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AFRO Spotlight on Black Excellence: Peter Bug Shoe Academy, Fixing Souls and Soles

THE AFRO — A native of Southeast D.C., John “Peter Bug” Matthews is a fifth-generation Washingtonian. He started his nonprofit, Peter Bug Shoe and Leather Repair in 1977. The small shop has since doubled as a cobbler academy — known as the Peter Bug Shoe Repair Academy — for neighborhood children seeking part-time, paid employment opportunities.
The post AFRO Spotlight on Black Excellence: Peter Bug Shoe Academy, Fixing Souls and Soles first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

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2 years ago

February 27, 2024

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By Mennatalla Ibrahim | Special to the AFRO

As the sun sets in the nation’s capital, painting the sky vibrant shades of reds and purples, John “Peter Bug” Matthews stands proudly outside his historic shoe shop on Capitol Hill. Even on his day off, Matthews is at the shop on his own, tirelessly repairing shoes for the community.

At 75, he wears a bright orange hoodie that matches the kufi cap on his head, a long, stained leather apron and a myriad of ethnic bracelets on either wrist. As he seamlessly works his way through the sea of tattered shoes sprawled across his floor, he tells origin stories of the African décor adorning the walls.

A native of Southeast D.C., Matthews is a fifth-generation Washingtonian. He started his nonprofit, Peter Bug Shoe and Leather Repair in 1977. The small shop has since doubled as a cobbler academy — known as the Peter Bug Shoe Repair Academy — for neighborhood children seeking part-time, paid employment opportunities.

The academy trains students in Capitol Hill as young as fifth graders. The year-round programs not only encompass the art of the trade but also lessons in anatomy, professionalism, community service, leadership, entrepreneurship and mentorship.

“Our goal here is to save souls and heal people,” Matthews said, spelling out the words “souls” and “heal” to play on the homonyms of “heel” and “sole.”

In 2010, the 400 block of 13th Street in Southeast Washington, D.C., was renamed Peter Bug Matthews Way. (Courtesy photo)

Recognizing the many steps the shop and academy have taken in the past 46 years toward fulfilling that goal, Advisory Neighborhood Commission 6B, which represents the Capitol Hill and Barney Circle neighborhoods, unanimously voted to designate the Peter Bug Shoe Repair Academy a D.C. Historical Landmark.

“The nomination recognizes and remembers the long legacy of community engagement and public service the academy represents for the Capitol Hill community,” Historic Preservation Specialist Todd Jones told the ANC’s Planning and Zoning Committee.

Aside from a grant from the African American Heritage Preservation Foundation to restore the structural integrity of the building, Matthews said that since the designation, the Academy has not received any additional funding from the city. However, he said the designation brought about something of equal importance: a sense of permanency.

“Our programs will now be memorialized, so that people can recognize that this entity and the life it has brought to this community will live in perpetuity,” said Michael Banner, executive director and a former student of the academy.

Preservation of local history is particularly important in neighborhoods like Capitol Hill where gentrification is rapidly changing its landscape.

A 2019 study conducted by the National Community Reinvestment Coalition found that D.C. had the greatest amount of gentrification of any United States city between 2000 and 2013, with around 20,000 Black residents displaced.

In the past two decades alone, Capitol Hill’s Black population has decreased by 47 percent, according to a 2022 report by the Politico media company.

At its inception, the academy was neighbored by a playground, a multipurpose sunken court and condos and townhouses filled with Black families. Today, the academy and the sunken court are the only remnants of the neighborhood’s past, now surrounded by new luxury residential developments and a growing White population.

Matthews said that under no circumstance would he accept getting pushed out of the community, but the landmark status is still a comforting symbol that he no longer has to fight for his space.

“Peter Bug has weathered a lot of storms — the drug infestation, the redlining, the gentrification, the entire community changing,” Banner said. “But everyone needs shoes. That is our connecting factor.”

Historic D.C. shoe shop academy is persevering through decades of changes on Capitol Hill. (Courtesy photo)

The landmark status is just the most recent in a long line of city-wide recognitions for the shop and academy. Since 1997, residents of Capitol Hill have gathered every June 8 to celebrate Peter Bug Day, a community-wide event filled with music, families and opportunities to connect. And in 2010, the 400 block of 13th Street in Southeast D.C. was renamed Peter Bug Matthews Way.

Matthews’ impact on the Capitol Hill community has long preceded the city-wide recognition.

Growing up with a stutter, he said he found his life’s work after spending his early education in schools for disabled children, gaining early skills in shoe repair at Phelps Vocational High School. However, before leaving for Oklahoma Technical Institute to continue refining his craft, Matthews was put in charge of the Youth Courtesy Patrol of the District of Columbia. Run by the Department of Justice in the 1960s, this program aimed to promote safety and reduce crime in metropolitan cities like D.C.

