In southeast Washington, DC, children stood in line Friday to receive new backpacks filled with school supplies, while community organizers passed out free hot dogs and hamburgers to teenagers to celebrate the last few days of summer before. But just a few blocks away, the sight of National Guard trucks cut into the celebration — a reminder that the school year will begin under the shadow of federal troops.

“This is not going to go off well … most middle school kids walk to school by themselves. They’re going to have to walk through soldiers and police,” Dara Baldwin, a DC-based activist on the Free DC advisory council, told CNN. “They’re going to be fearful for their lives. … They’re either not going to want to go to school, or they’re going to react to these people in their space.”

Pre

See Full Page