By Liane Scott, on April 16th, 2012 
Today is emancipation day here in the District of Columbia. It marks the day when the enslaved residents of the District of Columbia were granted their freedom. The Civil War was already underway when President Lincoln signed the Compensated Emancipation Act for the release of certain persons held to service or labor in the District of Columbia. That was nine months before he signed the Emancipation Proclamation. I’ve always found it ironic that enslaved African-Americans in the District of Columbia were the first in the nation to receive their freedom, and yet their descendants still don’t have representation in Congress. Go figure. That was the message of a video about Free DC’s Emancipation Day celebration that I produced three years ago, which I’ve posted below.
It also seems meaningful that these reminders of our second-class status here in the District of Columbia should come just before tax day. We pay taxes here in the District despite the fact that we don’t have representation in Congress. We do have city representatives. The mayor, members of the city council and the advisory neighborhood commissions are all elected by DC residents but do they really represent our wishes? Mayor Gray’s proposed budget would cut over $20 million from the city’ s affordable housing programs, despite the fact that the citizens at Mayor Gray’s One City Citizens Summit put the need for affordable housing at the top of their list of priorities that District government should address. Mayor Gray also wants to cut $5.7 million from the subsidized child care program. Certainly this does not represent the wishes of the more than 300 parents who will lose their vouchers and possibly their jobs as well, because as any good parent of young children knows, you can’t work and raise your children without affordable and preferably quality child care. The mayor’s cuts to school budgets will mean increased class sizes, loss of librarians, special education coordinators and other “non-mandatory” staff. Whose wishes do these cuts represent? Are DC students complaining about librarians and counselors? I don’t think so. Low and moderate income residents pay 7 – 10% of their income in taxes. A family of 4 earning $26,300 a year pays $2,630 in taxes. Relatively speaking, that’s a HUGE chunk of money.
Which is why Empower DC members will be engaging in the following action:
Tax Day Delegation to Fight Budget Cuts Tuesday April 17, 2012 Meet on the steps of the Wilson Building @ 10:30 AM. We will visit our council members and give them the following message– Dear City Council: WE PAY TAXES Don’t SCREW US in the Budget! Put My Tax Dollars Towards Affordable Housing, Childcare & Education!
For more information about tomorrow’s Tax Day Delegation contact Daniel@empowerdc.org or call 202-234-9119 ext. 104.
By Liane Scott, on March 22nd, 2012 
Cleveland Elementary Stakeholders at ABRA Protest Hearing
I was hoping this would be my last post on this subject but alas probably not. So where do things stand? As I reported previously, the Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration had a hearing last night (Wednesday, March 21, 2012) to consider the position of community members who oppose the establishment of a bar across the street from Cleveland Elementary school. The hearing room was packed with parents, children, teachers and community members opposed to the granting of the liquor license. ABC Channel 7 has continued to cover this issue. Their report is below.
The video gives you a sense of how many folks were in the room, includes soundbites that are both for and against the granting of a liquor license to All Souls but unfortunately the local tv news format doesn’t allow time for details. One of the Cleveland Elementary School parents who testified in protest of the granting of the license, gave me a few details. According to her, the hearing started at 4:00 PM and didn’t end until 9:00 PM. Within those five hours the lawyers hired by the bar’s owner David Batista argued that they should be granted a liquor license because the area is blighted, the building in question is abandoned, attracts unwanted activity and that increased foot traffic near the school would make the area safer. Therefore, a legitimate business, like a bar, should be a welcome addition. Community members opposed to the license took the opposite position pointing out that adults with the impaired judgment brought on by alcohol do not constitute the kind of foot traffic that would enhance the safety of the area. Concerns were raised that the increased traffic brought on by the kind of upscale (i.e. wealthy) customers likely to frequent the bar might in fact increase opportunity crimes like theft and muggings. My favorite argument by far, which apparently caused at least one community member to break out in laughter, was that a bar across the street from an elementary school could in fact be used to educate the children (Kindergarten through 5th grade) about appropriate alcohol use. Who knew?! A bar as a learning tool! But of course. After all, today’s toddlers are tomorrow’s casual drinkers or perhaps, aiming for something a little more advanced, tomorrow’s functional alcoholics. I’m hoping to get a copy of the transcript so I can pull some actual quotes from the hearing.
