past, if someone reached the age of 100, society considered that person to be ancient and functionally useless.

Today, those who reach 100 are not considered to be outliers but a standard of living that should be aspired to. That message came through clearly at the 33rd annual Salute to Centenarians at the Kellogg Conference & Hotel Center on the Northeast campus of Gallaudet University on April 29.

“Today, we recognize the extraordinary D.C. seniors who got us to where we are today and continue to help move us forward,” Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) said to the 61 honored guests and their family and friends. “My administration is committed to making the investments that keep D.C. an age-friendly city where we grow together, age together and, like we did today, celebrate together.”

The Social Security Administration says there are 300 centenarians living in the District. In 2014, a report for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said 72,197 Americans were 100 or older, and that number has likely increased because studies over the past three decades have shown that people are living longer and the death rate has fallen in recent years.

Thelma Ferbish, 70, stirs coffee for her mother Viola Harrison, 102, who was one of the centenarians honored at the D.C. Department of Aging and Community Living luncheon at the Kellogg Conference & Hotel in northeast D.C. on April 29. (Shevry Lassiter/The Washington Informer)

The centenarians who attended the luncheon did not fit the stereotype of wrinkled, half-dead people afflicted with ailments, failing eyesight and hearing. During the luncheon, they sang along as the band played music, bobbing their heads and swinging hips. Inez Robertson, 102, even got on the floor and danced to “When the Saints Go Marching In” by the band Bruther’s Plus One.

Vanilla P. Beane, an internationally recognized milliner, received special attention because of her well-known nickname as “The Hat Lady.” Beane opened up her hat shop on 3rd Street NW in 1978 and it still operates under her watchful eye.

Beane’s hats are displayed in the Black Fashion Museum in New York City’s Harlem neighborhood, and the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in the District acquired five of her hats for permanent display. She designed many hats for Dr. Dorothy Height, the iconic former president and chair of the National Council of Negro Women.

Marilee Asher, born in 1912, was recognized as the oldest of the 61 present, while Viola R. Harrison, 102, received a lot of attention because of her family of long-livers and her career success. Harrison’s grandmother died at the age of 109 in 1955 and her grandfather died in 1947 aged 114.

Harrison also had three cousins who have lived past 100, one of whom lived to be 108. In addition, she worked for the same New York bank location for 60 years and presently owns two apartment buildings, one home in Kingston, N.Y., and one in the District.

Harrison has a simple philosophy for living long and well.

“Treat people right, live right and you will live a long time,” said her daughter, Thelma Ferbish, quoting her mother. Ferbish manages her mother’s properties but Harrison remains the owner and keeps abreast of developments.

A documentary about her mother, Ferbish said, is in the works.

The centenarians consisted of published authors (Cora Satcher Parker), a former Senior Olympics swimmer (John Tatum) and a graduate of West Point Military Academy (Peter Russell).

Laura Newland, the director of the District Department of Aging and Community Living, personally congratulated each centenarian while the master of ceremonies, Carroll “Mr. C” Hynson Jr. of WHUR-FM (96.3), read shortened versions of their biographies.

Newland, who distributed medals and certificates to the participants, said she enjoyed the luncheon and understood its importance.

“This event helps us as a community to grow closer,” she said. “No matter how long one has lived or lived in the District, we have to recognize everything they have done for us.”

This article originally appeared in the Washington Informer.

James Wright

Posts by James Wright

Up Next

NCNW Hosts National GirlTech Town Hall and Forum

Don't Miss

AFSCME Campaign Engage Young People of Color Ahead of 2020 Election

James Wright

1 Comment

#NNPA BlackPress

Poll Shows Support for Policies That Help Families Afford Child Care

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — New national polling shows persistent voter concern about the affordability and availability of child care for working parents, alongside broad support across key demographic groups for federal child care policies that help families afford care.

Published

2 days ago

March 2, 2026

Oakland Post

By First Five Years Fund

New national polling shows persistent voter concern about the affordability and availability of child care for working parents, alongside broad support across key demographic groups for federal child care policies that help families afford care.

The national survey was conducted by UpOne Insight on behalf of the First Five Years Fund from January 13–18, 2026.

Key findings include:

• Parents need help: 80% of voters say the ability of working parents to find and afford child care is either in a state of crisis or a major problem.

• This is an affordability issue: 82% believe federal child care funding will help lower costs for working families — including 69% of Republicans, 84% of Independents, and 94% of Democrats.

