Help Ridgecrest residents stay in their homes!
Help Ridgecrest residents stay in their homes!
Featured UPCOMING EVENTS
Thank you for committing to build a new coherent national mass movement for racial, economic, social and environmental liberation. Be prepared. The one-percenters will come after you. They will try to divide, to discredit, and even destroy. Your courage and careful organizing will be tested again and again. But you may be surprised by the response you get. People are waiting for something defiant. We all want to join a movement that helps spread the word, that fights for structural change, that links us together, that multiplies our efforts, that keeps us hopeful.
It’s time to face up to runaway economic inequality – what causes it, what it’s doing to us, and what we can do about it.
Location will be in SE DC.
Join Eyewitness Palestine and The Jerusalem Fund for a panel discussion examining the experiences of Palestinians during the olive harvest under Israeli occupation.
Featuring Nancy Mansour, Imani Bashir, former Congresswoman Cori Bush, Reverend Dr. Stephany Rose, and more.
The conversation will explore violence against Palestinian communities by Israeli settlers and occupation forces, with additional perspectives from panelists in Palestine.
Moderated by Said Arikat, this event offers an opportunity to hear firsthand accounts and deepen understanding of the ongoing struggles facing Palestinian communities.
The MLK Black Studies Book Club meets every first Saturday of the month to explore, engage, and discuss books from and relating to the Black radical tradition.
The MLK Black Studies Book Club meets the first Saturday of each month to explore, engage, and discuss books from and relating to the Black radical tradition. Selections include classics from authors such as Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, W.E.B. DuBois, James Baldwin, and Audre Lorde, as well as lesser known and contemporary works. The book club's scope encompasses an array of authors from across the African diaspora who challenge existing notions of what constitutes Blackness and Black Struggle. Please email The People's Archive at peoples.archive@dc.gov to inquire about meetings and to be placed on the listserv.
As the DC Fiscal Policy Institute (DCFPI) celebrates 25 years of advancing racial and economic justice, we’re using this milestone to look beyond the immediate political landscape and think boldly about what comes next.
The Monday after Election Day, we’ll gather to discuss the imperative of a Third Reconstruction —a new era of transformative change in our democracy, economy, and public institutions—and what it will take to advance that change. We’ll discuss DC’s specific role in catalyzing a new wave of political rights nationally and the next wave of transformative economic rights locally.
Join us for this critical conversation about what’s possible—and what it will take to build the future we deserve.
On Monday, November 9, Rethinking Schools editor Jesse Hagopian will be in conversation with author Gary Tyler about his book Stitching Freedom: A True Story of Injustice, Defiance, and Hope in Angola Prison.
Gary Tyler spent more than four decades in prison for a murder he didn’t commit. At 17, he became the youngest person on death row in the United States.
The legacy of enslavement reverberates through the prison industrial complex. Angola Prison, where Tyler spent decades incarcerated, was built on the grounds of a former Louisiana plantation. On November 9, join our Teach the Black Freedom Struggle class to explore the connections between mass incarceration and the legacy of enslavement, and learn what sustained Tyler’s pursuit of justice.
Join the Harriet's Responders to learn the fundamentals of direct action and safety protocols to use during a protest.
In the wake of recent protests and rallies in Washington, DC, we extend a warm invitation to participate in our free "Basic Skills & Knowledge for Direct Actions" training.
This training is designed to provide fundamental skills aimed at ensuring your safety and well-being during these public demonstrations.
Who keeps us safe? We keep us safe!
BCI’s quarterly social hours are a space to highlight local co-ops and for fellow organizers in the solidarity economy to build relationships and weave communities and projects together. This social will take place on Tuesday, November 10 at 6pm at the Dew Drop Inn (2801 8th Street NE). Light food will be provided and drinks will be available to order.
From scorching job sites to flooded factories to overcrowded hospitals, workers are some of the first to face the repercussions of climate change. Please join We Power DC and Metro DC DSA for a conversation with local union representatives and climate experts about what's at stake for local and national workers. Panelists will share frontline experiences, discuss policy solutions, and explore how organized labor is leading the fight to build a more resilient future for the working class. We'll also explore how strong public institutions and public stewardship can help ensure these critical jobs continue serving workers and communities for generations to come.
