The District Failed Relisha, Age 8. It is Still Failing.

The Washington Post recently revisited the disappearance of Relisha, age 8. She and her family where sheltered at DC General. Relisha was last seen on camera after a janitor had taken her. “The children at D.C. General were neglected many years before Relisha Rudd went missing,” she said. “She was so symbolic of all the gaps in the safety net and all the ways we collectively have failed vulnerable children in our community,” according to the Post article. 

Southwest Voice is sharing a letter to DC Council in July 2023 to show how the system remains deeply broken. Two children, 6 and 8 years of age, were found walking aimlessly in Southwest. Resident leaders worked to locate the parents. In the process, major gaps in DC's shelter policies and practices were found, including its accountability for children and parental supervision. The letter also discusses scratches that raised major alarm.

July 10, 2023

Dear DC Council Committee on Health,

I am writing with grave concern about the wraparound services at the women's shelter in Southwest - The Aya. I pose several structural/policy questions at the end of this email.

1) Community leaders and I recently worked to locate the parent of two lost children outside my residence at Capitol Park Plaza and Twins. These children were 6 and 8 years of age. After making many phone calls and combing through social media, we located their mother who was a resident at The Aya. They initially did not want to take us to where they lived. A community person said that they saw the kids taking items from the Safeway. Eventually, the little girl gave us their mother's name and we surmised that they stayed at The Aya. As I understand, these kids were part of a set of 9 siblings housed there. I spoke with the program manager to convey my deep concerns about the kids roaming the neighborhood without adult supervisor. I also spoke to the mother when she arrived on the scene. We exchanged phone numbers. I asked her to reach out to me if she needed resources.

2) Since that incident, I have seen the children on two occasions. Once, five of the siblings were walking near the library without adult supervision. The second was with the mother and children sitting outside the library.

3) On Saturday, I ran into two boys from this sibling set outside of the SW library - one that I had met earlier (above). I noticed that they had rashes all over their body - arms, legs, face. The boy from (1) had what appeared to be two human scratches on this face that were about three inches long and parallel. Some of the rashes and bumps were open wounds, assumedly from scratching. Some of the bumps looked like bed bug bites. I asked the manager is the shelter had a bed bug problem. He said, "Not to my knowledge." The boy did not have these rashes when I saw him just the week prior. I asked the boys if they had eaten. They said only French toast.

I led them back to the shelter out of concern. I met a manager at the front door. To my astonishment, he explained to the boys that they were not allowed to return because their mother was not there. As I continued the discussion, I turned around and noticed that the boys had left. To where, I had no idea. I had asked them to stay close by. I asked the manager, "Doesn't the city provide funding for wraparound services?" He only knew that a caseworker was involved. As far as I am aware, the manager did not intend to call the mother. I called and spoke to the police after calling 911 when I arrived home (across the street).

Structural Questions

• What funding is the District providing to The Aya for child health and protection?

• Is it acceptable for minors to be unsupervised and prevented from entry into the shelter when their mother is not there? This is just not an acceptable practice.

• If something were to happen to these kids, whose responsibility is it - the District which prevents minors from entering the shelter or the parent/guardian? I think the District shares some responsibility.

• Do wraparound service reimbursement provide for connection to childcare? Is connection to childcare and safe harboring part of the responsibility of case workers?

• Why aren't these minors connected to summer camp and childcare services?

Sincerely,
C. Williams

Southwest Voice Editor Testified Before DC Tax Commission on November 6, 2023

I have several concerns and proposed revisions. 

The Commission did not work with the Mayor’s Office of Racial Equity (ORE). That concerns me immensely because equity experts have not reviewed the proposals, particularly under the racial equity theme. That should change going forward.

DC is one of the wealthiest US cities. The Commission is proposing many tax increases, but immense wealth has not translated to meaningful gains in social and racial equity. DC routinely wastes taxpayer money. The Commission should consider yearly taxpayer rebates to disadvantaged populations or nonprofits where the District cannot drive down disparities.

The individual income tax rates should create two taxable income brackets from $60,000-$250,000 into two brackets. Individuals making $60,000 versus $250,000 are in starkly different economic positions. 

