Chris Crowder: D.C. Activist Fatally Shot and Killed

[Im The Truth]

Activist Fatally Shot In NW
Man Who Took On Bigwigs Had Filed To Run for Mayor



By Robert E. Pierre
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, July 9, 2006; C01

A community activist who made a habit of confronting the powerful and had filed papers to run for D.C. mayor was fatally shot early yesterday in a park a block away from the city's thriving new convention center.

Chris Crowder, 44, was shot multiple times and found by police next to the wheelchair he had used since 1990, when he was shot and paralyzed from the waist down on a playground in the same neighborhood.

The earlier shooting -- a case of mistaken identity, Crowder had said -- came near the end of the crack epidemic, in a year when the District logged 474 homicides and was known as the nation's "murder capital."

Now his Mount Vernon neighborhood is in the midst of a rapid transformation, luring developers of pricey condominiums and suburbanites itching to be close to downtown. But homicides, sexual assaults, robberies and assaults with a deadly weapon have increased this year in the police district that includes Mount Vernon, according to police statistics.

Crowder was found at 3:43 a.m. in a park near Sixth and N streets NW, a place where his mother said he and other men his age often hung out and talked. D.C. police spokesman Joe Gentile said investigators know of no motive or suspects in the shooting and do not know whether it was the result of a dispute, a robbery or a random act of violence. Another man was shot multiple times in the same incident and was in critical condition last night, police said, declining to release his name.

Around the neighborhood and in political circles, Crowder was known as a loud-talking guy who had opinions -- often good ones -- on everything. He gained some fame for an appearance in 1995 on CBS's "60 Minutes," in which he spoke about the 1990 shooting, and for his penchant for taking on bigwigs. He would yell at D.C. Council members during hearings, and in May he bumped heads with entertainer Bill Cosby.

Often brash and disheveled, Crowder also came across as thoughtful, according to those who encountered him at public meetings.

"He stood out because of his energy and his passion," said D.C. Council member Adrian M. Fenty (D-Ward 4), a leading mayoral candidate. "He was an advocate for affordable housing, more services and programs for young people. He spoke very loud. Even when he was challenging the government, he was always the type of person who would walk over and shake your hand. He really seemed concerned about the future of the city."

Crowder was among 12 candidates who had filed official petitions to run for mayor. He had filed as a member of the D.C. Statehood Green Party, which advocates for the elimination of federal oversight of the District, statehood for the city and reparations for descendants of slaves, among other causes.

"He said he wanted to help the city be better," his mother, Gracie Brown, said of Crowder's mayoral bid. "He didn't have much money, but he was running."

Crowder shared an apartment with his mother on Seventh Street NW, a few blocks from the scene of the shooting. Brown rushed to the park after neighbors knocked frantically on her door. A detective told her that her son had been shot seven times, she said. Yesterday afternoon, a steady stream of neighbors visited and telephoned her to offer condolences.

Crowder had graduated from Howard University and was working his way through law school in 1990 when he was shot the first time. Five years later, during the "60 Minutes" interview with Mike Wallace, Crowder said he had been shot by one of three teenagers who mistook him for a police officer. That attack led to years of health problems, he told Wallace, explaining that he required a nurse daily, medication for bed sores and several skin grafts.

Asked what he would have told the people who shot him, Crowder said: "Man, do you know how much you've sidelined me? Do you know how much you've cost me and how much it's costing me now? Do you know how much pain I have to go through certain days? How I feel when I wet myself?"

During Cosby's recent speech at the University of the District of Columbia, Crowder yelled to Cosby that he was hosting a "watered-down dialogue." Cosby has traveled across the country criticizing black people who shun personal responsibility, blame police for incarcerations and let their children speak improper English. After Crowder's outburst, Cosby came down from the stage to confront him. "You don't deserve an audience with me," the entertainer said.

Brown said her son had been unable to work because of his injuries and was receiving disability payments. She said he was always helpful with seniors in their apartment building in the 1300 block of Seventh Street.

One neighbor said that too many youths in and around the building are violent and disrespectful to adults.

"We bring this up at tenants meetings, but nothing is ever done," said the woman, a friend of Brown's who has lived in the same building for 15 years and declined to give her name.

One question bothered Fenty and others yesterday:

[b]"How does a guy in a wheelchair get shot?" the council member asked.[/d]

© 2006 The Washington Post Company

[ThinkFree]

damn man i dont think nobody from my city would just shoot him, its more to this story that we dont know.