It’s been one year since the DC Council signed the deal with the Commanders to bring a new stadium and neighborhood to the RFK campus. As the team races towards an 2030 opening day, recent hearings and developments have revealed some alarming developments:
A transit plan that doesn’t account for 8,000 people - opening the door to yet another massive garage in the neighborhood
Gas-burning at the stadium? Despite DC law forbidding it, it seems there are plans to burn methane gas to heat the stadium
Shifting numbers and timelines for promised homes and affordable housing
A community benefits program that still lacks clarity
Join us for a community assembly to dig into these issues, and explore what we can do together to ensure the redevelopment serves us all.
About RFK for All: The redevelopment of the former RFK Stadium site along the Anacostia River in Ward 7 presents a once-in-a-generation opportunity for the District. Done well, it can deliver new homes, sustainable development, improved public spaces, and provide stronger connections to the river and surrounding neighborhoods. Done poorly, it could leave DC taxpayers paying more than $1 billion for a suburban-style stadium that increases traffic, pollution, causes environmental harm to neighborhoods and nearby nature, and most importantly fails to meet community needs. To meet this moment, we have formed a coalition dedicated to ensuring that community voices meaningfully shape the redevelopment site and deliver results on our shared priorities. We want a new stadium and neighborhood that is a fair deal for DC, sustainably built and operated, transit first, and that maximizes affordable homes.
Crime and Punishment in America is a four-part series, directed by Lynn Novick, that tells the story of criminal justice in America from the colonial era to today, and explores how for more than 250 years, Americans have wrestled with the problem of crime, the purpose of punishment and the meaning of justice. Executive produced by Ken Burns and Sam Pollard. Narrated by Keith David.
Past Articles
For more information about Initiative 83 and the effort to bring Ranked Choice Voting to DC check out Grow Democracy DC. They also have a video presentation Ranked Choice Voting Training with Grow Democracy DC along with slides in English and Spanish
Below is a list of webinars hosted by the DC Board of Elections to explain how Ranked Choice Voting works. You can find them at https://dcboe.org/rcv
Below is a list of videos to help explain Ranked Choice Voting
HAPPY SPRING! We are pleased to announce the launch of a new podcast by the Grassroots DC team: Yet To Be Determined [YTBD]
Every episode of Yet To Be Determined Podcast starts with a question. Chances are the question will relate to the District of Columbia, not so much the Federal City but the DC that long-time residents know, love and are challenged by. The cost of housing is insane. Despite paying more taxes than at least 12 states, we have no say in how that money is spent. Congress on the other hand gets to decide what local laws we get to enact. And our mayor and city council too often go along with their wishes rather than pushing back.
Given the limited control we have over our own affairs, what kind of future can we expect for the District of Columbia? Local organizers, advocates and nonprofit leaders will be featured on the podcast to help us answer that question. Together we’ll explore possible futures for the city and its residents. Solutions will be suggested. Calls to action will be made. The future we want to build depends on how involved DC residents become. and as such it’s Yet To Be Determined.
The Grassroots DC team put together a zine summary of our media literacy workshop. We hope this content will spark conversations about how we gather information and decided what we believe and what we doubt.
Learn How To Use The Media Before It Uses You at our Media Literacy workshop!
In this workshop we will:
Unpack the ways local news is created
Learn to how to make mainstream media work for you
Deconstruct the way the local news reports on issues that affect our community
Understand when and why the news gets it wrong
Learn how to convince local news producers to pay attention to issues they normally ignore and include perspectives that they usually omit
Let’s face it. DC is becoming more and more dystopian by the minute. Just like the frog in the pot of water that’s slowly coming to a boil, we District of Columbia residents are likely to get used to it. In truth, the water’s been simmering for a long time, well before Trump took control of the stovetop. Things are getting hotter though. The question is will we survive or get out of the pot in the nick of time?
Dystopia: A society where life is miserable, oppressive and dehumanizing. Characteristics include a suppression of dissent, constant surveillance, arbitrary arrests and detention, environmental collapse, extreme inequality, etc.
Dystopias persist not only because we don’t realize we’re in them—’that’s happening to them, not to me’—but also because they’re not bad for everyone. For a small few, dystopia is the foundation for their own personal utopias. Those who benefit, even if only temporarily, will do whatever is necessary to keep them going. Those not oblivious to the suffering, who also have enough time and resources, may choose to fight as allies alongside those clearly targeted by the regime in power. Most will find ways to physically and/or emotionally insulate themselves. Some will simply relocate to happier climates.
