Below is an email exchange between a neighbor and Sinclair Skinner, dated from early 2005, and were passed along to me recently by Greg.

I believe this proves, yet again, that Mr. Skinner has not been honest about his association with the Georgia Avenue Defender. Mr. Skinner sent his reply to a large group of people, which notably included Adrian Fenty and Jim Graham, both of whom were cc'd on the initial message to Mr. Skinner. On top of that Mr. Skinner felt compelled to also cc Marion Barry and at least a dozen other people, many of whom are the ones actively defending him now.

Given how heated the Skinner controversy has become, I have starred-out most of the private information in the email relating to the many recipients (names, e-mail addresses, etc..)

It may be best to read from the bottom to the top since that was the order in which they occured.

Here are the messages:

> From: "SINCLAIR SKINNER"
> <sinclair.skinner@************.net>
> To: <greg******@*************.com>,
> CC: <un******@yahoo.com>,
> <jgraham@dccouncil.us>,
> <afenty@dccouncil.us>,
> <mbarry@dccouncil.us>,
> <dj********@*************.com>,
> <ac***********@hotmail.com>,
> <En*******@aol.com>,
> <bw******@aol.com>,
> <ja******@prodigy.net>,
> <gp*******@*******.com>,
> <cb*******@aol.com>,
> <hl*****@*********.org>,
> <As**********@msn.com>,
> <br*********@verizon.net>,
> <ta*******@juno.com>,
> <Jo************@hotmail.com>,
> <jp***@*********.org>,
> <ja*******@hotmail.com>
> Subject: RE: Georgia Avenue Defender
>
>
> > are you ignorant or racist?
>
> greg,
>
> if you are ignorant version:
> i am willing to hope you are ignorant and need to
> learn more about the Black
> community. you may not like learning the truth,
> because the truth can be
> difficult to bear when you have been living a lie
> your entire life. race is
> a real issue. you are a Caucasian male who has
> moved
> into a Black
> neighborhood by choice. it may be the first time
> you have been in the
> minority in your entire life, great. the issues
> brought out in the defender
> may bother you but, remember everyone has a
> different perspective. if you
> are willing to learn about the Black community the
> defender will enlighten
> you, if you refuse to learn, you will probably
> dislike the upcoming issues
> even more. also there seems to be other people who
> have never lived in a
> Black neighborhood who need to learn about Black
> culture and heritage, i
> would love to create a seminar series to educate
> them.
> i have a really good book regarding roberts rules
> of
> order, the unc does not
> currently follow these, but i would be willing to
> give the members a
> parliamentary procedures clinic if you, again, are
> willing to learn.
>
> p.s. my phone number is 202-232-**** call me, i
> would love to do coffee.
>
>
> if you are racist version:
>
> i hope you are not racist. if you are however, i
> will first pray for you.
> after that i hope you move from our neighborhood
> before you hurt the people
> i care so much about. because if you do anything
> to
> harm the elderly or
> children in our neighborhood, God help you,
> because
> i will do everything in
> my power to organize the people who despise the
> racism and classism that has
> attacked the Black community here in DC and other
> cities and make sure you
> pay for your actions.
>
> God Bless
>
> sinclair skinner
>
> -----Original Message-----
> > From: greg******
> > [mailto:greg******@*****************.com]
> > Sent: Saturday, February 26, 2005 2:38 PM
> > To: Sinclair.Skinner@***.net
> > Cc: ja*******@hotmail.com; un******@yahoo.com;
> > jgraham@dccouncil.us;
> > afenty@dccouncil.us
> > Subject: Georgia Avenue Defender
> >
> >
> > Dear Mr. Skinner,
> >
> > I am writing this email asking that you please
> stop
> > trying to stir up touble
> > in our neighborhood of Parkview by bringing race
> > into an issue
> > (specifically,
> > the liquor license for the new restaurant on
> Georgia
> > Avenue) that has
> > nothing
> > to do with race. The "Georgia Avenue Defender"
> was
> > delivered door to door
> > today, Saturday, 2/26/05, in our neighborhood.
> This
> > "publication," created
> > and
> > distributed by you, contains a huge amount of
> > inaccuracies, specifically:
> >
> > 1. Wolf in Sheeps clothing
> > a."The owners do not live in the neighborhood."
> > Wrong and you know that. The
> > owners live in Petworth.
> > b. "The restaurant refused to apply for a
> restaurant
> > license." Wrong again!
> > This matter has been settled, the restaurant
> applied
> > for a restaurant
> > license,
> > and you agreed to drop the protest.
> > c. "The establishment is located between two
> liquor
> > stores on each corner."
> > Wrong! You would know this if you lived in the
> > neighborhood. There is a
> > liquor
> > store on the same block, but not on either corner.
> > You call this deceitful, but you are certainly not
> > the one to cast a stone.
> > 2. Racism at United Neighborhood Coalition Meeting
> > This is ghost written by Stephen Nichols, but this
> > is your publication.
> > a. Andrew shut down David Janerone as well as
> > yourself. David Janerone, I
> > believe, is white. You were both shut down not
> > because of what you were
> > saying
> > or because of "racism," but because you were not a
> > part of the UNC, and it
> > is
> > our prerogative to run our meetings for members
> > only. We follow Roberts
> > rules
> > of order, and even if you were part of the UNC's
> > neighborhood area, you
> > would
> > need to be recognized before speaking.
> > 3. The definition of Gentrification
> > I believe the first definition listed in your
> > "publication" is correct,
> > however the other two are completely silly and
> > created solely to incite
> > racial
> > unrest in our neighborhood. The problems that come
> > with gentrification are
> > real and complex, and if you were interested at
> all
> > in actually examining
> > this
> > issue, you would not have simply listed two
> > exaggerated lines and then
> > dropped
> > the issue altogether. But you are obviously not
> > interested in a real
> > dialogue,
> > you simply wish to provoke.
> > 4. The Cartoon Wolf in Sheeps clothing. Little
> > information and even less
> > truth. Also, especially in light of recent events,
> > wholly invalid.
> >
> > This "publication" has absolutely no information
> > about the editor, who put
> > the
> > publication together, who to contact, etc. It is
> > like slinging mud around
> > without anyone knowing where it came from. Very
> > irresponsible. I know this
> > "Defender" was also distributed at your "press
> > conference" which is how I
> > know
> > you are behind it; the "Wolf" cartoon is another
> > dead giveaway.
> >
> > I believe you supported both the House (Strip bar
> > and liquor establishment),
> > as well as other liquor stores in the vicinity.
> This
> > seems very
> > hypocritical.
> > You have done nothing positive in Parkview that I
> am
> > aware of. Are you a
> > mentor for the young men in the Parkview
> > neighborhood? Maybe a tutor at
> > Parkview Elementary? Surely you must have several
> > programs to help the
> > elderly. No! You are just trying to cause trouble
> > and that is not the type
> > of
> > leadership or constructive assistance our
> > neighborhood needs.
> >
> > Greg ******
> > ****** Place NW