Chlorophyll

One of the two DC Statehood Green Party candidates for mayor was shot and killed on July 8.

Chris Crowder, who has been confined to a wheelchair since a 1990 shooting incident, was found in the early morning hours as a location he often visited to talk with neighbors.

Crowder was running against Chris Otten in a rare contested Statehood Green Party primary for mayor of the District of Columbia.

Here's the press release from the DC Statehood Green Party:

DC Statehood Green Party members
expressed their sympathy and condolences to the family
of Bro. Chris Crowder after his death on Saturday,
July 8, and remembered him as a dedicated community
activist.

Mr. Crowder was found early Saturday morning, the
victim of a homicide. The Metropolitan Police
Department is investigating.

Mr. Crowder was one of two Statehood Green candidates
for Mayor of Washington, D.C. who had filed petitions
on Wednesday, July 5 at the D.C. Board of Ethics and
Elections.

The party had looked forward to its first contested
nomination for the Mayor's seat. The D.C. primary
election will take place on September 12; the other
Statehood Green mayoral candidate is Chris Otten.

"Bro. Chris was a very thoughtful, intelligent,
fun-loving brother," said Asantewaa Nkrumah-Ture,
party member and a friend of Mr. Crowder. "His energy
and passion for justice for people of African descent,
for youth, for over-all community improvement was
amazing. He had great ideas and he got around this
city in his wheel chair to attend meetings, rallies,
etc., better than most other people."

Mr. Crowder, a graduate of Howard University who lived
in the Mount Vernon neighborhood, was an outspoken
advocate for the rights of District residents,
especially for affordable housing and for the needs of
young people. The victim of a shooting in 1990 by a
teenager who had mistaken him for a police officer,
Mr. Crowder was partially paralyzed and used a
wheelchair.

As a member of the Shaw Coalition, he was very active
in the fight against the new Convention Center in Mt.
Vernon Square and spoke out against the impending
removal of long-time low and moderate income
residents, most of them African Americans, in the Shaw
neighborhood. Mr. Crowder also participated in the
citizens' movement against public financing of a
baseball stadium, and attended numerous rallies and
public meetings.

"He will certainly be missed," added Ms. Nkrumah-Ture.