The soundcheck was a musical cacophony from the parking garage as the drums and guitars competed to find their pitch. The TOB Band made their final adjustments from the back of the flatbed. The truck began its pied-piper drive through Franklin Park as the go-go beat began its syncopated siren call to residents to follow them to the Beltway Plaza parking lot behind Target.
The event on Saturday, September 26, was billed as a Get Out the Vote/Stop the Violence/Stop Evictions/Census mashup organized by community activist LaWann Stribling of Strib’ble District, LLC. The event was a way to reach the untapped youth vote but appealed to anyone who could move to the pulsating beat. Census workers moved through the crowd asking, “Have you been counted?” Voter registrants were equally inquisitive: “Are you registered to vote in this important election?” A petition circulated asking Greenbelters who rent their homes, “What do you want for our city?” A CASA representative moved through the crowd passing out literature.
The event had been scheduled for the clinic grounds of Franklin Park. As the theme for the event evolved to include rent control, Franklin Park opted not to host the event. Stribling thanks Greenbelt Police Chief Richard Bowers and Lt. Jermaine Gulledge for their efforts in securing the last-minute venue at Beltway Plaza.
A number of politicos, representing local and state government, spoke. Greenbelt Councilmember Rodney Roberts spoke passionately about the need for recreational facilities for the 10,000 current residents of Franklin Park and the proposed construction of additional units for more residents. He circulated a
petition identifying the severe lack and need for recreational spaces and facilities in Greenbelt West. Greenbelt Mayor Colin Byrd reiterated his commitment to getting a “city park” in Franklin Park. He also returned to the theme of Fair and Just Policing and broadening representation of under-represented groups. “Justice will rule in Greenbelt as long as I’m mayor,” he intoned, and concluded his remarks with a quote from Frederick Douglass: “I will unite with anybody to do right.”
State Delegate Nicole Williams reminded attendees that each person counted in the 2020 Census represents $18,000 in services to the community and increased representation in Congress.
The emcee, Yaddiya, also known as Justin Johnson, described this go-go event as the intersection between culture and politics. “Go-go takes the political and puts it into layman’s terms. It updates politics to the disenfranchised.” As he returned to his emceeing duties he quipped, “Never think that you’re too small.”
Local and Beltway Plaza vendors added to the party-with-a purpose activities. Jodeem African Cuisine provided mini-meals of rice and chicken, Bun Café provided cinnamon buns, Beltway Hardware provided a buy one, get one free (BOGO) coupon for keys and Strib’ble Treats Homemade Sweets’ cookies beckoned from the tables – all gratis.
Every lyric from TOB’s playlist was reworked to include the importance of voting. The beat even had Greenbelt’s finest nodding their heads and tapping their toes. And as the band played Bill Withers’s A Lovely Day, it felt like there would be many more lovely days in Greenbelt.