So where does that leave the rest of us—the targeted, the soon to be targeted, the complicit? In 1971, the revolutionary George Jackson made this strongly worded suggestion:
“Settle your quarrels. Understand that fascism is already here, that people are already dying who could be saved, generations more will live poor butchered half-lives if we fail to act.”
We’ve been dying and living poor butchered half lives for generations. Sometimes it’s more of us, sometimes it’s less.
What’s true for everyone is the need for security, shared resources, and the ability to cooperate on complex problems. This is why societies come together. Here on Turtle Island, most commonly known as the United States, we humans formed a representative democracy as the basis of our society. We rely on elected officials to create and enforce laws that respect our rights and dignity, to use our tax dollars to meet our collective needs, and to achieve things that we couldn’t possibly achieve as individuals.
Once more for the folks in the back: Congress’ Plan to Defund DC by $1 Billion Is Not Yet a Done Deal!
The Congress has jurisdiction over the District of Columbia. [If you were raised in the District of Columbia, you will have learned this in your DC History class.] It means that we have a shadow senator and two shadow “representatives” of the House but neither of them have the right to vote in either congressional body. In essence, DC residents have no federal representation. Despite this, we pay plenty of federal taxes.
Even if you learned your American History outside of the District, you probably remember that “no taxation without representation” was a key rallying cry during the lead-up to the American Revolution. Back then, folks willing to fight a tyrannical regime thought it was unjust to impose taxes on citizens without giving them a voice in the legislative body that determines how taxes would be levied. It’s still unjust.
It’s been some time since many of us had any kind of history class [decades for me]. I don’t know why the US Constitution was set up to screw over the citizens of the capital city but that’s where we are and have been since the nation’s founding. But let’s not digress.
Because Congress has jurisdiction over the District of Columbia, the argument can be made that every DC resident is a constituent of every senator and representative that does have a vote. It is perfectly legitimate for each and every DC resident to go to the congressional office buildings, knock on the doors of the elected officials there and say, “I didn’t vote for you. You do not represent me. You have no right to tell DC’s city council and mayor—the people who do represent me—how to spend the taxes that I pay to the District of Columbia.”
On the other hand, we may not be prepared to do a repeat of the Revolutionary War. A more strategic option might be to ask them to pass the DC Local Funds Act. Below is a plan of attack put together by Free DC. We can get some control over our tax dollars without firing a single musket.
https://freedcproject.org/news/encourage-representatives-to-pass-the-dc-local-funds-act
Throughout the last year the city saw several initiatives to improve the state of education in the city. We’ve collected some highlights from mainstream news sources to see what they were talking about. Local parents with children enrolled in DCPS are still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic’s effects on attendance and educational grade level standards. Amid lowering crime rates across the city people still seem to be concerned about crime. What questions do you have about education in Washington DC? Tell us here and we’ll investigate for you!
Important before. Important now.
We at Grassroots DC reaffirm our commitment to community power through grassroots storytelling.
In the face of the changes soon to come, we will utilize our First Amendment rights to uplift stories that need telling, stories that need to be heard, and actions that need to be taken.
Standing up to tyranny is a choice you make everyday, regardless of who's in office. Together we can be the solution and work toward what is best for our community and therefore ourselves.
At the end of the day, we keep us safe.
The Bronx-born actress has made a home here in the District, just over the Anacostia, and has established herself as one of the region’s more prolific performers. Just in the last year alone you could find her in Signature’s Passing Strange, Private Jones, and most recently Hair — first in the ensemble, but finishing out in the role of Sheila. But Signature isn’t her only turf, of course: she was recently seen in Mosaic’s workshop of Postmortem, and later this year she’ll be playing Anna in a massive staging of Disney’s Frozen at Olney Theatre Center, in one of the very first productions outside of Broadway.
While her talent and range are the drivers behind these roles, there’s something else that seems to get her in the audition room that’s less eager: her skin color. Or rather, the fairness of it which creates an “exotic” ambiguity that casting directors seem to prefer. Recently she posted some thoughts about the matter to her social media story. I’ve had similar experiences in my own life, so I took some time to chat with Alex about her experiences as a mixed person in theater spaces. There is an ever-growing desire to tell diverse stories, but not always the talent pool with the lived experience to do so.
