By Guest Contributor, on August 18th, 2015 
Cross-Posted from the DC Independent Media Center Written by Luke
On the 15th of August, Blackout DC staged what was announced as a march from the White House to the Capitol to protest police murder of Black and Brown people.
Cops expected a direct march but got a surprise! The march diverted from Pennsylvania Ave, north up 7th Street to Chinatown, then proceeded east to block the I-395 tunnels before finally going to the US Capitol. At the Capitol, offerings for those murdered by police were placed in a cardboard coffin. This was intended to take place on the Capitol steps, but US Capitol police blockaded the top exits from the Capitol West Lawn against protesters—and only protesters. As a result, the offering ceremony took place on the spot where people were blocked.
The march began for many at Lafayette Park, but was joined by a second march to the White House from the Department of Justice. Once merged, the march headed back out and initially down Pennsylvania Avenue, the route most marches take when going from the White House to US Capitol. At 7th Street, marchers pulled a surprise left turn. It appeared the target would now be the 7th and H Street intersection at Chinatown, but protesters didn’t stay there long. Soon the march headed east on H Street. From there the march went down the ramp to I-395 and blocked both sides of the road. It took quite a while for the police to reach the march. At least one police car went the wrong way back up the freeway. As police started building up, marchers withdrew, heading towards the Capitol after all.
At the Capitol, a coffin was brought up as the march crossed the Capitol West Lawn, only to encounter a police barricade at top of the paved walkway on the south side of the Capitol lawn. Tourists walked freely behind the police lines, having entered by another route. The coffin, with a teddy bear in it for a 7-year-old murdered by police, was brought right up to the front line but police simply would not allow a remembrance for the fallen to take place on the Capitol steps. At that point marchers drew back a few feet and conducted the ceremony at the top South corner of the Capitol lawn.
Tributes given included a teddy bear for 7 year old Aiyana Jones, cigarettes and a turn signal for Sandra Bland, Skittles for Trayvon Martin, a cross for those murdered in Charleston, and so many others. Near the end of the program one speaker warned “Get ready for war.”
By Grassroots DC, on August 7th, 2015 
Cross-posted on behalf of the Stop Police Terror Project DC
August 9th will mark one year since 18-year-old Mike Brown was shot and killed by police officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Missouri. Mike Brown’s death, and the subsequent non-indictment of the officer that killed him, resulted in a shockwave of marches, rallies, shut downs and die-ins all across the country. The recent deaths of Sandra Bland in Texas and Kindra Chapman Alabama, both at the hands of police, show the need to continue struggling against racist police terror and to show that we will not stand for the ongoing brutalization and killing of Black people in America. Join Stop Police Terror Project DC on Saturday, August 8th at the African American Civil Memorial to rally and march in the memory of Mike Brown and other victims of police killings past and present.
SHUT IT DOWN FOR MICHAEL BROWN! Rally and March in Memory of Mike Brown and other police terror victims. August 8th, 2015, 7:00 p.m. African American Civil War Memorial
DCFerguson, a group that’s done a great deal to confront police terror, has changed their name and expanded their mission. Learn more about the new organization Stop Police Terror Project DC below.
Formal statement on the dissolution of DCFerguson:
DCFerguson first emerged during a vital and spirited time in the burgeoning national anti-racist movement. The deaths of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri and Eric Garner in New York, and the subsequent non-indictment of the policemen that killed them galvanized the country, and after several successful actions, the organizers decided to form a coalition to address police terror locally. The organization was able to raise awareness about the jump-out squads and other militarized police tactics, collected testimonies of local police terror victims, and demanded that city funds being used to increase police presence on the street be redirected to community-led security efforts.
Recently, due to pressures created in part by our efforts, the Metropolitan Police Department, under the leadership of Chief Cathy Lanier, has shifted its tactics. The department will reorganize the seven individual vice units that are currently responsible for most of the recent misconduct, and create a central Narcotics and Special Investigation Division along with a Crime Interdiction Unit. Lanier claims these changes are a part of a shifting focus in the MPD from low level dealers to suppliers, along with a new focus on synthetic drugs, but we believe this is simply a cosmetic change being made to avoid changing the lethal tactics that lead to the death of people like Ralphael Briscoe and DeOnte Rawlings.
