By Nina Payne
Trinity Times Correspondent
When Washington native Kymone Freeman looks back on his formative years, he recalls surviving “the crack epidemic, “Reaganomics” and “gentrification,” inspiring his adulthood of activism and now a campaign for public office.
Freeman’s love for the city, activism for D.C. statehood, and passion for social justice has called him to try and unseat longtime incumbent Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, Washington’s nonvoting Democratic member of Congress.
Though he had originally been seeking the Democratic nomination in the District of Columbia’s June 4 primary election, he announced in March he had decided instead to run for the office as a Green Party candidate in November’s general election.
The mantra for Freeman’s campaign – as he says in the words of slain Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. – is “a revolution of values,” telling Trinity Times that the catalyst for him running for the D.C. delegate seat was the Israel-Gaza war, which he calls “a genocide.”
After meeting with Norton to discuss a proposed ceasefire policy position for the U.S., Freeman said the conversation did not go in the direction he was expecting, telling Trinity Times she said that she felt it was premature.
This made him believe D.C. politics was out of step and needed new representation in Congress, even if this is still a nonvoting seat.
“I saw how our distinguished and accomplished elders have become gatekeepers of the status quo,” Freeman said. “This pushed me out of my comfort zone to do something more. To take it to the next level and challenge the establishment head on.”
Freeman has a long list of achievements, from being an activist, a playwright, an author, and being the co-founder of “We Act Radio,” an award-winning Washington-based internet streaming radio station that focuses on social justice messaging he says is his way of “changing Black radio.”
An advocate for D.C. statehood, Freeman believes the ongoing cause is a national issue and has the greatest potential to flip the balance power in the U.S.
Should D.C. achieve statehood status, it would receive an actual voting member in the U.S. House of Representatives and two members of the U.S. Senate, all of which would most likely be Democrats.
This is also a reason why republicans have traditionally opposed D.C. statehood.
In his Green Party campaign, Freeman has said he will fight to decrease housing costs and address the root causes of crime and violence in Washington.
As he campaigns this summer, Freeman promises to be “prepared to go the distance.”
“Having a representative in Congress who is passionate and active with their community is important to me and the people of D.C.,” said Jordan Matthews, a junior at Trinity Washington University studying Public Health.
Freeman hopes to be that passionate activist for the people of D.C., and he hopes to address several changes that students in Washington like Matthews want to see.
It’s why he is reaching out to Washington college students and urging them to vote in the November general election.
“If someone has been in office for all these years, and things are not changing, then maybe it’s time to pass the baton,” said Dominique Nicolas, a Trinity senior. “We need someone who knows D.C. and has experience and been through the things that the people of D.C. have been through.”
Freeman hopes to continue inspiring young people to get involved in their community and to pour his energies into the youth, who are the future leaders.
“There’s always something you can do,” he said, adding it’s his mission to convince young people that they have power.
Movements throughout history have been led by young people or college students, Freeman said and listed the Civil Rights Movement and the activism of notable Black leaders such as Malcolm X, Kwame Ture, Medgar Evers, and Martin Luther King Jr.
“We need the wisdom of our elders,” he said, and “the energy of our young people in hopes to create an intergenerational dialogue moving forward in this campaign.”