November’s Woman of Ward 6 is Ruth Rappaport, a Capitol Hill resident who had a remarkable life and career as a librarian. Rapport’s life spanned her childhood in Germany where she was a witness to the devastation of Kristallnacht and a Leipzig book burning to her death in 2010, after retiring from the Library of Congress in the early 1990s.

The Ward 6 Democrats are recognizing and honoring Ward 6 women who have made significant contributions to better our community as a lead-up to the 2020 anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote.

Rappaport escaped Nazi Germany when she was 15 by running away from her parents in Switzerland as they were preparing to return to Germany. She obtained an American visa and went to live with her uncle, Carl Rubinstein, in Seattle. She worked as an editor of Seattle’s Jewish Transcript, a press photographer for Acme News, and as photo archivist for the Foreign Press Office for the fledgling state of Israel. She managed libraries for the U.S. Air Force in Okinawa and for the U.S. Navy and Army in Saigon.

In 1963, she began managing the military libraries in Saigon for the U.S. Navy, agreeing to do so only if there would be no censorship. While in Vietnam, she supervised the library system as it grew from a few books to 39 branch libraries and 117 field collections.

In 1970 she quit and began working for the Library of Congress on Capitol Hill. She bought a red brick house on Third St., SE, in Ward 6, which was near the library.

Her first job at the LOC was cataloging the FBI’s collection of confiscated books deemed pornographic or erotic.
Rappaport spent a lifetime fighting censorship and supporting human rights. She was one of the organizers behind the Library of Congress Professional Guild, a task undertaken when workers felt unfairly burdened by management quotas for cataloging books.

After Rappaport died in 2010, Kate Stewart, another Capitol Hill resident at the time who also happened to be working at the Library of Congress, went to Rappaport’s estate sale. She became fascinated by Rappaport’s life and began researching the many papers Rappaport had left behind. She spent six years researching and writing a book about Rappaport: “A Well-Read Woman: The Life, Loves, and Legacy of Ruth Rappaport.” The book, which was published in May of 2019, is available in local bookstores on on-line. The “loves” in the sub-title refer to details from Rappaport’s journal – which also tells a larger story of gender inequality in a world where the double standard was the standard.

“She was like a character from a novel,” Stewart said. “She has a strong personality. I found the process of researching her was changing my life. It took me off on an adventure.”

Rappaport always had to advocate for herself, Stewart said. She got her first job as a journalist in Seattle because the men were all off to war. But she was sexually harassed and suffered through inappropriate behavior from men throughout her long career as a librarian. She complained, but nothing was done. Stewart said.

Rappaport continued to be active in the community after she retired from the Library of Congress. She became a founding member of Capitol Hill Village, an organization created to help seniors age in place, and of Hill Havurah on Capitol Hill. There is a memorial bench for her located in Congressional Cemetery. Most of her papers are held at the United States Holocaust Memoriam Museum.

Everyone Home DC (formerly Capitol Hill Group Ministry) awards the Ruth Rappaport Wisdom Award annually to recognize an individual who “has displayed remarkable warmth, wisdom, and commitment to the Capitol Hill Community.”

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About the initiative: The Women of Ward 6 Initiative is a non-partisan recognition of Ward 6’s women. The initiative, in partnership with the National Woman’s Party, Capitol Hill Restoration Society and the Hill Rag will culminate in the 2020 100^th anniversary of the ratification of the 19^th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote.

Mark your calendar now to join your fellow Ward 6 Dems to make merry this holiday season Tuesday, Dec. 3 from 6:30 - 9:00 p.m. in the upstairs room at My. Henry's (601 Pennsylvania Avenue SE). We'll provide snacks and there will be a cash bar, but a donation can earn you a drink on us - ask us how at the event.

Come hear an expert panel discussion, sponsored by the Ward 6 Dems and the Hill Rag, examining the issues of transparency, policing, prosecution, supervision, and accountability in addressing violent crime in our community.

Date: Wednesday, Nov. 13

Time: 7:00 - 9:00 p.m.

