DC Metro Action is a listing of local actions, entertainment, volunteer opportunities and the occasional rant on a wide range of socially just issues.
contact me at dcmetroaction@comcast.net
Action of the Day Many of these action alerts are found on the listservs and websites of organizations listed in our "Act Locally" section (Left).
Thursday, October 28, 2004
Rally for Randall
On Nov. 3, Mayor Williams plans to close DC's Randall Shelter (65 I St. SW), which provides beds for 170 homeless men each night, in anticipation of the pending sale of the building to the Corcoran Gallery of Art. If it closes, there will be no shelter for homeless men in Southwest Washington this winter.
Join Randall residents and Coalition of Housing & Homeless Organizations at a rally and public hearing on Friday, Oct. 29. Let your voice be heard at the rally – which begins at 1:30 p.m. at Freedom Plaza (13th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW) – and at a DC council subcommittee hearing to determine whether the Randall building is no longer needed for public use – which starts at 2 p.m. at 1350 Pennsylvania Ave. NW (Council Chambers, 5th Floor).
Who are "The Cuban Five"? And why are there so many people in the US and all over the world denouncing the incarceration and torture of these young Cuban husbands and fathers in US prisons? Come find out at a panel discussion with Alberto Prieto of the Cuban Interests Section and other speakers on Thursday, Oct. 28, at 7 p.m., at La Casa (3166 Mt. Pleasant St. NW). Refreshments will be served, and books about Cuba will be for sale. For more information, contact Bobbie Stewart at 202/667-1186 or by e-mail.
Yo! Social change agents from across the country are convening at Provisions Library (1611 Connecticut Ave. NW, Suite 200; 202/299-0460) for an exhibit of over 150 radical posters that celebrate the peacemakers, eviscerate the masters of war and liberate far-flung territories.
Yo!'s organizer, Los Angeles graphic designer John Carr, has gathered a roster of today's most talented designers working the time-honored traditions of graphic political satire. The exhibition of peace/anti-war/anti-occupation posters will run from Wednesday, Oct. 27, to Sunday, Nov. 28. A sneak preview and curator's talk takes place Tuesday, Oct. 26, at 6 p.m. Admission is $5 for members and $10 for non-members.
The No DC Taxes for Baseball Campaign has gotten a lot of media attention and has made elected officials nervous over the past few weeks. Check out the group's latest release, a statement that was signed by 90 economists.
People need to get active over the next few weeks to make a real difference. Here's how you can help.
* Attend the action planning meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 26, at 7 p.m., at Empower (1419 V St. NW; 202/234-9119). Come and learn how you can help by distributing flyers and posters, attending community forums where the mayor's folks will be present so that our voice can be heard, and attending rallies for the campaign.
* Rally before a 10 a.m. DC City Council hearing on baseball on Thursday, Oct. 28, at 9:30 a.m., in front of the Wilson Building (1350 Pennsylvania Ave. NW).
* Go to www.nodctaxesforbaseball.org and make a contribution. The more resources the group has, the more it can do.
The Iraq War Memorial will honor American war dead by displaying a flag-draped coffin for each of the more than 1,000 American servicemen and -women killed to date in the invasion and occupation of Iraq.
The ceremonial display will stretch down both sides of the Reflecting Pool between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument and will open for public viewing and solemn tribute on Saturday, Oct. 23, at 11 a.m. At 1 p.m. a formal ceremony of honor will begin with a reading of the soldiers' names, followed by the playing of taps.
Volunteer coffin builders are needed and will gather at 8 a.m. For more information or to volunteer assembling, draping and placing coffins, please contact Pat Elder.
The Common Denominator (CD), DC's independent hometown newspaper, is about to cease publication due to low funds. This would be a great loss to our neighborhoods. The CD was the paper that wrote about Wal-Mart coming to town two months before the Post picked it up, it's the paper that actually covers our high school sports teams in the city, and it's the only paper that does investigative stories about the DC government that the Post wouldn't touch.
What you can do to save our local independent paper:
* Subscribe! For a mere $12 you can do your part to keep the CD alive.
* Place an ad for your issue, campaign, business, item for sale or announcement. The ads are really affordable and reach a citywide audience.
For more about CD's current status, read this editorial. Don't wait until it's too late.
Local Sierra Club volunteers are working together to challenge sprawl in the Washington area and promote a more sustainable and environmentally friendly pattern of development and transportation planning.
