Author Archives: Elahe Izadi

October 14, 2011 | 12:00 PM | By

“Study: Doctors who treat Latinos aren’t confident they can provide the best care”

It’s well-documented that access to healthcare is limited for the poor and minorities, even here in D.C. Our sister blog Multi-American reports on a new study finding doctors who primarily treat Latino patients aren’t confident they’re able to give patients high-quality care.


Among the reasons these doctors cited: inadequate time with patients, their patients’ lack of ability to afford health care, communication difficulties, a relative lack of available specialists, a lack of timely transmission of medical reports, and patients’ failure to adhere to recommended treatments, the latter not surprising for patients on a tight budget.

Another interesting finding: The doctors more likely to treat non-Latino white patients (the “reference group”) differed substantially from those who treat Latinos in terms of ethnicity, education, and how they derive their income.

— multiamerican.scpr.org

October 14, 2011 | 8:00 AM | By

A Look Back: Lincoln Theatre and Black Broadway

By Mary-Alice Farina

The Lincoln Theatre is approaching its 90th anniversary as a cultural beacon of the U Street district. But impending closure threatens to break an important chain in D.C. history.

The theater opened in 1922 at 12th and U Streets, at the height of the racial ghettoization of D.C. Although the District outlawed Jim Crow laws in 1917, segregation became a reality in D.C. Racially restrictive housing covenants and Depression-era laws ended up restricting housing and services to non-whites in certain neighborhoods.

In the face of this, U Street evolved into Black Broadway, an inimitable nexus of businesses, civil institutions, entertainment venues and homes. The area first experienced a boom after the Civil War, as thousands of new residents moved from the south. Between 1900 and 1948, U Street proved a vital epicenter for those suffering under the legacy of slavery.

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FILED UNDER: History, Black Broadway, Lincoln Theatre, U Street
October 13, 2011 | 12:00 PM | By

DCentric Picks: MLK Memorial Dedication, ‘Dream City’ Discussion

Mladen Antonov / AFP/Getty Images

What: The Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial dedication ceremony.

Where: West Potomac Park.

When: 9 a.m., Sunday.

Cost: Free.

Why you should go: The dedication of the memorial, the first on the National Mall to honor an African American, was initially scheduled for Aug. 28. But it was canceled due to Hurricane Irene. Although the memorial has been open to the public for more than a month now, the ceremony will feature remarks by members of King’s family and President Barack Obama.

Other events to consider: Greater Greater Washington is hosting a discussion between the authors of “Dream City: Race, Power, and the Decline of Washington, D.C.” In the 1990s, Harry Jaffe and Tom Sherwood wrote about the rise and fall of former Mayor Marion Barry in the context of D.C.’s political and racial struggles. D.C. is now going through a new round of changes. Washington Post reporter Mike DeBonis will moderate the talk, which takes place at 7 p.m., Monday, at the Shaw Library. (Disclosure: Sherwood is a resident analyst on WAMU 88.5′s Kojo Nnamdi show).

FILED UNDER: Culture, Government, History, DCentric Picks, Martin Luther King Memorial
October 13, 2011 | 8:00 AM | By

‘Occupy the Hood’ and How to Boost Protest Diversity

Dan Patterson / Flickr

A protestor holds an "Occupy the Hood' sign in New York City.

The Occupy protests against corporate greed have brought together a broad coalition of people, but there have been questions about whether the crowds assembled are racially representative.

Enter Occupy the Hood, a sub-movement that started in New York and Detroit and is now spreading to other cities, including D.C. The goal is to get more people of color involved in Occupy protests and ensure their voices are heard. Friends Julian Liser, 21, and Drew Franklin, 24, started the D.C. branch last week. They say the protests in D.C., where 61 percent of the population is non-white, should be attracting more people of color, particularly from economically depressed communities since they are hardest-hit by the economic woes at the center of the movement.

“It’s important that minorities are also aware of what’s going on, and they should also feel this movement is important for them, too,” Liser, who is black, says. “It’s kind of hard to explain that to them because they just see people around K Street protesting something. They don’t see how it affects them.”

Liser’s story is similar to many of the white protestors on K Street. He’s unemployed and was motivated to join Occupy DC after learning about the new Bank of America debit card fees. Such fees are “killing my account,” Liser says.

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FILED UNDER: Around the City, Occupy DC, Race and Class
October 13, 2011 | 2:00 AM | By

“Occupy DC: A 1-Percenter Makes Common Cause With The Other 99″

HuffPost DC chats with a millionaire who’s joined Occupy DC protesters. Virginia Leavell, who inherited her money, says she comes from generations of southern land owners.


