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).
Friday, October 28, 2005
Vigil for Rosa Parks
Update:
The Rosa Parks public viewing in the Capitol Rotunda will be on Sunday, Oct. 30, from 6:30 to 10 p.m. and Monday, Oct. 31, from 7 to 10 a.m. Also on Monday, there will be a 1 p.m. memorial service at Metropolitan AME Church (1518 M St. NW).
From the Washington Post:
"Rosa Parks, the African American seamstress who refused to give up her bus seat to a white man in Montgomery, Ala., 50 years ago and lent a spark to the beginnings of the modern civil rights movement, is expected to make history again as the first woman ever to lie in honor in the Capitol Rotunda.
"The Senate approved a resolution last night to allow the honor, and the House is to consider it today. U.S. Capitol Police and the staff in the office of the Architect of the Capitol already had begun working on logistics for the event, which the resolution said would take place Sunday and Monday."
"This week, the number of American soldiers lost while serving in Iraq reached over 2000. While thousands of families have made the ultimate sacrifice, thousands more send their children and loved ones off to a war that seems to have no end in sight."
On Wednesday, Oct. 26, at 6:30 p.m. there will be over 1,000 vigils held across America to acknowledge our fallen soldiers and reflect on the war in Iraq. Click here for a list of the local actions.
Wal-Mart and the multinational chains are colonizing our communities and our minds, North and South, East and West, rural and urban, killing off small businesses, exploiting workers and farmers, devastating the environment, and sowing a toxic culture of cheap goods and social unaccountability. Unless we stop this Wal-Martization of our communities, and pollution of our minds, we can say goodbye to Fair Trade, family farms, independent businesses, workers rights, and environmental sustainability.
The time has come to Break the Chains! The Organic Consumers Association (OCA) is launching the next stage of its most ambitious campaign to date, "Breaking the Chains: Buy Local, Organic, and Fair Made." Between Nov. 13 and Dec. 31 the OCA will mobilize from Alaska to Argentina, working to regain control of our communities, food, commerce and future. Dozens of leading activists, organizations and networks have already endorsed OCA's International Call to Action.
A search on the Wal-Mart website listed 20 stores surrounding Washington. You can help plan creative actions at a local organizing meeting where people from a variety of backgrounds, including consumers, organized labor, environmentalists, organic businesses and others will band together to fundamentally change the way people think and act when it comes to where they spend and what they buy. At the meeting, we will brainstorm and plan creative actions for the week of Nov. 13. All ideas will be on the table so please try to come and bring a friend.
When: Wednesday, Oct. 26, at 7 p.m. Where: The Flemming Center (1426 Ninth St., 2nd floor, Mt. Vernon/Shaw Metro More Info: RSVP to Adam Eidinger at 202/232-8997.
The so-called "District of Columbia Fairness in Representation Act" bill may be headed to the "front burner." Will it bring the people of DC closer to full citizenship? Will it break the chains and free DC from the federal government? Is it a step forward or a step back? Come out, listen and join the discussion on HR 2043. You are invited to an open-house/teach-in on a proposal for DC voting rights by Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.).
When:Tuesday, Oct. 25, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Where: The National Council of Negro Women (633 Pennsylvania Ave. NW) More Info: Anise Jenkins at 202/232-2500, ext. 2
Early in his career, Langston Hughes lived here in Washington, DC. Hoping to save enough money to attend Howard University, he held a variety of jobs and hung out along Seventh Street NW from 1924 to 1926. Join Kim Roberts for a slide show presentation on where Hughes lived, worked and played in DC, along with performances by Kwame Alexander, Naomi Ayala and Brian Gilmore, three acclaimed DC poets influenced by Hughes's considerable legacy. The poets will read works by Hughes as well as their own original poetry.
What's going on with DC's lead-in-the-water problem? There was a big hubbub a year or so ago – testing, analysis and folks being notified about the severity of the problem. WASA raised our rates, and has been sending me water filters and full-color brochures describing how much they care about the quality of my water. Didn't the Army Corps of Engineers "introduce" a couple of chemicals that were supposed to "coat" our pipes to keep the lead from leeching into the water? I've been using double-filtered water for everything from boiling pasta to making coffee.
Check out the Lead Safe Washington Fair, with free lead screenings for children under 6 and for pregnant or nursing women, representatives from government and non-profits, info on lead poisoning prevention resources, lead abatement, live performances by local talent, fun and games for the kids and a free lunch (while supplies last).
When: Sat., Oct. 22, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Where:Housing Finance Agency (815 Florida Ave. NW) More Info: Annie Fitzgerald at 202/442-7184 or Dr. Ignatius Ukpabi at 202/535-1916
Attend a meeting for all organizers, participants and anti-war activists in the Washington area to reflect on next steps for the movement, particularly in regards to DC activism. Hany Khalil, organizing coordinator for United for Peace and Justice, will be on hand. Please bring fresh ideas and positive energy as we coordinate together to end the occupation of Iraq and bring the troops home now!