As they change and adapt, so do we, and as such, DCFerguson has decided to reorganize under a new name with new leadership. Ferguson brought us to where we are, but at this juncture so many tragic incidents nationally and locally have illuminated our understanding of these issues. As such we wanted our name to reflect that expanded reality.
The new organization, Stop Police Terror Project, D.C. (SPTP), will continue to function as an organization dedicated to ending racist militarized policing in our region. SPTP will continue to be structured as a set of volunteer committees who meet independently to complete tasks for the organization’s different projects. Everyone who was active on these committees in DCFerguson is encouraged to continue their work in SPTP as we intend to move forward with our plans as outlined in the last few months.
Since the state has reorganized itself in a fraudulent way for the problem to continue under a new guise, we intend to reorganize in a genuine way in order to put a stop to these abuses. So with a history rooted in addressing racist police tactics in a concrete way, SPTP will continue to expose the institutional violence perpetrated upon poor and working Blacks in the area, will continue to highlight the interconnectedness of forms of oppression related to police terror, and of course, will continue to be in the streets. The struggle continues.
Sincerely,
Tiffany Flowers Sean Blackmon Yasmina Mrabet Eugene Puryear
By Ben King, on April 7th, 2014 
You can also read this post at Storify. #not1more deportation after #2million2many
Immigrant rights groups and supporters gathered for a march and rally in Washington, DC on April 5, 2014. They joined activists in over 40 cities across the country to tell President Obama to stop separating families before he reaches a total of 2 million people deported during his presidency.
The rally began in the Mount Pleasant neighborhood of DC.
Photo by the Lamont Street Collective
Immigration activists and allies appropriate imagery of monarch butterflies to symbolize the right to migrate freely, despite geopolitical borders.
Photo by CultureStrike
A crowd of hundreds marched down 16th Street to the White House.
Employers threaten deportation of undocumented workers to stop them from speaking out about poor working conditions, wage theft and abuse.
For LGBT immigrants, deportation to their home country can mean a death sentence.
At the White House, the crowd raised their voices through story and song. Son Cosita Seria uses the art-form of Son Jarocho music for political commentary.
Join the campaign by visiting notonemoredeportation.com.
NotOneMoreDeportation.com is a project of NDLON to foster collaboration between individuals, organizations, and artists to support individuals in deportation proceedings to stay in the place they call home and to build a movement to push back against criminalization and toward inclusion through organizing, art, legislation, and action.
By Liane Scott, on December 11th, 2012 
As DC public school advocates predicted, the school closings of 2008 didn’t improve test scores or student achievement and have negatively impacted community after community throughout the city. So here we are at the end of 2012, poised to take another dive off the school closings precipice, this time at the behest of Mayor Gray and Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson. I’m betting that you have had enough. I know I have. No one who cares about children wants to hear any more stories like the one Empower DC member Marybeth Tinker recorded in the video below. In it two young students from Thurgood Marshall Elementary tell us why the proposal to close their school is just plain WRONG!
No one who cares about DC’s children and DC’s communities wants to hear any more stories like the one you’ll hear in the podcast below produced by La Palabra. Break It Down: School Closures in Washington DC
Michelle Powell walks her granddaughter to Ferebee-Hope Elementary every day. Her family has already dealt with 3 school closures in Ward 8 and is now faced with a fourth school being closed (Ferebee-Hope). Listen to Mrs. Powell’s story and understand why school closures hurt our communities and our children.
To hear her story, follow this link – http://lapalabradc.tumblr.com/post/37667510236/break-it-down-school-closures-in-washington
Which is why you’ve decided to join the fight to stop school closings in the District of Columbia. You’ve been looking for a chance to take a stand. Here it is:
JOIN DC PUBLIC SCHOOL PARENTS, STUDENTS AND TEACHERS FROM WARD 8 @ THE SAVE OUR SCHOOLS RALLY & MARCH Thursday, December 13, 2012 – 4:30 PM RALLY at Malcolm X Elementary School 1351 Alabama Avenue SE (Near Congress Heights Metro on the Green Line) then MARCH to the home of MAYOR VINCENT GRAY Branch Avenue SE
Ward 8’s Malcolm X Elementary, Ferebee Hope Elementary, MC Terrell Elementary and Johnson Middle School are all on the list of schools to be closed. Your school may not be on the list this year, but it might be next. It’s time to take a STAND! For more information, contact Trayon White, Ward 8 Representative to the State Board of Education at 202-316-7593.
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