Celebrating Black History Month: The 50th Anniversary of DC Home Rule

Celebrate Black History Month and the 50th anniversary of DC Home Rule with a virtual Federal City Council event with speakers Charlene Drew Jarvis and Colbert King.

About the Speakers

Charlene Drew Jarvis
Former DC Councilmember

In her long and distinguished career, Charlene Drew Jarvis has held positions as a neuroscientist, legislator, and university president. Dr. Jarvis’ educational background led to a career as a neuroscientist at the National Institute of Mental Health in Bethesda, Maryland (1971-1978). She received a bachelor of science from Oberlin College (1962), an master of science from Howard University (1964), and a Ph.D. in neuropsychology from the University of Maryland (1972), all the while balancing the demands of being a wife and mother of two active young boys. Dr. Jarvis is the recipient of more than 100 awards for her leadership, including honorary doctorates from Amherst College, George Washington University, Oberlin College, and a Distinguished Alumni Award from Howard University. Charlene Drew Jarvis is valued for her analytical skills, intellectual rigor, probing questions, and pragmatic approach to problem-solving. These traits made her advisory contributions much in demand by dozens of major organizations and commissions.

Colbert King
Columnist at the Washington Post

Colbert I. “Colby” King writes a column — sometimes about D.C., sometimes about politics — that runs in print on Saturdays. In 2003, he won the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary “for his against-the-grain columns that speak to people in power with ferocity and wisdom.” He is also a regular panelist on ABC’s “Inside Washington” and a regular commentator on WTOP Radio. King joined the Post’s Editorial Board in 1990 and served as deputy editorial page editor from 2000 to 2007. Earlier in his career, he was an executive vice president of Riggs National Bank, U.S. executive director of the World Bank, a deputy assistant secretary at the Treasury Department, democratic staff director of the Senate’s District of Columbia Committee, a State Department diplomat stationed at the U.S. embassy in Bonn and a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army Adjutant General’s Corps. King grew up in Washington and attended Howard University. He is married to Gwendolyn Stewart King and has two sons and a daughter.

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