There is an issue in question that could in fact make the whole thing go away. As reported previously, the District of Columbia has a zoning law on the books that prohibits establishments that serve alcohol from operating within 400 feet of a school. Although All Souls would be only 22 feet away from Cleveland Elementary School, the Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration would be allowed to grant the bar a liquor license because Boston Wine & Spirits at 1905 9th Street NW is or was thought to be within 400 feet of the school. If there is an establishment already within the 400 feet prohibition zone, the ABRA has the right to ignore the law and grant the license to other businesses that want to open near a school. David Batista, the owner of the building that would house All Souls Bar, reported to ABRA when he applied for the liquor license that Boston Wine & Spirits was already within the 400 feet prohibition zone and therefore his establishment should also be allowed within the zone as well. ABRA’s investigator, who is responsible for determining whether or not a business is in compliance with DC’s zoning laws, confirmed Batista’s position. HOWEVER, what came out in yesterday’s hearing was that the ABRA investigator has no actual evidence to confirm or refute Batista’s claim that Boston Wine & Spirits is within 400 feet of Cleveland Elementary School. If in fact Boston Wine & Spirits is not within the 400 feet prohibition zone then ABRA cannot consider granting ALL Souls a license. So, is it or isn’t it? The hearing ended with a promise that ABRA would investigate that very issue. They have 90 days to consider all the issues raised in the hearing and decide whether or not to grant the license.
In the meantime, the Ward 1 ANCs will be meeting on April 5, 2012 to decide whether they want to sign on to a voluntary agreement being offered by David Batista stating that he agrees not to open All Souls . . . → Read More: All Souls vs Cleveland Elementary: Report From ABRA Protest Hearing
By Liane Scott, on March 15th, 2012 
Cleveland Elementary School at 8th & T Streets NW in Washington, DC
Freshly renovated only six years ago, the award-winning Cleveland Elementary School at 8t and T Streets NW is beautiful inside and out. The school has served the Shaw community for 100 years. It didn’t always serve Shaw’s black residents but 100 years ago the city was segregated and so were its schools. Within it’s integrated history, Cleveland has done a pretty good job of recognizing the changing demographics of its students–69% African-American, 29% Latino. It is one of very few schools in the DCPS system with a dual-language Spanish immersion program. This all sounds great, right? So, why is it going to close by 2017?
Here it is important to emphasize that the closing of Cleveland Elementary by 2017 is simply a prediction and what’s more it’s my prediction and my prediction alone. I am no expert. On the other hand, one need not always be an expert to read the writing on the wall. In this case, the wall being the Prince of Petworth, which is a lovely blog. Unfortunately, with all its pretty ads for houses and condos, real estate agents, developers and developer-friendly politicians, the blog is an incessant reminder to me that I have been displaced from the Petworth community. It’s got nothing to do with Jim Crow laws that might have once kept me out. There’s no redlining keeping me from buying in the neighborhood. I just don’t have the money to afford a house, a condo or an apartment there. Alas, I’ve digressed into the politics of envy. Forgive me.
What does this have to do with Cleveland Elementary? In keeping with The Prince of Petworth’s focus on development, the Prince interviewed David Batista owner of “All Souls” neighborhood bar which, should it be granted a liquor license will reside directly across the street from Cleveland Elementary School. The article itself is nothing as compared to the 96 comments that follow, which is not surprising given the last sentence of the blog post which reads, “If you live in the neighborhood and have any questions or concerns you can contact David directly via email at dtb1514(at)Yahoo(dot)com and if you’d like to support the plans (to grant All Souls a liquor license) be sure to let your ANC reps know.” Beyond suggesting that those who support the bar contact the ANC and show their support, the conflict between the bar and the neighborhood is not defined. Despite the fact that the Prince of Petworth calls itself a “neighborhood blog,” the post did not include any members of the neighborhood that would be affected. No interview of the Cleveland Elementary School principal who objects to the bar. No interview of any of the parents who also object and are planning to take their children out of the school should All Souls be granted a liquor license. No interview of the future mother-to-be who lives next door, who probably moved into the neighborhood hoping it would be a good place to raise a family and is now genuinely frustrated, to say the least. Since the Prince of Petworth did not define the conflict between the bar and the neighborhood, I’ll do my best to do so here.
The problem as I understand it is not that complicated. Yes, there are folks, like the pregnant lady living next door, who are worried about the noise, undesirable foot traffic, problems with parking, etc. But the really big objection is the proximity to the elementary school. The District of Columbia has a zoning law on the books that prohibits establishments that serve alcohol from operating within 400 feet of a school. All Souls would be 22 feet away. Why is the Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration even considering their application? Apparently, there’s at least one liquor store within the 400 foot boundary and since they are allowed to operate, the court says that any establishment that wants to violate the 400 foot law should be allowed to do so. So much for the will of the people who worked to have that zoning law enacted. It seems those community members who think its best if little kids are not forced to watch adults buying and consuming alcoholic beverages–that any substance abuse counselor will tell you is the number one gateway drug–isn’t worth too much either.
This video below, 22 feet is too close, is a visual demonstration of the parents concerns.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7jVPx_-TTo
Not to appear one-sided, a . . . → Read More: Cleveland Elementary Predicted to Close by 2017
By Liane Scott, on February 23rd, 2012 We Act Radio store front in Anacostia.