(Alex uses she/her pronouns and spells her last name with a capital D in De Bard.)
This interview was conducted with the support of Grassroots DC, an East of the River-based media organization who specializes in bringing the power of the press to marginalized groups. You can support their cause by donating here.
A series of important events affecting our communities
Representation for Ward 8 residents is under attack. As you may have heard, Councilmember Trayon White (D, Ward 8) was arrested on a criminal complaint of bribery on August 18th. The claim alleges that White accepted payments in exchange for the extension of contracts with the Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement (ONSE). The investigation is being conducted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, the FBI, the D.C. Office of the Inspector General, and the IRS Criminal Investigation Washington Field Office.
Not unlike many other council members who have been involved in scandals and/or criminally charged, Trayon White is not perfect. The violence interruption programs that he supports are being credited for reducing crime and violence in Ward 8. If fully supported, they could transform policing to one that is more community-based. An increase in the number of violence interrupters may also result in a decrease in the need for the current number of patrol officers in the areas, something that the Office of the DC Auditor’s MPD audit suggests is needed. Trayon White’s involvement in a potential bribery case could jeopardize those programs. What's more consequential, is that the case could leave Ward 8 without DC council representation, in a city filled with residents who are not given equal representation in congress.
On Monday, September 9th at 7pm many residents of Ward 8 and the city at-large signed into a virtual community town hall hosted by Harriet’s Wildest Dreams (HWD) titled “What’s at Stake for Ward 8”. The meeting was facilitated by HWD’s Co-Founder and Executive Director, NeeNee Taylor and HWD Policy Organizer, Jillian Burford. Who, after grounding the meeting in the organization's principles, gave the virtual floor to Councilmember Robert White (D, At-large) to go over what will and may happen next in regards to Trayon White’s seat on the DC Council and several committees.
...
Many mainstream media outlets are reporting as though Trayon is sure to be found guilty but during the community town hall many called for reminders that we are all innocent until proven guilty in this country. As an elected official, he continues to represent Ward 8 until voters decide otherwise. Federal charges don't change that immediately, and with an upcoming election, we'll soon find out who Ward 8 residents choose to represent them.
DC has a homelessness crisis and the whole country knows it. Bowser alleged that there were only 221 homeless people in DC after completing several raids of encampments across the city. Housing organizers and community advocates have different ideas about how to address these issues. This video shares some thoughts from those impacted.
Upcoming events
The Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) and Teaching for Change deliver a day of online conversation, curriculum highlights, workshops, and idea exchange — preceded by a short keynote presentation. Participants will have the chance to attend two rounds of workshops and engage with each other virtually via Zoom. Registration coming soon!
Thank you for committing to build a new coherent national mass movement for racial, economic, social and environmental liberation. Be prepared. The one-percenters will come after you. They will try to divide, to discredit, and even destroy. Your courage and careful organizing will be tested again and again. But you may be surprised by the response you get. People are waiting for something defiant. We all want to join a movement that helps spread the word, that fights for structural change, that links us together, that multiplies our efforts, that keeps us hopeful.
It’s time to face up to runaway economic inequality – what causes it, what it’s doing to us, and what we can do about it.
Location will be in SE DC.
Join Eyewitness Palestine and The Jerusalem Fund for a panel discussion examining the experiences of Palestinians during the olive harvest under Israeli occupation.
Featuring Nancy Mansour, Imani Bashir, former Congresswoman Cori Bush, Reverend Dr. Stephany Rose, and more.
The conversation will explore violence against Palestinian communities by Israeli settlers and occupation forces, with additional perspectives from panelists in Palestine.
Moderated by Said Arikat, this event offers an opportunity to hear firsthand accounts and deepen understanding of the ongoing struggles facing Palestinian communities.
The MLK Black Studies Book Club meets every first Saturday of the month to explore, engage, and discuss books from and relating to the Black radical tradition.
The MLK Black Studies Book Club meets the first Saturday of each month to explore, engage, and discuss books from and relating to the Black radical tradition. Selections include classics from authors such as Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, W.E.B. DuBois, James Baldwin, and Audre Lorde, as well as lesser known and contemporary works. The book club's scope encompasses an array of authors from across the African diaspora who challenge existing notions of what constitutes Blackness and Black Struggle. Please email The People's Archive at peoples.archive@dc.gov to inquire about meetings and to be placed on the listserv.