“I was in charge of leading a bunch of 13-year-old boys in escorting older women in the community from bus stops back to their homes at night so no one would mess with them. I had no idea why they’d listen to me. I wasn’t that much older than them. But we pulled it off,” Matthews said.

After returning from Oklahoma, Matthews attended Federal City College, now known as the University of the District of Columbia, where he was given access to speech therapy. Desperate for a job after earning his sociology degree, Matthews secured a part-time role teaching shoe repair to children with disabilities at his old vocational high school.

“I understood them because I was a part of them. I was misinterpreted and misjudged, and I knew they were, too. They just needed someone to slow down a little bit. If you let them see it and put their hands on it, they can get it. It’s just a different way of learning,” Matthews said. “I realized pretty quick that my goal was to start my own school.”

In 1977, Matthews successfully petitioned the District government to transform what was then the pavilion of a freshly foreclosed elementary school plaza into his shoe repair shop and academy. Though it received some government funding in the late-’70s and early-’80s, the academy, which is in a 99-year lease agreement with the city, has primarily run on donations, money generated from the shop and his team’s personal financial contributions.

He has since cultivated deep, restorative connections with nearly five decades worth of students, who call themselves the Shoe Shop Boyz — more than 500 of whom have been through the program.

Among the most notable is Banner. One of the children in Matthews’ first group of Shoe Shop Boyz, Banner started at the academy at just 12 years old and didn’t leave until he graduated from high school.

“The first thing that caught my eye about the Academy as I was running the streets of Capitol Hill was that it was a cultural program that told me about myself. No one told me I was an African. That was the hook. It was telling me about myself and I wanted to know more,” Banner said.

Banner went on to attend three historically Black colleges and universities and earn an MBA before returning to Peter Bug Academy as the full-time, acting executive director.

“The program instilled in me that we have to want to make things better in our community,” Banner said. “After you’ve gained additional skill sets, you have to give back to where you were planted, so that you can see things grow and flourish in a positive and loving way.”

Matthews shares this mindset and has applied it to many ventures beyond the shop and the academy.

Though he retired from teaching almost a decade ago, Matthews spent 30 years as an educator, teaching a shoe-repair class that bounced around a series of D.C. schools — most of which no longer exist. He has also had a hand in city politics, running for school board, actively participating in neighborhood council meetings and serving as a delegate for the Rev. Jesse Jackson in his 1984 presidential campaign. His many philanthropic efforts include administering the COVID-19 coronavirus vaccine out of his shop at the height of the pandemic.

He also created football and soccer teams that double as mentorship programs for school kids with good grades, and unpaid volunteer opportunities at the shop for Capitol Hill youth.

Adam Marou can attest to many of these ventures firsthand. Marou and his family moved across the street from Peter Bug Shoe and Leather Repair in 2004. He distinctly remembers his parents deeply connecting with Matthews on their African roots and the sense of excitement and community he felt on Peter Bug Day each year. In 2013, Marou volunteered at the Peter Bug Shop to accrue community-service hours toward his middle school graduation.

“I got to see how he conducts business and how passionate he is about his shop, his academy and our community. Seeing a local neighborhood guy like him and how much respect he got, opened my eyes,” Marou said.

“He’s kind of a community legend in a sense, which I guess gave me someone to look up to,” Marou said. “He’s a good role model and a very welcoming person. You feel no sort of judgment around him.”

Looking ahead, Matthews and his team are aiming for the federal historical landmark designation. They are also looking into turning the neighboring sunken-in court into an amphitheater where they can hold events and activities for the community year-round, such as concerts, poetry recitals, plays and more.

Until then, Matthews remains in his quaint corner of Capitol Hill, repairing shoes and teaching neighborhood children his craft from his shop as everything around him changes.

With a slight, inconspicuous stutter in his voice, he shares what he considers to be the craziest part of all this: “I had no interest in fixing shoes. I just had holes in mine.”

The post AFRO spotlight on Black excellence: Peter Bug Shoe Academy, fixing souls and soles appeared first on Afro American Newspapers.

The post AFRO Spotlight on Black Excellence: Peter Bug Shoe Academy, Fixing Souls and Soles first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

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2026 Lucid Air Grand Touring Review — Is This $136K EV Sedan Worth It?

