Unseen Unheard

DC Intersections

A demographic shift in Prince George’s County

By Andy Medici

“Good morning.”

“Good morning.”

“Good morning.”

Tabitha Washington repeats the greeting again and again, a litany, each repetition bearing the weight of a different inflection and stress and each as unique as the parishioner at whom she directed it. For Tabitha, “Good morning” is nothing less than the truth, an expression that sounds less like a traditional greeting and more like a final determination about the day, a judgment set as firm as cement.

The 32-year-old has come prepared that day as she always has, armed with programs laying out that day’s service. Dressed in a black skirt and purple blouse, she stands about five feet three inches and a few more if she wears her church hat – Tabitha blends in with the suits and Sunday best of the guests she is greeting.

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Memorizing the Qu’ran Teaches Young Muslims About More Than Words

By Geena Wardaki

With crossed legs, they rock back and forth to the melodic recitation that fills the air. One boy rests his hands on his head.  His eyes reveal the concentration of grasping for verse after verse.

Mohammad Nahavandi, a guide on a personal journey to tackle a great feat of memory,  paces back and forth with arms crossed and ears listening intently as a student sits by his desk reciting.  Nahvandi’s eyes stray to his Qur’an from time to time, double-checking the words that have become second nature.

Tradition in every stitch, Africa in every outfit

Amy David gets a head wrap made at House of Laces in Langley Park, Md.House of Laces sells colorful fabrics that reflect the history of global trade

| By Karina Stenquist |

Every square inch of wall in the store is draped in color. Six-yard rainbow swathes are folded and stacked by the door, hung from overhead rails, piled on shelves. Sequins and pearls glint on velvet and voile. Bright hues and gold highlights battle for attention. Bolts of beaded lace drip down the counter side next to cotton waterfalls. In the House of Laces, an African fabric store, culture is wearable.

It’s no accident that this store is where it is, in unassuming Langley Park, Md.Yet the merchandise it sells reflects an accident of world history. While the surge in African immigration  to Washington, D.C., may be a recent result of globalization, the unexpected origins of the fabrics themselves are a reminder that the global economy has centuries-old roots.

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