National

D.C. Block Renamed for Activist Lawrence Guyot

Published

9 years ago

January 7, 2015

Lawrence Guyot, pictured in 2011, worked to educate young people about the civil rights movement. (Courtesy of Samuel Proctor Oral History Program, University of Florida)

by Avis Thomas-Lester

Special to the NNPA from The Washington Informer

Lawrence Guyot battled against voter intimidation in Jim Crow Mississippi in the 1960s and lobbied ardently for D.C. statehood after moving to the nation’s capital in the early 1970s.

The D.C. Council recently recognized the sacrifice and steadfast support of Guyot, who died in 2012, when the members voted unanimously to rename the 500 block of U Street in Northwest Washington in his honor. If the measure is approved by Mayor Vincent C. Gray, the block where Guyot lived for 30 years will bear the name “Lawrence Guyot Way.”

“He would have been so proud, and it is a much-deserved recognition,” said Julie Guyot-Diangone, Guyot’s daughter. “He loved Washington, D.C. so much. It is appropriate that he be recognized with a street named in his honor, and the street where our family lived for so many years is the perfect street to be named for him.”

Guyot died on Nov. 23, 2012, of complications of diabetes and heart disease in the wee hours of the morning after Thanksgiving. Though his health was failing in the final days of his life, his activism and love of politics never faltered. He looked forward to witnessing the second inauguration of President Obama, for whom he had campaigned. Guyot had cast his ballot for Obama a few weeks earlier, determined that his vote would be counted, when he was carried into the polls by D.C. Fire Department rescuers because he was too weak to walk.

“I never thought I would live to see it. I hoped, but never dreamed it,” Guyot said at the time of Obama’s re-election. “Not only did we witness an African-American elected to the highest position in the nation. We saw him reaffirmed in a second election. It is unprecedented and sets the tone for civil rights moving forward. It also says to young people of color that there are no limits. You truly can achieve anything if you work hard enough — anything.”

It was Guyot-Diangone’s idea that a street should be named for her father. She moved back in with her parents before Guyot died with her two young children.

“This is the way D.C. honors its local heroes, its most beloved — the people who made a difference to D.C.,” said Guyot-Diangone. “It’s especially significant for me because I will be raising his grandchildren on the street named for him. That really resonates with me.”

Council records show the Lawrence Guyot Way Designation Act of 2014 was sent to Mayor Vincent Gray’s office on Dec. 9. He signed the measure last week. It now moves to Congress for a 30-day period of review.

In an email, Gray spokeswoman Doxie McCoy said he was “pleased to sign the bill in honor of a man who fought for freedom, self-determination and democracy for the residents of the District of Columbia and disenfranchised people all over.”

Guyot-Diangone said her family moved to the brownstone in the 500 block of U Street in 1981, several years after the elder Guyots moved to the District after her father graduated from Rutgers Law School. Guyot worked for Pride Inc. and then in the administration of Mayor Marion Barry, whom he had met on the civil rights trail in the Deep South. Barry, a lifelong friend, died exactly two years to the day after Guyot on Nov. 23, 2014.

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Oakland Post: Week of April 17 – 23, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 17 – 23, 2024

Published

4 days ago

April 19, 2024

Oakland Post

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Barbara Lee

Congresswoman Barbara Lee Issues Statement on Deaths of Humanitarian Aid Volunteers in Gaza 

On April 2, a day after an Israeli airstrike erroneously killed seven employees of World Central Kitchen (WCK), a humanitarian organization delivering aid in the Gaza Strip, a statement was release by Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA-12). “This is a devastating and avoidable tragedy. My prayers go to the families and loved ones of the selfless members of the World Central Kitchen team whose lives were lost,” said Lee.

Published

6 days ago

April 17, 2024

Oakland Post

Congresswoman Barbara Lee

By California Black Media

“This is a devastating and avoidable tragedy. My prayers go to the families and loved ones of the selfless members of the World Central Kitchen team whose lives were lost,” said Lee.

