By Grassroots DC, on April 27th, 2014 
Cross-posted on behalf of Empower DC
CALL TO ACTION!!! Forward this message far and wide and join us for an important rally and then to pack the room for the DC Housing Authority budget hearing:
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 30 12 NOON WILSON BUILDING 1350 PENNSYLVANIA AVE, NW (Accessible by Federal Triangle or Metro Center Stations) Rally outside followed by packing room 412 Bring ID to enter
Bus transportation is being arranged from public housing communities. To request transportation, testimony support or for more information about how you or your organization can support the Public Housing Campaign contact Schyla at (202) 234-9119 x101 or housing@empowerdc.org.
WE MUST PRESERVE & IMPROVE DC’S TRADITIONAL PUBLIC HOUSING
We stand united in support of preserving and improving our traditional public housing communities which serve a critical role in the affordable housing landscape of DC. We support a moratorium on the emptying and demolition of currently occupied units. We support improving and reopening units that have been left vacant due to disrepair.
Traditional public housing is a public resource which must be managed to serve the needs of current and future residents who can not access other private and subsidized housing because of multiple barriers. Public housing is the only permanently affordable housing owned by the city which ensures housing is available to people based on their income, with no bottom threshold and without utility costs, where families can remain intact and residents are supported by tight knit social networks.
WE HAVE LOST TOO MUCH
Due to completed and planned demolitions of public housing through the federal HOPE VI and Choice Communities programs and DC’s “New Communities” program, DC’s public housing stock has been decimated in recent years from over 11,000 units to only about 7,000 remaining units – at least 500 of which are currently vacant due to disrepair or pending demolition. During the same time the need for truly affordable housing has increased and DC has quickly become an unaffordable city to live in for low income working people and the most disenfranchised families and individuals.
THE NEED IS GREAT
The desperate need for traditional public housing is evidenced by:
– 7,000+ residents experience homelessness on any given day in DC[i]. In March of 2014, the city had 827 families in shelters including 1,591 children.[ii]
– Over 70,000 people were on the city’s waiting list for affordable housing in DC when it was closed last April[iii]
– The loss of over half of DC’s low cost rental housing units in only 10 years time, from 70,600 units to only 34,500[iv]
– The market rate cost of housing has skyrocketed to $1,500 or more for a two bedroom apartment, for which one would need to earn $60,000 per year or $29 per hour to afford.[v]
Housing vouchers and the private market can not adequately replace the need for public housing. Neither can job training or education programs. The people currently served by DC’s public housing communities include:
– over 15,000 residents – over 50% of whom are above age 50 – 23% have disabilities – With an average household income of $13,000 per year, or the equivalent of 35 hours per week at minimum wage[vi] PUBLIC LAND FOR PUBLIC NEEDS
Traditional public housing is the only form of permanently affordable housing in DC that is on public land and held in the public trust to serve the needs of current and future generations. The extremely high cost of real estate in DC is a barrier to creating more truly affordable housing. Public land is a precious resource with which we are able to provide for the long-term needs of our city. These lands must no longer be privatized and converted into middle and upper income tracts with time-limited (usually only 15 years) affordability covenants. STOP DISPLACEMENT
The loss of traditional public housing is worsening DC’s homelessness crisis, and has contributed to the push-out of over 40,000 African American residents from our city within the time period of 2000-2010.[vii]
Public housing demolition and redevelopment is promoted by the “deconcentration myth” which assumes it is detrimental for low income residents to live in a clustered area, and that individual lives improve when residents are dispersed. These assumptions are not supported by concrete results, in fact several scholars have documented the detrimental impact of the loss of social networks, stable housing, sense of place and identity.[viii] The underlying stereotypes against public housing and its residents are discriminatory and blame people for . . . → Read More: Save Public Housing and Fund Needed Repairs Call To Action
By Grassroots DC, on March 13th, 2014
By Grassroots DC, on February 11th, 2014 
Posted on behalf of Empower DC
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Monday, February 10, 2014
CONTACT: Parisa Norouzi, Empower DC (202) 234-9119 x 100
DEPOSITIONS BEGIN IN DC SCHOOL CLOSURES CASE
Chancellor among key government witnesses to be deposed, public invited to submit questions
Depositions of key government officials have begun in the case against the closure of DC public schools.
