By Southwester Staff
On June 23, two task forces of the Southwest Neighborhood Assembly (SWNA) presented the 2025 Youth and Education Forum, bringing together community leaders and a range of youth-serving organizations.
SWNA’s Youth Activities Task Force and Education & Scholarship Task Force collaborated on the event, which featured nearly 20 organizations with information booths and giveaways for young people.
Participants included the Washington Nationals, the Children’s Chorus of Washington, and a range of educational groups including College Bound and DC Storm. Friends of Southwest DC and the Southwest Comm-Unity Forum offered remarks, and attendees heard from the James Creek Resident Council and DC Parks and Recreation’s new director of the King-Greenleaf Recreation Center.
Host and emcee Thelma D. Jones welcomed several special presentations. Models, Inc., led by CEO and lifelong Southwest DC resident Iran “Bang” Paylor, put on a fashion show with runway models and a message of youth engagement and empowerment. In addition, the DC History Center announced its acceptance of the complete digital archives of The Southwester, including the record of neighborhood news since 1963 in its permanent collection.