• And there continues to be strong support (62%) for the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG), a federal program that makes it possible for hundreds of thousands of families to afford safe, quality care for their children while parents work or go to school, including a majority of Republicans, 63% of Independents and 72% of Democrats.

• Support for funding child care programs remains strong: 75% believe child care funding should be increased or kept at current levels — including 75% of Republicans, 85% of Independents, and 97% of Democrats.

• 74% say funding for child care is an important and good use of tax dollars, including a majority of Republicans, three-quarters of Independents, and nine in ten Democrats.

FFYF Executive Director Sarah Rittling said, “Voters across the country are sending a clear message: federal child care and early learning programs work. These investments help parents stay in the workforce, strengthen families, and support healthy child development. They have also long had strong bipartisan support in Congress. At a time when affordability is top of mind for families, continued federal funding is essential to ensure child care remains accessible and within reach.”

First Five Years Fund works to protect, prioritize, and build bipartisan support for quality child care and early learning programs at the federal level. Reliable, affordable, and high-quality early learning and child care can be transformative, not only enhancing a child’s prospects for a brighter future but also bolstering working parents and fostering economic stability nationwide.

We work with Congress and the Administration to identify federal solutions that work for families with young children, as well as states and communities. We work with policymakers to identify ways to increase access to affordable, high-quality child care and early learning programs for children. And we collaborate with advocacy groups to help align best practices with the best possible policies. http://www.ffyf.org

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Activism

Oakland Post: Week of February 25 – March 3, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of – February 25 – March 3, 2026

Published

3 days ago

March 1, 2026

Oakland Post

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

#NNPA BlackPress

Trump’s MAGA Allies are Creating Executive Order Plan to Steal the 2026 Midterms

NNPA NEWSWIRE — The document that could lead to an executive order proposes using the claim that China interfered with the 2020 elections as grounds to “declare a national emergency.” The move would be an unprecedented step that would grant Trump new authority over the voting systems in the U.S.

Published

5 days ago

February 27, 2026

Oakland Post

By Lauren Victoria Burke, NNPA Newswire Correspondent

A group of MAGA pro-Trump activists, who say they are working in coordination with the White House, are circulating a 17-page draft executive order that would claim without evidence that China interfered with the 2020 presidential election. Donald Trump lost the 2020 presidential to President Joe Biden by over 7 million votes. Since Trump lost to Biden in 2020, he has repeatedly claimed that the election was “stolen” without evidence. The report of a group of “Trump allies” preparing an executive order to give Trump power over elections was first reported by The Washington Post.

The lies around the right-wing campaign that pushed falsehoods that the 2020 election was stolen was trafficked through right-wing media, particularly Fox News. Fox News was then sued for defamation for the claims by Dominion Voting Systems. Fox lost the case and had to settle for the largest defamation amount on record of $787.5 million in April 2023.

The document that could lead to an executive order proposes using the claim that China interfered with the 2020 elections as grounds to “declare a national emergency.” The move would be an unprecedented step that would grant Trump new authority over the voting systems in the U.S.

The story in The Washington Post arrives as Trump increasingly signals that he may take actions that would alter the result of the 2026 midterms. The Republicans are widely expected to lose as their approval ratings plummet as a result of a failing economy under Trump. Over 50 members of Congress have announced they will retire this year and not return in 2027.

The Trump Department of Justice, which now has a large image of Trump on the side of it, “sued five new states Thursday [Feb. 26, 2026] demanding access to their unredacted voter rolls — escalating a campaign that has been rejected by multiple federal courts and faces resistance from Republican-led states as well,” according to Democracy Docket, a group that works to protect voting rights.

Trump claimed back in late 2020, the last year of his first term, that he had the authority to issue an executive order related to mail-in voting for the 2020 elections — which he would then lose. But the Constitution states that control of elections lies with the states. As the GOP works to place hurdles in front of voting, Democrats worked to make voting easier.

In March 2021, President Biden signed an executive order calling on federal agencies to expand voting access as part of the Biden Administration’s effort “to promote and defend the right to vote for all Americans who are legally entitled to participate in elections.”

Trump’s focus is clearly on altering the November 2026 midterm elections. Trump’s polling numbers and the elections and special elections that have taken place around the U.S. over the last year clearly indicate that Republicans are about to be hit by a blue wave of Democratic victories.

Lauren Victoria Burke is an independent investigative journalist and the founder of Black Virginia News. She is a political analyst who appears on #RolandMartinUnfiltered and hosts the show LAUREN LIVE on YouTube @LaurenVictoriaBurke. She can be contacted at LBurke007@gmail.com and on twitter at @LVBurke