The case of Shannon Smith et al Vs Kaya Henderson et al was filed last March by members of Empower DC as part of an effort to stop the closure of 15 DC Public Schools in low income communities of color. After a hearing on May10th, Federal court Judge Boasberg did not grant a temporary injunction and the closure of 13 DC Public Schools was allowed to go forward last fall, however the court has yet to issue a final ruling on the merits of the case and litigation on the issue continues. The Judge upheld the plaintiff’s core complaints, saying in his opinion “..the parents and guardians have alleged sufficient facts to state claims of discrimination under the three civil-rights provisions at the heart of their case: the Equal Protection Clause, Title VI, and the D.C. Human Rights Act.”
Today, as civil rights attorney Johnny Barnes prepares to depose Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson under oath on February 21st, Empower DC launched a call for the public to submit “Questions for Kaya.” People impacted by the closures or others with information pertaining to the inner workings of DCPS are invited send in questions via twitter (to @empowerdc), email (to Daniel@empowerdc.org) or by calling an anonymous phone hotline (202-234-9119 x 106).
Communities throughout the nation have mobilized to fight the closure of dozens of public schools, predominately in low income communities of color, in cities including Chicago, Philadelphia, New York and Baltimore. To date, Empower DC’s suit is the first in the nation to have withstood dismissal and entered the discovery phase.
“We have begun pouring through thousands and thousands of internal DCPS documents and emails received during discovery,” said Attorney Barnes. “The content provides a window into the infrastructure that was responsible for decision making within DCPS. We look forward to these depositions with expectations that we will learn even more about that which motivated the closing of schools.”
“In this case Empower DC exemplifies David going against the Goliath of not just DCPS and the District government, but the large, powerful and wealthy network including the likes of the Waltons and the Gates’ who drive privatization-based school reform throughout the country,” said Parisa Norouzi, Executive Director of Empower DC. “It is no secret to us that there is more then meets the eye with regard to public education in DC. Being the nation’s capital we have been used as a laboratory for the so-called “reform” movement. The proceedings of our lawsuit will bring that to light.”
Empower DC’s members continue their campaign to save community schools, and the neighborhoods that depend upon them. “Our members never gave up their fight,” continued Norouzi. “The Supreme Court has ruled in the past that a court is empowered to order that schools be reopened, where discrimination has been found. We continue to believe that it is possible schools like Ferebee-Hope Elementary will be reopened at the end of this fight – as would be the fitting tribute to the parents and students who have been champions for their community.”
By Grassroots DC, on October 12th, 2013 
Posted on behalf of Empower DC
Case Brought by Empower DC Alleges Discriminatory Impact of School Closures, Group Granted Discovery as Litigation Continues
Yesterday, Federal Court Judge James Boasberg found that plaintiffs have established sufficient facts to allow the bulk of their case alleging discrimination in the city’s pattern of public school closures to move forward.
The case of Shannon Smith et al Vs Kaya Henderson et al was filed last March by members of Empower DC as part of an effort to stop the closure of 15 DC Public Schools in low income communities of color. After a hearing on May10th, Judge Boasberg did not grant a temporary injunction and the closure of 13 DC Public Schools was allowed to go forward this fall, however the court has yet to issue a final ruling on the merits of the case, which has now survived the city’s motion to dismiss and will be litigated further.
Communities throughout the nation have mobilized to fight the closure of dozens of public schools, predominately in low income communities of color, in cities including Chicago, Philadelphia, New York and Baltimore. To date, Empower DC’s suit is the first to have withstood dismissal, a point highlighted by Constitutional Law Professor Jamin Raskin, a member of the group’s legal team.
“This will be the first time that a federal court addresses evidence showing that a school system closed majority African-American schools as a response to under-enrollment when it never closed majority white schools as a response to under-enrollment. In this case, thousands of African-American and Hispanic students face school closings east of the River and only two white students find themselves in the same situation. Equal Protection simply does not permit government to impose discriminatory and selective burdens on minority communities even in pursuit of otherwise lawful objectives,” said Raskin.
In his 30-page opinion, Judge Boasberg dismissed some of the plaintiffs’ claims including those relating to compliance with the city’s statute requiring notice and input from Advisory Neighborhood Commissions, as well as those relating to disability laws. However all claims were dismissed without prejudice, a judgment which signifies there has not been a ruling on the merits of the claim and the claim could be brought in another court.