Location: Community Action Group's Harold J Gordon Building (124 15th Street SE)

Panelists:

• Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen (confirmed)
• DC Attorney General Karl Racine (confirmed)
• Representative of the Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement (ONSE) (confirmed)
• Moderator Walter Smith, Executive Director of DC Appleseed (confirmed)
• Representative of DC Metropolitan Police Department (invited)
• Representative of DC Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency (CSOSA) (invited)
• Representative of the U.S. Attorney's office (invited)

RSVP to join us at https://www.ward6dems.org/ward_6_matters_panel_on_justice_in_dc_wednesday_nov_13. 

The H Street/NoMa Civic Association will be holding their monthly meeting Tuesday, Nov. 12 at 7:00 p.m.  in the 2 M Street building (2 M Street NE). When you sign in at the front desk, they'll direct you to the room. In addition to the regular neighborhood updates, the meeting will feature guest speaker Myron Long from The Social Justice School.

Join your fellow Ward 6 Democrats Tuesday, Nov. 12 from 7:00-9:00 p.m. at Mr. Henry's (601 Pennsylvania Avenue SE) for an informal meeting with At-Large D.C. Councilmember Elissa Silverman. Attendees will have an opportunity to discuss a broad range of issues with her. Space is limited. RSVP at https://www.ward6dems.org/salon_with_silverman. 

A few races are still being counted, but Democrats have been declared victors of 54 of the 100 seats in the House of Delegates (with a possible-to-likely pickup of one or two more seats) and 21 of the 40 seats in the state Senate.

How did "our" candidates do? 

Both Dan Helmer (challenger for HD-40) and Wendy Gooditis (first-term incumbent for HD-10) won handily. Sheila Bynum-Coleman (challenger for HD-66, held by the soon to be former Speaker of the House of Delegates, Republican Kirk Cox) got close but wasn't quite able to get there, missing by about 1300 votes. 

• Summary results
• House of Delegates detail
• State Senate detail

Remarkably, Democrat Andy Beshear also beat Republican Matt Bevin for the governorship of Kentucky. In short, it was a good night for Democrats and, much like the Virginia state elections in 2017, sets us up for an even BIGGER Blue Wave in 2020. 

Come hear an expert panel discussion, sponsored by the Ward 6 Dems and the Hill Rag, examining the issues of transparency, policing, prosecution, supervision, and accountability in addressing violent crime in our community.

Date: Wednesday, Nov. 13

Time: 7:00 - 9:00 p.m.

Location: Community Action Group's Hal J Gordon Building (124 15th Street SE)

Panelists:

• Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen (confirmed)
• DC Attorney General Karl Racine (confirmed)
• Representative of the Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement (ONSE) (confirmed)
• Moderator Walter Smith, Executive Director of DC Appleseed (confirmed)
• Representative of DC Metropolitan Police Department (invited)
• Representative of DC Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency (CSOSA) (invited)
• Representative of the U.S. Attorney's office (invited)

RSVP to join us at https://www.ward6dems.org/ward_6_matters_panel_on_justice_in_dc_wednesday_nov_13. 

Join your fellow Ward 6 Democrats Tuesday, Nov. 12 from 7:00-9:00 p.m. at Mr. Henry's (601 Pennsylvania Avenue SE) for an informal meeting with At-Large D.C. Councilmember Elissa Silverman. Attendees will have an opportunity to discuss a broad range of issues with her. Space is limited. RSVP at https://www.ward6dems.org/salon_with_silverman. 

The next DC Democratic State Committee General Body meeting takes place Thursday evening, Nov. 7 and is open to all. Find out more and sign up to attend at https://www.mobilize.us/dcdems/event/144388/. 

The Virginia elections are one week from today, NEXT Tuesday, Nov. 5. You can help #FlipVABlue by:

Phone banking: The DNC is hosting DAILY phone banking at their HQ (430 South Capitol Street SE). Sign up at https://www.mobilize.us/dcdems/event/142404/. 

Text Out The Vote: The DLCC is looking for volunteers to text voters Saturday and Sunday in person (1225 I Street NW Suite 1250) and Monday and Tuesday from your own location. Sign up for one or more shift(s) via their Google form.

Canvassing for Sheila Bynum-Coleman: Beyond Arlington is hitting the road to canvass for Sheila Bynum-Coleman Saturday, Sunday, Monday, AND Tuesday. Remember, her district is near Richmond, so they are arranging car pooling and even overnight housing for people who can give that much time. Sign up at https://www.mobilize.us/dcdems/event/113380/.