Grace Mitchell-Jenkins. Courtesy of amazinggracecupcakery.org By David Alde & Donna Purchase In the summer of 2020, Southwest DC resident Grace Mitchell-Jenkins saw an ad in The Southwester highlighting the Southwest Neighborhood Assembly Scholarship program and applied immediately. Today, Mitchell-Jenkins is featured in this month’s ad as a former winner, having used her scholarship to support […]
Where Are They Now: Southwest Neighborhood Assembly Scholarship Winner Kenneth Tinsley
By Vyllorya Evans, Co-Chair, Southwest Neighborhood Assembly and Wilma Goldstein, member Education and Youth Task Force At the Modern on M Apartments in Southwest DC, we recently had the chance to catch up with Kenneth Tinsley, a previous winner of the Southwest Neighborhood Assembly (SWNA) Education and Youth Task Force scholarship, and ask the question […]
Theater Fellowship Program Opens to Applications
By Southwester Staff Southwest’s Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater has opened applications for the Allen Lee Hughes BIPOC Fellowship Program for the 2023/24 Season. Founded in 1990 and named for the four-time Tony Award-nominated lighting designer, the fellowship program is dedicated to cultivating the next generation of Black, Indigenous, People of […]
Southwest Neighborhood Assembly Scholarship Winners Rack Up 50 Years of Remarkable Achievements
By Wilma Goldstein This year marks the 50th year residents of zip code 20024 in Southwest DC have awarded college scholarships to young people in our neighborhood. In fact, we have never missed a year since 1974, when residents living in the River Park Apartments decided they would like to raise some money and contribute […]
Riverside Baptist Church Announces Scholarship Program
By Southwester Staff Riverside Baptist Church is one of the oldest churches in Southwest, tracing its roots back to the Island Baptist Church, founded in 1857. The church has been on the corner of 7th Street and Maine Avenue SW since the 1960’s, and in 2019 moved into a new building. Today, Riverside prides itself […]
Southwest Students Awarded College Scholarships
By Audrey Hinton, Southwest Neighborhood Assembly Education and Scholarship Task Force The Southwest Neighborhood Assembly’s (SWNA) Education and Scholarship Task Force held its 47th annual scholarship awards program on August 15, awarding 23 young people $50,000 in college scholarships. About 100 viewers joined the pre-recorded virtual event as the students received scholarships ranging from $2,000-$2,500. […]
Scholarship Awards Double from Last Year

Photo caption: Scholarship students (first row, left to right): Kiana Livingston, Bianca Kersellius, Haili Blassingame, Sequoia Lucas, and Najma Pettiford. (Second row, left to right): Tiffany Livingston, Roman Hamilton, Gary T. Hill, Tsahai Pettiford, and Attalah Shabazz. Not pictured: Asha Marshall and Marlon Mitchell. Photo caption: Sequoia Lucas with some of her art. Photo caption: Tsahai Pettiford explains […]