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Proposed Bill to Fund DC Public Housing Repairs Raises Concerns

By Liane Scott, on June 7th, 2016

The Public Housing Operating Fund—the main source of revenue for public housing maintenance and repairs–pays for only 86% of the items in HUD’s budget. It looks as though the D.C. City Council may at long last be trying to make up the difference with the Public Housing Rehabilitation Amendment Act of 2016. The problem that those who advocate on behalf of public housing have with the bill is that it won’t pay for maintenance if the housing is slated for redevelopment. So if you live in Barry Farm, Kenilworth Courts, Park Morton, Highland Dwellings or Lincoln Heights–all properties scheduled for eventual redevelopment–you’re out of luck. . . . → Read More: Proposed Bill to Fund DC Public Housing Repairs Raises Concerns

Comments are closed   Affordable Housing, Gentrification, Public Housing   , , , , , ,  

The Million Man March and the Future of the Movement

By Jess Cobbett, on October 20th, 2015

The United States has an undeniable amount of work to do in order to tackle the racial injustices and inequalities the country still faces. The Million Man March played its part in that by encouraging people from all across the country to gather on the National Mall on October 10th 2015. Though the Nation of Islam and its current leader, Minister Farrakhan are considered controversial to some, the message of the March was clear; “Justice or Else!” The March marked the 20th anniversary of the Million Man March which highlighted how little had changed for racial equality and how much more needs to be done. The event had a handful of passionate speakers representing the Native American Indian, Latino, Arab, Mexican and African American communities.

The turnout of the march however, accurately reflected the issue at large. The majority of those who attended the March came from communities directly affected by the injustices and racial disparities, but where was everyone else? Just a few blocks down from the movement was the annual Taste of DC where it saw a turnout of around 50,000 people. One gathering consisted of those interested in meandering around food stalls and drink stands, tasting the best of what DC has to offer, while the other gathered demanding justice and equal protection under the law. The point here is not to guilt-trip those who were unable to attend the March but more to highlight priorities. Change will not happen if people do not look beyond their own circumstances, Black Lives Matter encourages just that. The reality lays in the idea that if the United States government and protective services of any kind truly valued all lives to the same degree, there would not be so many African American and other minority groups beaten by police, incarcerated for trivial matters and discriminated against on a daily basis. Change will come from people tacking racial injustices as human rights issues that affect everyone. August 2014, PEW Research Center released data that showed almost 60% of the White population believed that the Nation had done enough for racial equality, which dropped to 40% in 2015.

 

Percentage of American’s who say the Nation has done enough for racial equality.

Fig. 1 PEW Research Center 2015

2014 2015 % Change White 57% 40% 17 Black 17% 8% 9 Hispanic 43% 21% 22

 

This chart conveys that as of 2015, 92% of the African American population believe that the country has a lot more to work on in order to achieve racial equality. It is clear that the change in opinion seen in the chart occurred as a result of not only more injustices arising but also more coverage. Black Lives Matter started in July 2013 but gained even more momentum and public awareness in 2014 after the murder of two unarmed black men, Michael Brown in Ferguson Missouri and Eric Garner in New York City. As quoted by the Million Man March 2015, Dr Martin Luther King said

“Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable … Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals”.

Everyone has a role to play in the movement of racial equality and justice for all. The March may be over but this is “not a moment, but a movement” (#blacklivesmatter). There are many ways to get involved with campaigns for justice mentioned at the Million Man March.

The following are some of the demands set out by the Million Man March with information on how you can get involved.

 

We want an immediate end to police brutality and mob attacks.

Get involved with:

Black Lives Matter

http://blacklivesmatter.com/

The National Police Accountability Project

NPAP Justice

Phone (212) 630-9939

American Civil liberties Union

https://www.aclu.org/fighting-police-abuse-community-action-manual

Stolen Lives Project

http://stolenlives.org/

We want Justice for the Native American Indians.

Get involved with:

National Indian Justice Center

http://www.nijc.org/

Unitarian Universalist Association: Justice for Native People

http://www.uua.org/multiculturalism/history/uua/nativeamerican/117131.shtml

National Criminal Justice Reference Service

https://www.ncjrs.gov/justiceinindiancountry/

We want Justice for the Mexican and Latinos.

Get involved with:

Latino Justice

http://latinojustice.org/

Hispanics in Philanthropy

https://www.hiponline.org/about/about-hip

We want Justice for Women.

Get involved with:

Planned Parenthood

https://www.plannedparenthood.org/

American Civil Liberties Union

Women’s Rights

Women for Women International

http://www.womenforwomen.org/

Amnesty International: Women’s Rights

http://www.amnestyusa.org/

We want Justice for the Poor.

Get involved with:

Justice for the Poor: J4P

http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/EXTLAWJUSTICE/EXTJUSFORPOOR/0,,menuPK:3282947~pagePK:149018~piPK:149093~theSitePK:3282787,00.html

Street Sense

http://streetsense.org/

Feeding America

http://www.feedingamerica.org tel: 800.771.2303

We want Justice for the Incarcerated.