When: Wednesday, Oct. 19, at 7:30 p.m. Where: Communication Workers of America (501 Third St. NW, Judiciary Square Metro) More Info: Virginia Rodino, 443/996-5915
The Anacostia Museum and Center for African American History and Culture has an exhibition running until Saturday, Oct. 16, titled "Forgotten Roots: African American Muslims in Early America." It's an astonishing historical look at the collection of America's Islamic history in artifacts, such as manuscripts, photographs, Arabic textbooks and letters, and copies of 1700 and 1800 circa documents.
When: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Where: Anacostia Museum and Center for African American History and Culture (1901 Fort Pl. SE, directions) More Info: 202/633-4820
It's time for some real rent control in the District of Columbia!
Many of us have watched rental prices go up, up, up... despite the rent control law the DC city council wisely and recently extended for five years. The real estate boom in the District shows very little sign of slowing down. We must act now to preserve the affordable housing that's left.
Councilmember Jim Graham is proposing to strengthen rent control. On Tuesday, he will introduce legislation to eliminate the "highest comparable" provision of the rent control law and to limit any rent increase for an occupied unit to 7 percent per year.
Rally before the bill is introduced and then go to the council chamber for the introduction.
When: Tuesday, Oct. 11, at 9 a.m. Where: Wilson Building (1350 Pennsylvania Ave. NW) More Info: aheymann@dccouncil.us or 202/727-8229
The public is invited to the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Central American Resource Center's new buildings, which include offices, classrooms and condominiums for low-income homebuyers. This inauguration represents an important milestone for the organization in its ongoing efforts to serve the DC area's Latino community.
When: Tuesday, Oct. 11, from 11 a.m. to noon Where: 1460–1464 Columbia Rd. NW (Columbia Heights Metro) More Info: media@carecendc.org or 202/328-9799, ext. 11
The Washington Area Clinic Defense Task Force is an all-volunteer, non-violent group founded in the 1980s to promote peaceful and safe access to women's health clinics in the DC metropolitan area. The group is recruiting volunteer escorts to ensure a peaceful and reassuring presence for patients, their companions and staff at several local clinics. Training sessions are held monthly and are free and open to the public.
When: Tuesday, Oct. 11, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Where: Twinbrook Library (202 Meadow Hall Dr., Rockville; click here for directions). More Info: wacdtf@wacdtf.org or 202/797-6577
The DC Women's Human Rights Action Team is a group of community activists dedicated to advancing women's human rights, focusing specifically on issues surrounding violence against women on the local, national and international levels. Their next meeting is free and open to the public.
When: Tuesday, Oct. 11, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Where: Amnesty International (600 Pennsylvania Ave. SE)
"[T]he nation's capital is now a boomtown with skyrocketing rents and home prices in almost every neighborhood … pushing mortgage and rent payments far beyond what many District residents can afford. …[T]he number of affordable apartments in DC plummeted by nearly 12,000 last year…."
DC renters are facing an affordable housing crisis and severe violations of tenants' basic rights. An assortment of uncontested abuses continues to go unnoticed, ignored or unchallenged, including outrageous rent hikes, threats by landlords, prevention of tenant meetings and illegal interpretations of legislative loopholes.
The DC Tenants' Advocacy Coalition (TENAC) is launching a campaign to save rental housing, increase affordable housing, reform rent control, and urge the creation of tenant associations and the passage of the Tenant Right to Organize Act. The time to mobilize is now, especially with the upcoming race for mayor and several open seats on the DC City Council. Go to www.tenac.org and sign up for TENAC'S D.C. Mobilization for Tenants’ Rights & Affordable Housing.
"I do know that it's true that if you wanted to reduce crime, you could -- if that were your sole purpose, you could abort every black baby in this country, and your crime rate would go down. That would be an impossible, ridiculous, and morally reprehensible thing to do, but your crime rate would go down."
Bill Bennett, Bill Bennett Morning in America, 9/28/05
The Rev. Yearwood, leader of the Hip Hop Caucus, calls upon the hip hop community, all African-American parents, students, community activists and members of the faith community, and all concerned Americans of all races and faiths to join him in showing their outrage and confronting Bill Bennett during the airing of his radio show.
The Hip Hop Caucus is calling for Bennett to apologize to the African-American community on Wednesday, to come down to the streets and answer to the people he insulted. The caucus is demanding that the Salem Radio Network remove Bennett's show from the air and that the FCC issue fines for what can only be construed as racist and therefore hate speech.
Tell Salem Radio Network, which claims to air Christian broadcasting, that we will not tolerate intolerance! As a united multicultural community, we must protest Bennett's blatant equation of race and criminal propensity as verbal violence to African-American generations past and generations to come!
The United States is spending $5.6 billion a month on the war against Iraq, while public education is desperate for funds. Students, teachers and families must demand quality education.
Join Teaching for Change, the Youth Education Alliance (YEA) and the Social Action and Leadership School for Activists (SALSA) for a free screening of "STAND UP: Student Organizing in DC." The film documents student protests against cuts in education and poor school conditions and also highlights key moments in the history of DC education organizing, from the 1960s to the 1990s.
Following the screening, attendees will share youth empowerment strategies and gain concrete tools to inspire discussion and action among young people. This event is free and open to the public but please register here or at 202/787-5229.
Date: Wednesday, Oct. 5, 6:45 p.m. Location: Busboys and Poets (14th & V Street NW)
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
