Yesterday, we posted Elizabeth Warren. Today, we post Michelle Obama. Not in keeping with the local nature of this website but I just love this speech.
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Reparations: A Very Basic PrimerReparations: a process of repairing, healing and restoring a people injured because of their group identity and in violation of their fundamental human rights. In 2019, the House held a Hearing on H.R. 40, Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African-Americans Act. There was no vote but the hearing itself was historic. We take a look at what led up to this point. 
A Timeline Leading Up to The “Revitalization” of Barry FarmWith the deconstruction and rebuilding of Barry Farm under way, it is important to understand some of the key factors of this process, what led up to it and how it has been affecting the existing community. Here is a somewhat concise timeline of events to provide context and stay updated on the fast-changing neighborhood. 
Incompatible Allies: Black Lives Matter, March 4 Our Lives and the US Debate about Guns and Violence 
Initiative 77 & The Crisis of The Tipped Minimum Wage
 )%  %categories-linked( Art & Culture  First Lady, graduation address, Michelle Obama, Tuskeegee University 
We don’t often post about national issues that don’t have a direct impact on District of Columbia residents, but this speech is too good to pass up. Senator Warren breaks down structural racism in a way that the Black Lives Matter Movement would like to hear from Bernie Sanders. As a progressive of color, I’m frustrated when white allies still think inequality is really just a class issue. Warren blows past that argument, reminding us that historical racism was as much about the denial of economic opportunities as it was about violence. She teaches history that we all should know but sure enough didn’t get in school. Enjoy and pass on. )% %categories-linked( Justice System, Police Brutality, Prison Industrial Complex Black Lives Matter, Elizabeth Warren, structural racism 
Cross-posted from the DC Independent Media Center Written by Luke On the 22nd of September, the 100 women 100 miles pilgrimage to the Pope for Immigrant Rights arrived at McPherson Square. One hundred women had marched all the way from an ICE detention center in Pennsylvania and were joined by many more supporters on the last leg of the march inside DC. The march ended at McPherson Square, where the Catholic hunger fasters for climate action already have tents set up. The evening program featured an appearance by Sweet Honey in the Rock after the speakers finished. One of the lead banners quoted Pope Francis’s statement that “Pope Francis has said that the globalization of migration requires a globalization of charity and cooperation.” Stirring video of the end of the march, followed by clip from Sweet Honey in the Rock’s performance )% %categories-linked( Communities, Immigration 100 women 100 miles, DC Independent Media Center, immigrant rights, Pope John Paul, Pope's Visit 
In the District of Columbia, we focus a lot of attention on our public and charter schools. Adult education get much less attention. But many of DC’s adult learners are products of the District’s public school system. Listening to their struggles could tell us a lot about what’s missing in DCPS. So, what follows is an article cross-posted from Southeast Ministry’s blog that details why this issue is important from the point of view of adult learners themselves. Below that is a flyer that gives details for next week’s Adult Education and Family Literacy Week and lets you know how you can get involved. Visioning as a Vehicle for Change On Wednesday, September 9, our learners were led by Samantha Davis, Senior Advocacy and Community Engagement Specialist at So Others Might Eat (S.O.M.E.), in a visioning session that got our learners in a discussion about some of the barriers they face on a daily basis, as well as potential solutions. Some of the barriers that were mentioned by our learners included affordable housing, transportation, homelessness, child care, and violence in the communities they live. Other barriers that were identified by SEM learners were access to more educational programs and the fact that the new GED exam is computer-based. Another barrier that was identified was time, specifically the times that certain programs begin and end, since adult learners are often fitting their education around their work schedules that often change. To address the barriers that were named, SEM learners brainstormed possible solutions. There was a great deal of discussion around the possibility of having more computer training available for adult learners who do not have the sufficient computer skills necessary to complete the new computer-based GED exam. The class also discussed the idea of having transportation designed specifically for adult learners to programs throughout the District, in order reduce the burden of having to find their own way to classes. For information regarding donating to Southeast Ministry, our programs, or volunteering, please visit. www.southeastministrydc.org, or call 202-562-2636. Download pdf of flyer HERE. 
On August 27, 2015, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser publicly unveiled her plan to reduce violent crime in a press conference at the shuttered Malcolm X Elementary School in Ward 8. The rate of homicides within the District has been on the rise. To counter it, Mayor Bowser has proposed a series of initiatives with a focus on cracking down on crime and enhancing police authority. Highlights of the speech can be found in the video shot and edited by Joshua Rose Schmidt below. Her plan may sound reasonable to many who legitimately fear the rise in violent crime, but it did little to assuage those who have every reason to fear the police. Bowser claims that her plan will make Black Lives Matter more than just a hashtag. What the mayor fails to recognize is that Black Lives Matter is in fact a movement that recognizes that police misconduct and brutality are ongoing, systemic problems whose history begins long before the advent of the cell phone video. Those within the movement believe that doubling down on techniques that have failed in the past will not solve the problem now. Black Lives Matter activist and founder of the Stop Police Terror Project, Eugene Puryear has a plan that should be considered by the mayor and anyone who wants to see an end to murders committed by the police and murders committed by citizens. Download a pdf of Stop Police Terror Project DC’s alternative plan here: Response to Bowser’s Anti-Crime Plan Fact Sheet For more information about the Black Lives Matter Movement in the District of Columbia check out the following links: https://www.facebook.com/stoppoliceterrorprojectdc https://www.facebook.com/BLACKLIVESMATTERDMV http://blacklivesmatter.com/ The National Black United Front DC Chapter is also working on this issue and any number of organizations active within the communities most impacted by crime such as the Family and Friends of Incarcerated People and The Reentry Network for Returning Citizens. |
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