Hello all you folks out there in radio land. Empower DC’s Grassroots Media Project has just started producing an hour long program on We Act Radio 1480 AM airing out of Anacostia. The show which we’re calling The Empower DC Community Hour is part of We Act Radio’s Live Wire series. It airs live on Monday nights at 7:00 PM but you can also listen to it at WeActRadio.com as well as right here, where we’ll be archiving the program along with all the other work of the Media Project. Our first show aired February 20, 2012. Empower DC’s Youth Organizer Jonathan Stith and Ivy City Community Organizer Andria Swanson co-hosted the program. Their guests, Empower DC Education Organizer Daniel del Pielago and Bruce Monroe Parent Sequnely Gray, spent the hour focusing on the impending school closings and the implications of the Illinois Facility Fund report. Besides learning about what to expect should your family’s school be closed or to turned over to a charter management company, the show also suggests how you can get organized along with other members of your community before that happens. No one should have to face a school closure alone. As Jonathan Stith says on the show, “get organized because we’ve got your back.”
The Empower DC Community Hour for February 20, 2012
Please listen in and support the program.
By Liane Scott, on February 18th, 2012 
Students and Parents Protest the Demolition of Bruce Monroe Elementary
School officials certainly make a show of being willing to ask; they even appear to listen. At a public hearing about the proposed closing of River Terrace back in November, DC Public Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson said, “if every community had this level of engagement, DCPS would be the best school district in the country.” So why should Kaya Henderson, who clearly knows how important parental and community involvement is in the success of a school, be perfectly willing to close down schools with very active school communities such as Bruce Monroe and River Terrace? How is it possible, that these communities are simply ignored by the government that’s supposed to represent them? Answering the why would force me into speculations about racism and classism among DC elected and appointed officials, but Empower DC education organizer Daniel del Pielago has some clear ideas about how communities get left out of the decision making process. According to del Pielago:
Key decision makers do not engage in meaningful dialog with their constituency, do not return emails, calls and requests to meet. Elected officials cancel meetings and do not deliver on commitments they make when you are finally able to meet with them. Government officials (and the developers who support them) “wait out” parents and other community members as community interest and action wanes. Ultimately, decisions are made and presented with no input from the community that will be affected.
Clear examples of this are demonstrated in a brochure that he and a number of River Terrace Elementary school families have been sharing with the rest of the community, which I’ve posted below for your consideration.
River Terrace: This Is Our Moment of Truth Save River Terrace Elementary School
Closing our school harms our students, disrespects our parents and assaults our community. If we truly love our school and our neighborhood, now is the time to show it. Know the facts and let’s stand up for ourselves.
Throughout the year, we’ve been reaching out to keep everyone informed of this attack on our community. We’ve contacted our elected officials and decision makers through calls and emails, clearly demonstrating our support for River Terrace Elementary and for keeping it open. We’ve asked for meetings with the Chancellor and other public officials. with only two exceptions, we were ignored.
River Terrace Elementary Timeline of Events
December 2010
DCPS issues a letter stating their intention to close River Terrace Elementary School at the end of the 2010-2011 school year. River Terrace parents meet with Special Assistant to the Chancellor of DC Public Schools Margery Anne Yeager.
January 2011
Over 100 River Terrace community members meet with Ward 7 Councilmember Yvette Alexander and Chancellor Kaya Henderson at a public hearing to voice their unanimous support for keeping the school open. The River Terrace Elementary Support Committee visits council members and the community writes letters in supprt of the school. River Terrace community members and allies give testimony at the Ward 7 State of the Schools Public Hearing.
February 2011
DCPS issues a letter stating that River Terrace Elementary has been given a year’s reprieve to build enrollment.
March 2011
River Terrace Elementary Support Committee meets with the Cluster 1 Educational Superintendent Barbara Adderly. River Terrace Elementary Support Committee gives testimony at Mayor Vincent Gray’s Fiscal Year 2012 Budget Hearing for DCPS. River Terrace Elementary Support Committee holds an enrollment fair. River Terrace Elementary Support Committee reaches out to council members for support to keep the school open.
June 2011
Ward 7 Councilmember Yvette Alexander cancels a meeting with the River Terrace Elementary Support Committee. At-Large Councilmember Phil Mendelsohn offers support to the school community. River Terrace Elementary Support Committee meets with Varick AME Church and the River Terrace Alumni Committee.
September 2011
River Terrace Elementary Support Committee collects signature of support at the River Terrace Reunion Picnic. River Terrace Elementary Support Committee meets with Councilmember Alexander who commits to arranging a meeting between them and Chancellor Kaya Henderson.
October 2011
River Terrace Elementary Support Committee continues to follow up with Councilmember Alexander about her committment to set up a meeting with Chancellor Kaya Henderson. River Terrace Elementary Support Committee meets with Councilmember Alexander and Chancellor Kaya Henderson. Henderson announces that River Terrace Elementary will close in June 2012 and the decision is final.
We can still save our school but we need to take ACTION NOW! We have tried to call on the . . . → Read More: Stand Up for DC’s Neighborhood Schools
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