As the DC Fiscal Policy Institute (DCFPI) celebrates 25 years of advancing racial and economic justice, we’re using this milestone to look beyond the immediate political landscape and think boldly about what comes next.
The Monday after Election Day, we’ll gather to discuss the imperative of a Third Reconstruction —a new era of transformative change in our democracy, economy, and public institutions—and what it will take to advance that change. We’ll discuss DC’s specific role in catalyzing a new wave of political rights nationally and the next wave of transformative economic rights locally.
Join us for this critical conversation about what’s possible—and what it will take to build the future we deserve.
On Monday, November 9, Rethinking Schools editor Jesse Hagopian will be in conversation with author Gary Tyler about his book Stitching Freedom: A True Story of Injustice, Defiance, and Hope in Angola Prison.
Gary Tyler spent more than four decades in prison for a murder he didn’t commit. At 17, he became the youngest person on death row in the United States.
The legacy of enslavement reverberates through the prison industrial complex. Angola Prison, where Tyler spent decades incarcerated, was built on the grounds of a former Louisiana plantation. On November 9, join our Teach the Black Freedom Struggle class to explore the connections between mass incarceration and the legacy of enslavement, and learn what sustained Tyler’s pursuit of justice.
Join the Harriet's Responders to learn the fundamentals of direct action and safety protocols to use during a protest.
In the wake of recent protests and rallies in Washington, DC, we extend a warm invitation to participate in our free "Basic Skills & Knowledge for Direct Actions" training.
This training is designed to provide fundamental skills aimed at ensuring your safety and well-being during these public demonstrations.
Who keeps us safe? We keep us safe!
BCI’s quarterly social hours are a space to highlight local co-ops and for fellow organizers in the solidarity economy to build relationships and weave communities and projects together. This social will take place on Tuesday, November 10 at 6pm at the Dew Drop Inn (2801 8th Street NE). Light food will be provided and drinks will be available to order.
From scorching job sites to flooded factories to overcrowded hospitals, workers are some of the first to face the repercussions of climate change. Please join We Power DC and Metro DC DSA for a conversation with local union representatives and climate experts about what's at stake for local and national workers. Panelists will share frontline experiences, discuss policy solutions, and explore how organized labor is leading the fight to build a more resilient future for the working class. We'll also explore how strong public institutions and public stewardship can help ensure these critical jobs continue serving workers and communities for generations to come.
It’s been one year since the DC Council signed the deal with the Commanders to bring a new stadium and neighborhood to the RFK campus. As the team races towards an 2030 opening day, recent hearings and developments have revealed some alarming developments:
A transit plan that doesn’t account for 8,000 people - opening the door to yet another massive garage in the neighborhood
Gas-burning at the stadium? Despite DC law forbidding it, it seems there are plans to burn methane gas to heat the stadium
Shifting numbers and timelines for promised homes and affordable housing
A community benefits program that still lacks clarity
Join us for a community assembly to dig into these issues, and explore what we can do together to ensure the redevelopment serves us all.
About RFK for All: The redevelopment of the former RFK Stadium site along the Anacostia River in Ward 7 presents a once-in-a-generation opportunity for the District. Done well, it can deliver new homes, sustainable development, improved public spaces, and provide stronger connections to the river and surrounding neighborhoods. Done poorly, it could leave DC taxpayers paying more than $1 billion for a suburban-style stadium that increases traffic, pollution, causes environmental harm to neighborhoods and nearby nature, and most importantly fails to meet community needs. To meet this moment, we have formed a coalition dedicated to ensuring that community voices meaningfully shape the redevelopment site and deliver results on our shared priorities. We want a new stadium and neighborhood that is a fair deal for DC, sustainably built and operated, transit first, and that maximizes affordable homes.
Crime and Punishment in America is a four-part series, directed by Lynn Novick, that tells the story of criminal justice in America from the colonial era to today, and explores how for more than 250 years, Americans have wrestled with the problem of crime, the purpose of punishment and the meaning of justice. Executive produced by Ken Burns and Sam Pollard. Narrated by Keith David.
FOLLOW US ONLINE
The Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) and Teaching for Change deliver a day of online conversation, curriculum highlights, workshops, and idea exchange — preceded by a short keynote presentation. Participants will have the chance to attend two rounds of workshops and engage with each other virtually via Zoom. Registration coming soon!