DCentric was created to examine the ways race and class interact in Washington, D.C., a city with a vibrant mix of cultures and neighborhoods. Your guides to the changing district are reporters Anna John and Elahe Izadi.
Good morning, DCentric readers! Ready for some links?
Job-training program aims to empower the District’s hardest to employ “This is Project Empowerment, the District’s most expensive job-training program, aimed at one of its most desperate populations. The goal: Take participants from the only Washington they’ve known, where unemployment is chronic, and show them a city they’ve watched from afar, where women wear practical heels and men match their belts to their wingtips. Of more than 800 participants the program serves each year, nearly all are African American, 80 percent have criminal records and many have never held a full-time job.” (The Washington Post)
Sgt. Pepperedjane
826DC: The Museum of Unnatural History
Hidden tutoring centers provide ‘unnatural’ education “826 National is on track to serve 24,000 students this year through its tutoring centers and school outreach programs. Sisters Teah and Janea Green have been visiting 826DC most afternoons since it opened. “This place is awesome,” said Janea, 10, as she worked on her multiplication homework with volunteer Matt Lemanski. “I really, really need help with my homework and my parents are busy sometimes. Sometimes we do poetry, sometimes we do math,” said Teah, 9. When she doesn’t have homework, she works on the story she is writing about a mermaid named Katopia.” (CNN)
Was Slain Principal Targeted Because He Was Gay? “High-profile attorney Gloria Allred is pushing for a federal hate crime investigation in the murder of Brian Betts. Betts was a beloved principal at Shaw Middle School in the District. He was murdered inside his Silver Spring, Md., home in April. Alante Saunders, 19, plead (sic) guilty last month to killing Betts after meeting him on a gay chat website. He was sentenced to 40 years in prison, with the possibility for parole after 20. “If he was targeted because he was on that chat line, then we believe it would fall under the Matthew Shepard Hate rime Law,” said Allred…” (NBC Washington) Continue reading →
Last night, I finally met and had a fantastic conversation with Danny Harris, the man behind the popular local website,”People’s District“. Danny is a photographer, DJ and oral historian who collects the stories of D.C. residents. Here’s why:
People’s District was my way of meeting the people I saw every day, but never stopped to introduce myself to: Carolyn, the crossing guard on my street; Cedric, who ran by my office most days, spinning in circles while yelling ‘HOOT, HOOT’; Dave, who rides his bike up and down my street in a finely tailored suit and fedora; and Josh, who checks my ID at the 9:30 Club. I saw these people more often than I saw my own family, yet I had never exchanged more than a ‘good morning’ or ‘thank you’ with them.
During one of those proverbial wake-up moments in July 2009, I stopped my first person to ask, ‘So, what’s your story?’ Joe, my first interviewee, spoke passionately about growing up on U Street and his first experience of going downtown after the end of segregation. After Joe came Andrew, talking about overcoming homelessness, then Eric and Maddie, discussing the D.C. hardcore music scene. Each story shed light on a new slice of D.C. life and brought me into the world of a complete stranger who was kind enough to share his or her story with me.
Each of those tales is compelling and while this is the part of my post where I’d normally exhort you to visit Danny’s online collection of D.C. stories, I probably don’t have to– the number one question I get from DCentric readers is, “Have you seen this site called ‘People’s District’?”. I’m not surprised (both of our sites explore race, class and the city), but I am grateful for the recommendation (seriously– feel free to tell me what you are reading). If I did introduce you to a new addition for your reader, then I’m glad I was able to shine some light on a worthy endeavor.
An hour ago, I spoke to Jeremy Borden; he’s the Managing Editor of “A City Divided”, the multi-media-enhanced special edition of American University’s graduate online publication, the American Observer.
“A City Divided” has (rightly) received coverage from the City Paper, DCist, NBC and other sites that focus on D.C. and its neighborhoods– but all of those posts were intended to alert readers about the project’s existence. I wanted to know more, so I reached out to Borden and interviewed him about ACD, the reactions it has received and…why the buzzed-about story “Priced out in Columbia Heights” featured three compelling interviews with residents of Mt. Pleasant.
I’m due to speak to him again, in a few minutes– he generously agreed to be interviewed while he tries to finish up projects/classes at AU– so look for that post, tomorrow. In the meantime, if you haven’t already seen it, check out “A City Divided“. Any regular reader of this blog will recognize the themes of gentrification, racial lines and community tensions; you might enjoy the spirited conversation the project has inspired, too.
Double-taxes for this well-groomed, flexible Frenchie!
No one enjoys higher or additional taxes, but judging from some of the pleas for support I’ve received from various groups that are worried about how budget cuts will affect the poorest, youngest, most vulnerable residents of our city, I wonder if taxing yoga and sweet-smelling dogs is preferable (or more ethical). Via the City Paper:
Ward 8 Councilmember Marion Barry wants to extend D.C.’s sales tax to include: pet grooming, health clubs, armored car services, private investigations and admission to live performances.
You’ll recall that similar measures were considered last budget go round, but the all-powerful Yoga lobby put a squash to them.
After consuming some tasty morning bytes, I’m reading this interesting listicle from Smart Money: “10 Things Charter Schools Won’t Tell You”. Here’s the first “thing”:
1. We’re no better than public schools. For all the hype about a few standout schools, charter schools in general aren’t producing better results than traditional public schools. A national study by the Center for Research on Education Outcomes at Stanford found that while 17% of charter schools produced better results than neighborhood public schools, 37% were significantly worse, and the rest were no different. (Not that public schools are perfect, as many parents know. See our earlier story, “10 Things Your School District Won’t Tell You,” for more.)
