by Thomas Morgan
November 3, 1980
NOTICE: THIS WORK MAY BE PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT
YOU ARE REQUIRED TO READ THE COPYRIGHT NOTICE AT THIS LINK BEFORE YOU READ THE FOLLOWING WORK, THAT IS AVAILABLE SOLELY FOR PRIVATE STUDY, SCHOLARSHIP OR RESEARCH PURSUANT TO 17 U.S.C. SECTION 107 AND 108. IN THE EVENT THAT THE LIBRARY DETERMINES THAT UNLAWFUL COPYING OF THIS WORK HAS OCCURRED, THE LIBRARY HAS THE RIGHT TO BLOCK THE I.P. ADDRESS AT WHICH THE UNLAWFUL COPYING APPEARED TO HAVE OCCURRED. THANK YOU FOR RESPECTING THE RIGHTS OF COPYRIGHT OWNERS.
The address of a suspect, William E. Tate, charged in the fatal shooting of Washington housing activist Yolanda Ward, was incorrectly listed yesterday in late editions of The Post. The correct address, according to D.C. police, is 1113 Chicago St. SE.
Yolanda Ward, 22, a cochairwoman of the District's City Wide Housing Coalition, was shot and killed during a street robbery in far Southeast Washington early yesterday morning, D.C. police reported.
Police said Ward, of 1358 Levis St. NE, and three friends were walking in the 2800 block of Gainesville Street SE about 3 a.m. when they were approached by three men, at least one of them armed with a handgun. The three men robbed Ward and the others, and shot Ward. The amount taken could not be immediately learned.
Interviewed last night, several of the victim's friends said Ward and others active in the City Wide Housing Coalition had been harassed because of the group's efforts to stop housing displacement of the poor in the inner city. One friend said Ward's home had been burglarized and she had received telephone calls threatening her with bodily harm unless she halted her work.
Friends speculated that her death might have been linked to the harassment. Police declined to comment on the speculation.
"[Ward] complained to the police and the telephone company about the calls, but nothing ever happened," said Jimmy Garrett, the other cochairman of the housing coalition.
Early this morning, police announced that two men had been charged with homicide in the killing, but refused to say what evidence led to their arrests. They were identified as William Tate, 23, of 1112 Chicago St. SE and Sylvester Harrison, 37, of 2315 25th St. SE.
Garrett said that on Saturday afternoon Ward had met with students from Howard and other universities along the East Coast to form a student component of the National United Black Front, a newly organized national network of black community groups and activists.
Afterward, Ward took three male students visiting from New Jersey to a Halloween party in Southeast Washington, and the shooting occurred when the group left the party, Garrett said.
The assailants "didn't do any harm to the men," said Garrett, who was not present during the robbery, but who said he talked to the men who were with Ward. "[The robbers] didn't try to molest Yolanda in any way. They just pushed her over a car, put the gun to her head and just executed her."
Police said they are looking for several men in connection with the shooting.
Friends said Ward, a board member of the D.C. Rape Crisis Center, was a Howard University student who majored in communications. She had taken a year's leave of absence to do community work and was scheduled to return in January to complete work for a bachelor's degree.