[Im The Truth]

Chris Crowder was running for mayor on the Statehood Green Party ticket. Chris was more for the statehood part of the party. He was a tireless advocate for reparations for black people who experienced the abominations of slavery. He was well-known and mostly liked among the politicians and people of DC. Chris was known as someone who would speak out against injustice. Sometimes he'd offend those he was speaking out against

Chris was also confined to a wheel chair from a shooting that happened in 1990. He was gunned down Sunday morning while still in his wheelchair in a park near his home on Emmanuel Street Northwest. Friends and neighbors have already built a memorial in the spot where he died.

With the loss of Chris Crowder's voice in Washington, it's a sad day for the activist community of DC.

Chris's family is in desperate need of funds to help with the cost of the Funeral Services etc.

Checks are to be made out to

Mrs. Gracie Brown (Chris's Mother) and mailed directly to her at
1301 7th St. NW Apt. 612
Washington DC 20001

ASAP PLEASE.

Chris Crowder worked his entire life for the upliftment of Africans at home and abroad and he and his family deserve the support, prayers, and meditations of all of us, as he moves on to
join our great ancestors. Despite the fact our Brother was confined to a wheelchair he still was one of the most active advocates for justice, social upliftment, and good will to our community of Banneker City (Washington, DC).

Many of you know Chris got around to many events in the DC area and spoke his mind, whenever and wherever he could. Let us all show our appreciation, love and support to his family. If all of us give kindly, we all can help ease the burden this family now faces.

Additional information will be forthcoming as soon as we get it on other Going Home arrangements. We are sending you this email
soliciting your help that is needed and will be most appreciated by the Family.

The Funeral location is listed below.

Funeral Services are

11:00am

Saturday July 15th, 2006
at
Greater New Hope Baptist Church
816 8th Street Northwest
Washington, DC 20001

Please send this message to others.

Thank You,

Senghor Jawara Baye EL District Commisioner of the UNIA-ACL

[Im The Truth]

Political activist Crowder fatally shot

PDF | Email
Scott McCabe, The Examiner
Jul 10, 2006 5:00 AM (2 days ago)
Current rank: # 901 of 12,778 articles
WASHINGTON - Political activist Chris Crowder, who took on the powers that be in an in-your-face fashion, was gunned down in a D.C. park near his Mount Vernon home early Saturday morning.

Crowder, 44, was found at about 3:43 a.m. Saturday with several gunshot wounds to his body. He was lying next to the wheelchair he had used since a 1990 shooting had left him paralyzed from the waist down.

Another man was also shot and was taken to a nearby hospital where he remained in critical condition, said police spokesman Sgt. Joe Gentile. Police would not release his name because the man is a witness to the shootings.

Crowder was often seen at City Hall and was particularly interested in issues dealing with the homeless, affordable housing and youth. City observers say he signed up to run for D.C. mayor because he was frustrated that his voice wasn’t being heard.

“He saw things that he thought were wrong and he wanted speak out,” said Dorothy Brizill, of the watchdog group DC Watch. “He didn’t just observe, he participated.”

On Sunday, homicide detectives canvassed the neighborhood, searching for clues and witnesses. At the site of the shooting, in the 600 block of Emmanuel Street NW, friends and family had erected a makeshift shrine in Crowder’s memory. Roses, teddy bears and candles were placed on a upright wooden pallet. Some friends wrote notes:

“We’re going to miss you. God has appointed you the mayor of heaven,” wrote one person.

“It’s not over yet, the fight has just begun,” wrote another.

Crowder, who had had filed to run for District mayor under the D.C. Statehood Green Party this year, had a reputation as an agitator who stood up to the political and social establishment. In 1995, five years after he was shot while a law student at Howard University, CBS’s Mike Wallace interviewed him about the shooting and his boisterous political activism.

Wallace asked what he would say to his shooter.

“Man, do you know how much you’ve sidelined me?” Crowder replied. “Do you know how much pain I have to go through certain days?”

In May, Crowder took on Bill Cosby during the comedian’s “Call Out” tour stop in D.C. Crowder accused Cosby of hosting a “watered-down dialogue.” Cosby jumped off the stage and over to Crowder, who was sitting in his wheelchair, and told the activist, “You don’t deserve an audience with me.”

smccabe@dcexaminer.com
Examiner

[G.O.D.F.A.T.H.A.]

R.I.P. to Mr. Crowder.

[Guerilla Black]

RIP comrade. I hope the killers are found and the story brought to light. Keep us updated

[manifestdestiny]

krakker political strategy has not change, Assimilation or Assassination