A host of other studies on charter school outcomes have come up with sometimes contradictory results. As with traditional public schools, there are great charters – and some that aren’t so great. “There’s a lot of variation within charter schools,” points out Katrina Bulkley, an associate professor of education at Montclair State University who studies issues related to school governance. “In fairness to organizations that are running high-performing schools, many of them are very frustrated with the range of quality, because they feel that it taints charter schools as a whole,” Bulkley says…
And here’s a bit of #4, “Students with disabilities need not apply.”: Continue reading →
Good morning, DCentric readers! Here are your breakfast links:
Beyond Bread: We Need City Council to Take Action, Make the Better Choice “Mayor Fenty has proposed another round of cuts as part of this year’s city budget. Utility assistance, child care, TANF, job training, disability assistance, affordable housing, legal services, and more are on the chopping block. I’ve been through my share of hard times: an abusive relationship, losing my home, getting harassed by landlords, and health issues…My daughter hasn’t had a new coat for three years, and right now we’re wearing our coats in the house because I can’t turn the heat on. I don’t want to run the bills up and then have my utilities cut off. That’s grounds to lose my housing voucher, and I can’t take that chance.” (breadforthecity.blogspot.com)
Advocates Urge Gray To Vote Against Homeless Bill “Remember that homeless bill that the New York Times editorial board slammed as inhumane? The one that every nonprofit in the District condemned? The residency-requirement bill that the city’s CFO stated would produce zero cost savings? Tomorrow, Ward 6 Councilmember Tommy Wells is going to put it up for a vote. Just in time for hypothermia season. Today, Mayor-Elect Vincent Gray got a letter urging that he vote against the bill…Wells may want to reach out to these folks if he wants to keep his progressive membership card.” (Washington City Paper)
Breaking: Gray DOES NOT cut streetcars “Gray’s proposal does make a few changes from the Fenty proposal, including a 4-day furlough for “nonessential” DC government personnel, and restores funding to the Healthy Schools Act, low-income energy assistance, and the Main Streets programs, including the funds to pick up trash in neighborhood commercial corridors. A bit over 6 months ago, we shut down the phones in Gray’s office to ask him to pull back the streetcar cuts. Let’s thank him now.” (Greater Greater Washington)
This is disappointing, short-sighted and a few other words I’m not allowed to type; Councilmember Muriel Bowser (Ward 4) is thinking about emergency legislation to prohibit new food trucks while taxing the existing mobile nom-purveyors who got in while the getting was good. But, wait! There’s more (via WCP)!
Indeed, D.C. Chamber of Commerce spokeswoman Janene Jackson confirms that she’s teamed up with the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington and the Apartment and Office Building Association to ask for the cap, as well as a 10 percent sales tax, since proposed regulations that would govern food trucks are unsatisfactory.
“It’s not that we don’t want mobile food vendors,” Jackson said. “We’re in a deficit, and if bricks and mortars have to pay up, then we all have to pay up.”
My colleague Alan Suderman is also hearing that the issue could come up as soon as tomorrow’s Council legislative meeting, where members will be voting on a plan to close the budget shortfall.
I’m reminded of Love Bites, the truck I profiled here which is run by a local, African-American, mother-daughter team, who are using family recipes to create something delightful. It’s unfortunate that the City Council would bow to pressure from the Chamber of Commerce and the Restaurant Association to bully entrepreneurs. Yes, we need to address the budget– but if that’s all this were about, then they’d be talking about just taxes (which is understandable), not taxes AND a moratorium (which is not).
The purpose of the teachers’ union is to protect the privileges, priorities, and pay of their members. And they’re doing a great job of that.
What that means is that the reform community has to exert influence as well. That’s why I’ve decided to start StudentsFirst, a national movement to transform public education in our country. We need a new voice to change the balance of power in public education. Our mission is to defend and promote the interests of children so that America has the best education system in the world.
From the moment I resigned, I began hearing from citizens from across this country. I got e-mails, calls, and letters from parents, students, and teachers who said, “Don’t give up. We need you to keep fighting!”…
Good morning, DCentric readers! While you were watching the season finale of “Boardwalk Empire“…uh…we were, too! Don’t dwell on how Sundays are going to be boring without it– distract yourself with these links.
The Power of a Story "I felt pain, not because of the sadness of his story, but because of how common that narrative is here in DC. Our dropout rate is atrocious, with only 48.8% of students graduating from high school within four years of beginning 9th grade. Mardez is one of the success stories – he was able to re-enter school and is on target to graduate this year, with a plan to go to college and a dream of becoming a graphic designer. But the problems still swirl around him…. in 9th grade, one of his teachers embarrassed him by pointing out Mardez’s wrinkled clothes, ignoring all the issues Mardez was going through at home." (Racialicious)
All Opinions Are Local – Welcoming Wal-Mart — on our terms "I believe that we all have a responsibility to ensure that Wal-Mart establishes itself in the District with a clear and unequivocal commitment to the working class. We can accomplish this by negotiating a “community benefits agreement” setting forth certain conditions ensuring that Wal-Mart will be a good neighbor and employer in our city. Long before any store ever opens, for instance, Wal-Mart could put in writing that it will provide its 800 or so D.C. workers with a living wage." (voices.washingtonpost.com)
Capital Bikeshare distribution van "Capital Bikeshare has quickly become ubiquitous in the District’s central neighborhoods. Bikeshare riders are all over, pretty much all the time. But one thing that hasn’t yet become a common sight is the redistribution van. Since some stations are naturally used more than others, the system requires a crew to redistribute bikes on a periodic basis. They drive around in a van, picking up bikes from congested stations and carting them to empty ones." (Beyond DC)