Sistah Cypher presents "Women Empowerment through Spoken Word" on Saturday, Oct. 16, from 6 to 10 p.m. at the Brian Mackenzie Infoshop (1426 Ninth St. NW). The event will be hosted by The Original Woman and Queen Sheba. For more information, contact Nitche Ward at 202/215-1236 or by e-mail.
In the spirit of "That Was the Week That Was" with David Frost and "Weekend Update" with Chevy Chase, "The Daily Show" with Jon Stewart brings the most incisive "fake news" to American television viewers. Shake hands with the newsman as he signs his new book, "America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction," at Politics and Prose (5015 Connecticut Ave. NW), on Friday, Oct. 15, at 1 p.m. Stewart will be joined by Onion senior writer and Daily Show executive producer Ben Karlin.
Autographs will be given on a first-come, first-serve basis. People may begin lining up at 10 a.m.; no tickets are needed for the line. There will be no limit to the number of books signed but they will not be personalizing and will not sign any memorabilia. Photographs will be allowed.
The DC International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival will be held Oct. 14-23. Films from more than 20 countries will be screened at the Lincoln Theatre, the Cecile Goldman Theatre at the DC Jewish Community Center, and the Goethe Institute. With more than 100 films encompassing features, documentaries and short subjects, this festival will once again bring the best in gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender films to the nation's capital. For more information call 202/986-1119 or go to this website.
If you are one of the few who somehow managed to miss out on the recent renaissance in political documentary filmmaking (or for those wanting to take a second or third look), Provisions Library (1611 Connecticut Ave. NW) is offering a public service screening blitz between now and Election Day, featuring some of this year's top political documentaries.
The series will run through Monday, Nov. 1, with screenings held on Tuesdays through Fridays at 1 p.m. and 5:30 p.m., and on Saturdays and Sundays at 1 p.m. All shows are free, although donations are appreciated.
Tuesdays at 1 p.m. – Double Feature The Yes Men: The Horribly Stupid Stunt (Which Has Resulted in His Untimely Death) (30 minutes) and Post No Bills (57 minutes)
Wednesdays at 1 p.m. Uncovered: The Truth About the War in Iraq (90 minutes)
Wednesdays at 5:30 p.m. Unprecedented: The 2000 Presidential Election – 2004 Campaign Edition (90 minutes)
Thursdays at 1 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism (114 minutes)
Fridays at 1 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. Fahrenheit 9/11 (122 minutes)
Saturdays at 1 p.m. The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara (107 minutes)
Sundays at 1 p.m. – Double Feature Unconstitutional: The War on Our Civil Liberties (66 minutes) and The Fourth World War (74 minutes)
The Social Action and Leadership School for Activists (SALSA) presents a screening of "Incident at Oglala: The Leonard Peltier Story". This is a riveting documentary about the contemporary struggle of the Indigenous People of N. America and the historic incident that led to the railroading of one of their most valued freedom fighters. In 1975, armed FBI agents illegally entered the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. After gunfire erupted, a Native American and two FBI agents fell dead. After the largest manhunt in FBI history, three men were apprehended, only one, Leonard Peltier, was convicted. Incident at Oglala reveals the facts surrounding Peltier’s case and the efforts by the U.S. government to conceal and destroy evidence that would have exonerated him.
The screening will be on Monday, Oct. 11, from 6:30 to 9:15pm, at the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) (733 15th St. NW, Suite 1020). This forum is free and open to the public, but because space is limited pre-registration is strongly suggested. You may register by calling IPS at 202/234-9382 ext. 229 or visit www.hotsalsa.org.
Attend a benefit for the Child Care for All Campaign on Saturday, Oct. 9, from 8 to 11 p.m., at Market 5 Gallery (Seventh and North Carolina Ave. SE; Eastern Market Metro). Daryl Spiers (African Dance), Afi (Soul), Garfield Gardner and the Women of Praise (Gospel), Manifest Ra (Spoken Word), Spirit (Soul), Rhythm Workers Union (Drumming), DJ Outlaw, and Children of the Child Care Campaign will perform. The suggested donation is $10. For more information, contact Empower DC at 202/234-9119.
Come get a taste of this year's Artomatic at a Poetry Fundraiser on Thursday, Oct. 7, from 7 to 9:30 p.m., at DC Sanctuary (1355 H St. NE), admission is $4. Among the performers will be DC Poets Against the War and Doc Powell, founder of the Malcolm X Drummers and Dancers.
