Content categorized as Civil Rights

Hope strong for disabled team

I’m looking to see the warmer weather happenin’ and I’m waiting for the pandemic to be over. We’ll be able to play wheelchair basketball again.

Residents urge D.C. Health to expand resources for people experiencing homelessness

Advocates, government officials and health professionals gathered virtually for the D.C. Department of Health performance oversight hearings for the 2020 and 2021 fiscal year on March 4 and 19. Several requests were made to better support those experiencing homelessness and poverty.

First day of spring

Ball reveals the harsh effects weather has on his living conditions.

SMYAL expands services for LGBTQ youth experiencing homelessness

SMYAL, known as Supporting and Mentoring Youth Advocates and Leaders, is launching a third Extended Transitional Housing program this spring for LGBTQ youth experiencing homelessness that will provide residents with up to six years of mental health support, shelter and employment assistance.

To the strong Black woman

Artist and Vendor Pierre Johnson’s poem, “To the strong Black woman.”

Still here, still strong

Artist and Vendor Joseph Jackson writes about his experience during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Searching for truth in a world full of make believe

Author Jeffery McNeil reflects on his changes in his life and the divide in the United States

Sometimes

A poem by Artist/Vendor Ron Dudley, a.k.a. “Pookanu”

Looking Ahead

Looking ahead nowadays is harder than looking back. It used to be that when you’re looking forward you can look back on what you’ve been through and how you got through what you’ve been through to get to where you are. 

My history

February is Black History Month. My forefathers fought in every American war, that’s a fact. 

Tenants at Marbury Plaza renew a decade-old rent strike as COVID-19 exacerbates a history of neglect

The D.C. Tenants Union partnered with tenant leaders at Marbury Plaza in Southeast D.C. to organize a rent strike and push the landlord and city government for repairs and rental relief.

An amendment 4 years in the making, with massive implications for affordable housing in DC, to be voted on in March

For years, the latest update to D.C.’s Comprehensive Plan has sparked unprecedented public engagement and contention. It is slated to be decided in March.

Protesters call for Biden’s domestic policy chief to cancel rent

Tenants from D.C., Maryland, and Virginia marched to the home of White House domestic policy chief Susan Rice on Jan. 23 and called on the Biden administration to include rent cancelation in the latest COVID-19 relief package proposal

DC task force recommends major investments in affordable housing to prevent crime

The District Task Force on Jails and Justice made 80 recommendations to the Mayor to invest in more affordable housing, to help communities and prevent crime.

Confessions I, Part 1: I’ve Paid for Sex

In this series, Taylor reflects on paying for sex as a self-described “semi-closeted gay male.”

The Rich vs. The Poor

Mosley contemplates rich and poor individuals, and the dependent relationship one has on the other.

Report highlights bias-motivated violence towards people experiencing homelessness

A report by an advocacy group studied bias-motivated crimes against people experiencing homelessness and what can be done to reduce these acts of violence.

I want to trust the vaccine

Aida Peery reflects on why she is struggling to come to a decision on getting the coronavirus vaccine. She discusses historical and current events.

Homeless people in quarantine face poor conditions, rudeness, and transphobia

Shelter residents are sent to DHS’s isolation sites when exposed to COVID-19. But some report mistreatment and transphobia by staff and security guards.

Alice Carter study is an admirable and monumental effort that falls short

Artist and vendor Jeff Taylor critiques the case study written by Street Sense Media about the life and death of Alice Carter, who he knew and lived with.