Content categorized as Systemic Racism

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.

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. 

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.

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.

Trust the vaccine

Artist and vendor Angie Whitehurst discusses why, despite the American medical establishment’s history of racism, the COVID-19 vaccine should still be trusted.

Annual vigil goes virtual to remember people who died without a home in DC this year

The People for Fairness Coalition kicked off its eighth overnight vigil and advocacy initiatives surrounding National Homeless Persons Memorial Day. At least 73 people died homeless in the District in 2020, the organizers say.

Melanin Creative

Sasha Williams shares her ode to melanin.

Get Thee Hence

Artist and vendor Frederic John’s tribute to “National Get Out Day” and Black Lives Matter organizers.

What policing homelessness looks like

Case manager Charlie Mussoff on his experience witnessing the policing of those experiencing homelessness.

“The system is failing all the families that really need it”: How the threat of eviction has perpetuated health inequity and racial injustice during the pandemic

Worries about eviction during the pandemic disproportionately affect Black and Hispanic renters, widening the racial wealth gap.

The Black & Indigenous Transgender Safehaus shows the need for inclusive housing programs

Casa BITS provides short-term housing and community for Black, Indigenous, People of Color trangender and intersex D.C. residents.

My Tears

Robert Warren, artist and vendor, mourns past injustices.

The killing field

Angie Whitehurst on the loss of Black life.

Rep. Ayanna Pressley asks marginalized communities to remember “our greatness is older than our oppression”

The first Black woman to represent the state of Massachusetts in the US Congress, Ayanna Pressley, talks to INSP about racism as a public health crisis, housing and homelessness.