Artomatic, an annual scene, provides an open forum for DC-area artists to exhibit and sell their work. It will take place this year sometime between October and mid-December. To RSVP or for more information about the fundraiser, send an email to artomaticpoetry2004@yahoo.com.
While baseball in DC may be wonderful, the financing package proposed by Mayor Williams for a new stadium is a bad deal for the city:
* It puts a ballpark ahead of other more important needs. Taxes raised for a baseball stadium could be used to rebuild schools, keep Metro costs down, support our libraries, preserve affordable housing and revitalize neighborhoods.
* It is a sweetheart deal that benefits wealthy Major League Baseball owners. According to the Washington Post, the mayor's offer to have the city build the stadium, charge only a nominal lease to the new team, and give away 100 percent of the revenue from naming rights "was one of the most generous deals some baseball officials had seen." If DC pays for the stadium with public funds, the new team owners can pay MLB top dollar for the Expos instead of financing the stadium themselves. Major League Baseball paid $120 million for the Expos just two ago, and now they want to sell it to the new DC owners for $300 million!
* It won't meet the city's real economic development needs. Economic studies on the impact of stadiums consistently find that they do not create jobs or boost incomes, and they do not encourage development in surrounding neighborhoods. A DC stadium would be unused three of every four days and mostly would create part-time, low-wage jobs without benefits.
Tell DC leaders: No public financing for a stadium!
Baseball owners should pay for a stadium so District taxes can be used to meet the critical needs of residents.
Join a rally on the steps of the Wilson Building (1350 Pennsylvania Ave. NW) on Tuesday, Oct. 5, at 9:15 a.m. to show your opposition to spending public funds for a $440 million baseball stadium. Bring a sign and as many people as you can and spread the word widely.
Also, call and e-mail DC City Council members. Let them know that a baseball stadium is not the kind of economic development DC needs. Tell them that the new owners should pay for the stadium, since they are the ones who will profit, and that $440 million in DC tax dollars could be much better used to improve services in DC neighborhoods.
Priorities for phone calls: Linda Cropp: 202/724-8032 Jim Graham: 202/724-8181 Phil Mendelson: 202/724-8064 Carol Schwartz: 202/724-8105 Sandy Allen: 202/724-8045 Kevin Chavous: 202/724-8068 Sharon Ambrose: 202/724-8072
I'm both troubled and elated by the news of Major League Baseball coming to Washington.
It's exciting, for sure. I grew up six blocks from Yankee Stadium, and I'm happy that DC kids will again know the thrill of living close to a ballpark, able to easily root, root, root for the home team. Baseball always brings a festive air to the surrounding area, and maybe – just maybe – it actually will provide the catalyst for an Anacostia waterfront revitalization.
Swampoodle Grounds, Washington D.C. (1888)
But the financing issue is shaky. Under this scheme to make DC businesses foot the bill, the costs eventually will be passed on to consumers. And forget about the money the District would bag selling the name of the stadium to the highest corporate bidder. That gets turned over to the ball club.
Sure, the District can charge $5.5 million a year in rent to the new ball club, but the city is limited to using the stadium for only 12 non-baseball events a year. What kind of deal is that?
Griffith Stadium
And why is it that Mayor Anthony Williams can find $400 million for a baseball stadium but not the money to continue funding a vast array of social programs?
I don’t like the way this deal was written behind closed doors, with little input from DC residents. And I especially don't like the way it's being presented as a done deal, before the city council approves it. Let's wait and see what kind of grassroots pressures surface in the next few weeks.
The 1944 Homestead Grays
But as unhappy as I am with all of this, what saddens me most is that there was no public celebration of the news – for it truly is a thing to cheer about. Williams really dropped the ball on this one. I would have had busloads of school kids at the press conference and called for a huge public party to celebrate the news.
Had this been an announcement that the Olympics were coming, any city in the world would have erupted in joy. Getting a baseball team is a much bigger deal because it's not a one-shot event, but will last at least the 30 years the new owner must commit to stay in Washington.
This was a golden opportunity to rally public support and create excitement. Lord knows we residents of Washington need something to cheer about. But to Mayor Williams, it was just another opportunity to stand with his fat-cat friends and move some money around. Mister Mayor, your political acumen is bush league.
DC Metro Action is published by Michael Schlesinger, a 32-year veteran of electoral and issue organizing who is committed to social justice and to increasing participation in the political process.
All original content (C) 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 Michael Schlesinger