Get involved with:

Insight Prison Project

http://www.insightprisonproject.org/a-restorative-justice-agency.html

 

. . . → Read More: The Million Man March and the Future of the Movement

Comments are closed   Justice System, Police Brutality, Racial Profiling   , , , ,  

DC Displacement of the Poor: They Do What They Can Get Away With

By Grassroots DC, on October 23rd, 2014

Cross-Posted from Sociology in My Neighborhood: DC Ward Six Written by Johanna Bockman

As many of you know, there is much discussion about the future of the DC General homeless shelter. This morning, the Post’s Petula Dvorak stated, “Developers are salivating over D.C. General. It’s a huge property with plenty of potential. So there’s no question that it will be shut down and sold. That part of the plan no one is worried about.” Mayor Gray is rightly calling to rehouse those at the DC General shelter before closing it, but his plan is based on an unfounded belief that private apartment owners will now come forward and house the hundreds of families at DC General at rents far below market rates. Thus, in the interests of “salivating” developers, hundreds of homeless people are going to be displaced again? DC General is District property and could be renovated, maybe even employing homeless or near-homeless workers, if the District wanted to do so. However, developers and homeowners in the area are working hard for the “revitalization” of the DC General area, which they see as requiring the removal of their homeless neighbors. The deterioration of DC General is required as proof of the need for “revitalization.”

Photo by Empower DC

A few weeks ago, I went to a great panel discussion, “Racism in the New DC,” organized by Empower DC, which spoke to these issues from a very refreshing perspective. The speakers were three public housing residents working to maintain public housing and public schools in DC (Marlece Turner, D. Bell, and Shannon Smith), as well as Dr. Sabiyha Prince (the author of African Americans and Gentrification in Washington, DC), Ron Hampton (a former police officer and activist against police abuse), and Post columnist Courtland Milloy.

The main takeaway from the panel discussion was that institutional racism (not individual racist people but a racist system) works based on the idea that brown and black people do not deserve as good things as white people do. Improvements in the city are made for white people both because they often have more money and also because they are seen as deserving better things, like better schools and better services.

I asked the panel about a recent Post article that had said that, “Almost 10 years after the District vowed to assure low-income residents in four areas that they wouldn’t be displaced if their neighborhoods were revitalized,” the District decided that this was “overly optimistic.” The District was considering a policy change to “no longer guarantee that residents have a right to stay in their neighborhoods, and the promise that existing public housing won’t be demolished until a new building is constructed to replace it would be abandoned.” Empower DC and others have been warning people about these false promises for some time.

So, I asked the panel, is this a new policy? or is this a statement of what the District was already doing? Courtland Milloy immediately said, “They do what they can get away with.” He explained that, when District officials made these promises, they had to to make their redevelopment plans and the destruction of public housing palatable. Earlier, Milloy had stated that we need to acknowledge institutional racism and that these “revitalization” policies are in the interest of property owners and not in the interests of the homeless and other poor DC residents.

How can we change the situation in which “They do what they can get away with”? As a start, we might recognize that the journalist’s statement “So there’s no question that it [DC General] will be shut down and sold. That part of the plan no one is worried about” is not a statement of fact but rather a statement supported by those who are interested in this outcome and “can get away with” it. It is a political statement in the battle over space in the District. The next step would be to support a range of policies, including permanent public housing and permanent affordable housing in the District.

3 comments - (Comments are closed)   Affordable Housing, DC School Closures, Education, Gentrification, Homelessness, Justice System, Public Housing, Public Property   , , , , , ,  

Empower DC Packs Council Hearing on Housing Authority Budget

By Grassroots DC, on May 5th, 2014

Cross-posted from the DC Independent Media Center written by Luke

On the 30th of April, Empower DC brought well over 100 DC public housing residents and supporters to pack Muriel Bowser’s hearing on the DC housing authority budget, which contains zero money for repair or renovation of traditional public housing.

Instead, the city applied to HUD for money to DEMOLISH three properties and thankfully these funds were refused. Almost all the attendees at the hearing were either residents or supporters of public housing, and for once witnesses did not have to sit through hours of testimony from developers before being permitted to speak.

A witness reported that Muriel Bowser was the only Councilmember present at the hearing, and she sat “stone-faced” through all testimony except when she was directly singled out for criticism. Several witnesses said they would not vote for her for Mayor even if she was the only candidate running.

Reverend Hagler called out the City Council for committing a “moral sin” by budgeting only $50 million for all the DC Housing Authority out of a total city budget of $11 billion while surrounded by massive wealth.

Click Here to view the entire hearing.

2 comments - (Comments are closed)   Gentrification, Public Housing   , , ,  

2014 Tenant Town Hall

By Grassroots DC, on May 2nd, 2014

Come see and feel the vibrant tenant movement for affordable housing in action at the 7th Annual Tenant Town Hall. Join LEDC, the CNHED Housing for All Campaign, and Empower DC as DC residents present their housing priorities and solutions to the directors of DC housing agencies and Council members.

Seven years running, the Tenant Town Hall is one of the best events of the year. Hear from tenants who are fighting for decent, affordable housing in the District of Columbia!

Comments are closed   Affordable Housing, Gentrification   , , , ,  
 
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