AUTONETWORK ON BLACKPRESSUSA — Finished in Stellar White Metallic with the Tahoe Grand Touring interior, this Lucid makes a strong first impression. The shape is sleek and low, but it still feels elegant instead of trying too hard. Features like soft-close doors, powered illuminated door handles, 20-inch Aero Lite wheels, and the Glass Canopy Roof help the car feel expensive before you even start it.

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May 3, 2026

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The 2026 Lucid Air Grand Touring is the kind of luxury EV that makes people stop and ask a simple question: Is this really better than a Tesla Model S, Mercedes EQS, or BMW i7? At $136,150, it has to do more than look futuristic. It has to feel special every time you get in it.

Finished in Stellar White Metallic with the Tahoe Grand Touring interior, this Lucid makes a strong first impression. The shape is sleek and low, yet it still feels elegant rather than trying too hard. Features like soft-close doors, powered illuminated door handles, 20-inch Aero Lite wheels, and the Glass Canopy Roof help the car feel expensive before you even start it.

Inside is where the Air Grand Touring really makes its case. The 34-inch Glass Cockpit Display and retractable Pilot Panel screen give the cabin a clean, modern look that still feels different from other EVs. The Tahoe Extended Leather and Lucid Black Alcantara headliner lifts the sense of occasion, and the front seats are a highlight. They are 20-way power-adjustable, heated, ventilated, and include massage. That matters because luxury buyers at this price expect comfort first.

Rear passengers are not ignored either. You get 5-zone heated rear seating, a rear center console display, and power rear and rear side window sunshades. Add in the Surreal Sound Pro system with 21 speakers, and the Air feels like a true long-distance luxury sedan.

Lucid also gives this car serious EV hardware. The dual-motor all-wheel-drive system, 900V+ charging architecture, and Wunderbox onboard charger are big talking points. Buyers in this segment care about range, charging speed, and everyday ease, not just raw performance. That is where the Lucid continues to stand out.

On the technology side, the Air Grand Touring includes DreamDrive Premium, with 3D Surround View Monitoring, Blind Spot Warning, Automatic Park In and Out, Automatic Emergency Braking, and a Driver Monitoring System with distracted and drowsy driver alerts. This one also has DreamDrive Pro, which adds future-capable ADAS hardware.

There are still some real-world annoyances. Based on your notes, the windshield wiper control is hard to find and use, and that matters more than people think in a high-tech car. When controls become less intuitive, even a beautiful interior can feel frustrating.

Still, the 2026 Lucid Air Grand Touring succeeds where it matters most. It feels luxurious, advanced, comfortable, and thoughtfully engineered. For buyers who want an EV sedan that feels truly premium and less common than the usual choices, this Lucid makes a very strong case.

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Snoop Dogg Celebrates 10 Til’ Midnight at the Compound

LOS ANGELES SENTINEL — The album is paired with a film that stars Snoop Dogg, Hitta J3, G Perico, and Ray Vaughn, and one of the strongest elements of the whole project is that the production stayed rooted right here in Los Angeles.

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May 3, 2026

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Snoop Dogg celebrated the premiere of 10 Til’ Midnight at his Inglewood recording studio & multipurpose facility, The Compound, but the night felt like much more than an album release. It felt like Los Angeles. It felt like legacy. And it felt like another major move from one of the city’s greatest cultural architects as he continues to prove that he is not just dropping music — he is building moments, shaping narratives, and pushing the culture forward in real time.

What made the event so powerful was the clarity behind the vision. During a panel conversation with DJ Hed, Snoop opened up about the heart behind 10 Til’ Midnight, explaining that the project was created to help bridge older and younger generations while also speaking to the long-standing divisions between Bloods and Crips in a unique way through film. That alone gave the project a different kind of weight. This was not just about songs. This was about using creativity as a tool for connection. This was about taking a story rooted in Los Angeles and telling it in a way that could bring people together.

Snoop Congratulated By Rapper & Fellow 10 Til Midnight Cast Member G Perico (CreativeLB/KreativeKapturez)

The album is paired with a film that stars Snoop Dogg, Hitta J3, G Perico, and Ray Vaughn, and one of the strongest elements of the whole project is that the production stayed rooted right here in Los Angeles. The film was shot in the city, including at WePlay Studios in Inglewood, which gave the entire project an even deeper hometown feel. It was not just a West Coast story in content — it was a Los Angeles-made production from the ground up.

That matters because, in a city like this, authenticity still carries weight. Snoop understands how to make sure that what he creates does not just represent Los Angeles on the surface, but actually comes from it.

What also makes 10 Til’ Midnight significant is that it represents another major step in Snoop’s evolution as both an artist and executive. Public reporting around the project identifies it as his 22nd studio album, but the bigger story is what it represents in this season of his life. This is one of several consecutive moves he has made in his 50s that show he is still building, still expanding, and still finding new ways to reinvent what the next chapter looks like.