The same day, it was confirmed by the organization that the humanitarian aid volunteers were killed in a strike carried out by Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Prior to the incident, members of the team had been travelling in two armored vehicles marked with the WCF logo and they had been coordinating their movements with the IDF. The group had successfully delivered 10 tons of humanitarian food in a deconflicted zone when its convoy was struck.

“This is not only an attack against WCK. This is an attack on humanitarian organizations showing up in the direst situations where food is being used as a weapon of war. This is unforgivable,” said Erin Gore, chief executive officer of World Central Kitchen.

The seven victims included a U.S. citizen as well as others from Australia, Poland, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Palestine.

Lee has been a vocal advocate for a ceasefire in Gaza and has supported actions by President Joe Biden to airdrop humanitarian aid in the area.

“Far too many civilians have lost their lives as a result of Benjamin Netanyahu’s reprehensible military offensive. The U.S. must join with our allies and demand an immediate, permanent ceasefire – it’s long overdue,” Lee said.

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Commentary

Commentary: Republican Votes Are Threatening American Democracy

In many ways, it was great that the Iowa Caucuses were on the same day as Martin Luther King Jr. Day. We needed to know the blunt truth. The takeaway message after the Iowa Caucuses where Donald Trump finished more than 30 points in front of Florida Gov. De Santis and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley boils down to this: Our democracy is threatened, for real.

Published

7 days ago

April 16, 2024

Oakland Post

It was strange for Iowans to caucus on MLK day. It had a self-cancelling effect. The day that honored America’s civil rights and anti-discrimination hero was negated by evening. That’s when one of the least diverse states in the nation let the world know that white Americans absolutely love Donald Trump. No ifs, ands or buts.

By Emil Guillermo

In many ways, it was great that the Iowa Caucuses were on the same day as Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

We needed to know the blunt truth.

The takeaway message after the Iowa Caucuses where Donald Trump finished more than 30 points in front of Florida Gov. De Santis and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley boils down to this: Our democracy is threatened, for real.

And to save it will require all hands on deck.

It was strange for Iowans to caucus on MLK day. It had a self-cancelling effect. The day that honored America’s civil rights and anti-discrimination hero was negated by evening.

That’s when one of the least diverse states in the nation let the world know that white Americans absolutely love Donald Trump. No ifs, ands or buts.

No man is above the law? To the majority of his supporters, it seems Trump is.

It’s an anti-democracy loyalty that has spread like a political virus.

No matter what he does, Trump’s their guy. Trump received 51% of caucus-goers votes to beat Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who garnered 21.2%, and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who got 19.1%.

The Asian flash in the pan Vivek Ramaswamy finished way behind and dropped out. Perhaps to get in the VP line. Don’t count on it.

According to CNN’s entrance polls, when caucus-goers were asked if they were a part of the “MAGA movement,” nearly half — 46% — said yes. More revealing: “Do you think Biden legitimately won in 2020?”

Only 29% said “yes.”

That means an overwhelming 66% said “no,” thus showing the deep roots in Iowa of the “Big Lie,” the belief in a falsehood that Trump was a victim of election theft.

Even more revealing and posing a direct threat to our democracy was the question of whether Trump was fit for the presidency, even if convicted of a crime.

Sixty-five percent said “yes.”

Who says that about anyone of color indicted on 91 criminal felony counts?

Would a BIPOC executive found liable for business fraud in civil court be given a pass?

How about a BIPOC person found liable for sexual assault?

Iowans have debased the phrase, “no man is above the law.” It’s a mindset that would vote in an American dictatorship.

Compare Iowa with voters in Asia last weekend. Taiwan rejected threats from authoritarian Beijing and elected pro-democracy Taiwanese vice president Lai Ching-te as its new president.

Meanwhile, in our country, which supposedly knows a thing or two about democracy, the Iowa caucuses show how Americans feel about authoritarianism.

Some Americans actually like it even more than the Constitution allows.

About the Author

Emil Guillermo is a journalist and commentator. He does a mini-talk show on YouTube.com/@emilamok1.