“I was born in the 1 percent because of my family, and I am working really hard for the radical redistribution of wealth,” Leavell said. “Because that’s the right thing to do. I want very much to live in a world where we all have equal access to resources and we all can get what we need to live comfortably. It’s against my self-interest.”

— www.huffingtonpost.com

October 12, 2011 | 1:54 PM | By

D.C. College Still One of the Most Expensive in Nation

If you’re hunting for a frugal way to get educated, don’t look to George Washington University. The school is only $25 shy of being in Forbes’ top 10 most expensive colleges.


The University rang in at No. 39 on Forbes magazine’s latest list of America’s most expensive colleges, with an estimated cost of $54,473 per year.

GW fell from the top 10 for the first time last year, missing the mark by just $25.

Sarah Lawrence College in New York topped the list for the second consecutive year, with total costs of $58,334 a year. Georgetown University came in one spot behind GW at a price just $30 lower.

Forbes – along with the D.C.-based nonprofit Center for College Affordability & Productivity – calculated the list based on tuition, room and board and other costs such as transportation, books and computers.

— blogs.gwhatchet.com

October 12, 2011 | 9:53 AM | By

“Latinos Decry ‘Secure Communities’ Policy In D.C.”

Secure Communities is a federal program requiring law enforcement to send fingerprints of those arrested to immigration officials. D.C. has thus far refused to participate in Secure Communities, but WAMU 88.5′s Patrick Madden reports that it may soon be mandatory in all jurisdictions.

The program is intended to target violent criminals, but it’s been blasted for causing the deportation of victims of domestic violence and witnesses. Critics say that such an approach leads to distrust between immigrant communities and police.


“What is common is that both the victim and the abuser are arrested when they can’t determine who was the aggressor, the primary aggressor, who was acting in self-defense,” says Mark Haufrect, an attorney with Mil Mujeres, a non-profit that helps Latino domestic violence victims. Haufrect says he fears victims’ fingerprints will be sent to immigration authorities, prompting possible deportations. And if that happens, he says, victims will stop reaching out to police.

— wamu.org

October 12, 2011 | 8:00 AM | By

“Report finds art funding serves wealthy audience, is out of touch with diversity”

D.C.-based watchdog group National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy issued a report finding the vast majority of arts funding goes to organizations that attract disproportionately wealthy and white audiences [PDF].

The group suggests targeting funding to grassroots and community based arts organizations with explicit missions to benefit racial minorities, the poor and the elderly. Report authors also write that funders should ensure arts organizations focused on promoting the Western European canon do more to attract diverse audiences.

“It is a problem because it means that — in the arts — philanthropy is using its tax-exempt status primarily to benefit wealthier, more privileged institutions and populations,” wrote the report’s author, Holly Sidford.

… Current arts funding patterns have roots that date back to the 19th century, the report found. Early cultural philanthropists focused on building institutions to preserve the Western European high arts to validate America’s position as a world power and serve an elite audience.

Funding patterns have been slow to change, even though attendance at such institutions is down.

— www.washingtonpost.com

October 11, 2011 | 3:14 PM | By

Obama Expedites D.C. Project

The Obama Administration has chosen a D.C. project as one of 14 that will get expedited through approval processes. The CityMarket at O in Shaw will include a brand new Giant to replace a deteriorating one that closed last month. The 14 projects got the special treatment because they will create much-needed jobs, according to the White House.


Today, the Obama Administration announced the selection of 14 infrastructure projects around the country that will be expedited through permitting and environmental review processes, an important next step in the Administration’s efforts to improve the efficiency of federal reviews needed to help job-creating infrastructure projects move as quickly as possible from the drawing board to completion.

— www.whitehouse.gov

October 11, 2011 | 10:50 AM | By

Columbus Day: Your Take

Yesterday, we asked whether Columbus Day should remain a federal holiday. And the majority of you responded “no,” in our admittedly unscientific poll. Alternatively, about 27 percent said it should remain a federal holiday, mostly because “we can’t vilify historical figures based on today’s moral standards.” The majority disagreed, voting that we shouldn’t have the day off to honor Columbus either because it’s offensive or because he didn’t discover anything:


A number of you offered additional thoughts on the issue. Some groups have been lobbying for the day to be commemorated as Indigenous People’s Day instead of Columbus Day. Reader Guest had a different suggestion:

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FILED UNDER: History, Columbus Day, Indigenous People's Day