Snoop Dogg at the Premiere of 10 Til Midnight (CreativeLB/KreativeKapturez)

Now, as the head of Death Row Records and the newly aligned leader of Death Row Pictures, he is taking the brand into a new dimension. That is what made this moment feel bigger than music. Snoop is not just protecting the legacy of Death Row — he is stretching it. He is expanding it beyond records and into film, visual storytelling, and larger creative worlds that can continue carrying the label’s impact forward. Public reporting has noted that this project arrives as part of that broader cinematic push.

That is a major Los Angeles move because the city has always been built on the intersection of music, film, neighborhood identity, and cultural storytelling. With 10 Til’ Midnight, Snoop is leaning all the way into that intersection.

The room at The Compound reflected that. It felt like a private premiere, but it also felt like a statement — a reminder that Snoop Dogg’s staying power has never been based only on nostalgia. It comes from his ability to remain connected, remain visionary, and remain in tune with how to move the culture without losing the essence of who he is.

That is why this premiere mattered. It was not just about celebrating another album. It was about witnessing a Los Angeles legend continue to evolve, continue to unify, and continue to use art to tell stories that hit deeper than entertainment alone.

In that sense, 10 Til’ Midnight became more than a project launch. It became another example of how Snoop Dogg is still taking Los Angeles to the next level — using music, film, and legacy together to build something bigger than a moment.

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OP-ED: Small Businesses Need Minnesota to Act on Pass-Through Tax Policy

MINNESOTA SPOKESMAN RECORDER — A Twin Cities immigrant entrepreneur who built several businesses including grocery stores in underserved neighborhoods is calling on Minnesota lawmakers to extend the Pass-Through Entity tax option before it expires, warning that its loss would hit small businesses already recovering from Operation Metro Surge with higher federal tax bills.

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May 3, 2026

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A Twin Cities Small Business Owner Is Urging Minnesota to Extend a Tax Policy That Could Save Thousands of Businesses

By Daniel Hernandez | Minnesota Spokesman Recorder

I came to the United States as a teenager with a clear goal: to build something meaningful through hard work. I put in long days in construction, restaurants, and landscaping; doing whatever it took to learn, save, and eventually start my own business.

Over time, I built and ran several successful ventures, including an event photography company, a magazine, a tax and accounting firm, and now grocery stores serving neighborhoods across the Twin Cities where other retailers chose not to invest. I’ve created jobs, supported families, and committed to communities that deserve stability and opportunity.

That’s why I’m speaking out now.

Small business owners in Minneapolis and the communities we serve are recovering from serious disruptions, including the impacts of Operation Metro Surge. That event hit immigrant communities especially hard. In my own case, I lost nearly half of my 60 employees and saw revenue drop by about 85%. While I worked to provide competitive wages, health benefits, and paid time off, the real hardship fell on the people who lost their jobs and income.

Even as we rebuild, small businesses are facing another challenge. The Minnesota Legislature is considering letting an important tax policy expire: the Pass-Through Entity tax option.

Here’s what that means in plain terms.

Many small businesses, including mine, are pass-through businesses. That means the business itself doesn’t pay income tax. Instead, the owners report the income on their personal tax returns. But under current federal rules, there’s a limit on how much state tax we can deduct. That often leads to higher federal tax bills.

The Pass-Through Entity option fixes that. It allows the business to pay the state tax directly, which means the business can fully deduct those taxes on its federal return and lower the total amount of income taxed federally. The result is straightforward: small business owners pay less in federal taxes, without reducing what the state collects.

This policy is not new or controversial. Thirty-six states already offer it. It doesn’t cost Minnesota anything, it’s revenue neutral. And it benefits more than 66,000 businesses across the state.

In a state where the cost of doing business is already high, it’s hard to understand why we wouldn’t offer the same basic tax treatment as states like California and Illinois.

Small businesses have carried a heavy load in recent years, through a pandemic, rising costs and public safety disruptions. We’ve adapted, reinvested and stayed committed to our communities. What we need now are practical policies that support that work, not make it harder.

If the Minnesota House does not act soon, many businesses will face significantly higher federal tax bills. That’s money that could otherwise be used to hire workers, raise wages or reinvest in local neighborhoods.

I urge Gov. Tim Walz and members of the House Tax Committee to pass House File 3127 and extend the Pass-Through Entity election.

Small businesses are the backbone of our communities. We’ve proven our resilience. Now we need our state leaders to show the same commitment to us.

Daniel Hernandez is the owner of Colonial Market located at 2100 E. Lake St.

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