The key claims of the lawsuit have been upheld by Judge Boasberg, meaning that the plaintiffs provided sufficient evidence for litigation on those to continue. As a result, plaintiffs will be able to move forward with the discovery process during which the defendants, Chancellor Kaya Henderson and Mayor Vincent Gray, will have to make documents and data available to the plaintiffs.
The Judge’s opinion states, “The Court agrees with the District on the bulk of the Plaintiff’s claims. Nevertheless, the parents and guardians have alleged sufficient facts to state claims of discrimination under the three civil-rights provisions at the heart of their case: the Equal Protection Clause, Title VI, and the D.C. Human Rights Act.”
Attorney Johnny Barnes, lead attorney for the plaintiffs, stated, “We are not unhappy with this decision. While the Court dismissed, without prejudice, many of our claims, it left the heart of the case in place. We plan to vigorously litigate the equal protection, disparate treatment and D.C. Human Rights violations aspects of the case in the weeks and months to come. We look forward to probing the minds of those District officials who undertook the school closings which the Court indicated on the face of the facts merits deeper inquiry. While we continue to believe that the ANC notice and citizen participation counts of our Complaint are strong, notwithstanding the dismissal, without prejudice, we shall likely pursue those purely local matters in another court in a case already pending. We are pleased that we were able to present a brief that caused the central theme in our case to continue — unconstitutional discrimination in the closings — while every other lawsuit filed across the Country has not met with the same success.”
Empower DC’s members continue their campaign to save community schools, and the neighborhoods that depend upon them. “Our members never gave up their fight,” said Parisa Norouzi, Executive Director. “The Supreme Court has ruled in the past that a court is empowered to order that schools be reopened, where discrimination has been found. We continue to believe that it is possible schools like Ferebee-Hope Elementary will be reopened at the end of this fight – as would be the fitting tribute to the parents and students . . . → Read More: Key Elements of School Closure Lawsuit Move Forward
By Liane Scott, on May 20th, 2013 
How much money were you making in 2004? Could you survive on that today? Maybe, maybe not. Might be a stretch but hey, times are tough. How about 27% of what you were making in 2004, could you survive on that? Unless 2004 was a real banner year and you made ten times what you’re making today, maintaining your lifestyle on that money would be impossible. If you were making less than the median income for Washington, DC in 2004, then 27% of that amount won’t even meet your basic needs.
Yet the DC Government refuses to pay child care providers who accept the city’s subsidized child care vouchers, more than 27% of the rate they should have been paid in 2004. Aaron Brooks, owner of Power To Become Child Care Center and Jeffrey Credit, owner of Community Child Development Center are more than a little peeved about the situation. They let the city council know during a day of lobbying at the Wilson Building headed by Empower DC child care organizer Sequnely Gray. The following video lays out their argument.
Despite a $417 million surplus in the city’s budget, Mayor Vincent Gray and the DC City Council are unlikely to increase funding for DC’s subsidized child care program unless someone like you accepts the challenge and makes them change their minds. Contact your city council members and tell them to fund subsidized child care. Here are their phone numbers and email addresses:
Councilmember Phil Mendelson (202) 724-8032 pmendelson@dccouncil.us
At-Large Councilmember Anita Bonds (202) 724-8064 abonds@dccouncil.us
At-Large Councilmember David Grosso (202) 724-8105 dgrosso@dccouncil.us
At-Large Councilmember David Catania (202) 724-7772 dcatania@dccouncil.us
At-Large Councilmember Vincent Orange (202) 724-8174 vorange@dccouncil.us
Ward 1 Councilmember Jim Graham (202) 724-8181 jgraham@dccouncil.us
Ward 2 Councilmember Jack Evans (202) 724-8058 jevans@dccouncil.us
Ward 3 Councilmember Mary Cheh (202) 724-8062 mcheh@dccouncil.us
Ward 4 Councilmember Muriel Bowser (202) 724-8052 mbowser@dccouncil.us
Ward 5 Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie (202) 724-8028 kmcduffie@dccouncil.us
Ward 6 Councilmember Tommy Wells (202) 724-8072 twells@dccouncil.us
Ward 7 Councilmember Yvette Alexander (202) 724-8068 yalexander@dccouncil.us
Ward 8 Councilmember Marion Barry (202) 724-8045 mbarry@dccouncil.us
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