I oppose the tax on multifamily buildings, as written. It should keep current property taxes for affordable buildings with 70% or more of households at 60% MFI or below. Otherwise, landlords are likely to pass on these costs to residents, increasing rent burden.

Economic mobility is challenging for DC residents, especially transitioning from public and subsidized housing to self-sufficiency. The tax code should reduce the tax burden associated with moving toward self-sufficiency.

TIFs are self-serving for the rich, as we saw with the Wharf. TIFs have enabled developments to divert property taxes away from the general budget in order to subsidize their own development. Renegotiating DC’s TIFs, as we see in other cities, would be a major source of revenue and rightsize injustices.

Editor Forwards DC Council Evidence-Based Data from Education Literature 

The District has struggled with proper planning and data-driven analysis, as we discussed in a prior issue. Education is no different. Prompted by a Council bill on addressing the needs and low performance of DC's bottom 5% of schools, the Southwest Voice editor-in-chief encouraged the District to build solutions based on evidence and the literature. 

Dear Councilmembers,

I strongly encourage a more meaningful bill than the one proposed by Chairman Mendelson and Councilmember Parker to address deep educational gaps. To advance educational reform, a broader scope and evidence-based practice are needed. Here are resources from the education literature. The articles can be downloaded using the following Dropbox link.

• The Adverse Effects of Economic Inequality on Educational Outcomes: An Examination of PISA Scores, 2000–2015 by Thorson and Gearhart - They found that a country’s level of economic inequality has large, negative effects on its student academic achievement. Implication for DC: Monitoring and balancing economic policy with educational outcomes warrant more resources and cross-agency collaboration.

• A New Model for Student Support in High-Poverty Urban Elementary Schools: Effects on Elementary and Middle School Academic Outcomes by Walsh et al - Discusses one of the first evaluations of a comprehensive student support intervention (City Connects) for non-academic barriers to learning. Implication for DC: This may be a good model for DC.

• Effects of accumulated environmental, social and host exposures on early childhood educational outcomes by Bravo and Miranda - Key adverse host, environmental, and social exposures accrue disproportionately to non-Hispanic Black children. They analyzed the association of economically disadvantaged highest quintile of racial isolation, blood lead levels, birth weight percentile, and mothers who reported smoking during pregnancy.  Implication for DC: DC should be attuned to the effects of these exposures and increase resources accordingly.

• Neighborhoods, Schools, and Academic Achievement A Formal Mediation Analysis of Contextual Effects on Reading and Mathematics Abilities by Wodtke and Parbst - Exposure to an advantaged rather than disadvantaged neighborhood significantly improves academic achievement. Contrary to expectations, however, we find no evidence that school poverty mediates these effects because the differences in school poverty linked to differences in neighborhood context appear to have no appreciable impact on achievement.  Implication for DC: It's not about the school - it's about the neighborhood. DC needs more attention to the neighborhood influence on educational outcomes.

• Why Does It Take a Village? The mediation of neighborhood effects on educational achievement by Ainsworth - the current study finds not only that neighborhood characteristics predict educational outcomes, theorists have proposed several mediating processes, including collective socialization, social control, social capital, perception of opportunity, and institutional characteristics. The current study reveals that these mediators account for about 40% of the neighborhood effect on educational achievement, with collective socialization having the strongest influence.  Implication for DC: There are factors associated with neighborhood effects that are modifiable.

Sincerely,

Chris Williams

Editor-in-chief, Southwest Voice

Special Report: Census Tracts with >70 Black Population Carry Higher Disease Burden, Reflecting Apartheid Adjacency

 Southwest Voice recently conducted an analysis showing that the most populous Black Census tracts in DC shoulder immense health burdens. Fifty-eight (58) of the 179 Census tracts have a population of 70% or greater Black residents and contain 29% of the District's population. Yet, these tracts make up 46% of all DC residents who have experienced a stroke, 44% of all of those in DC with diabetes, 43% of all COPD sufferers, and 40% of those with kidney disease. Other diseases were also unevenly distributed compared to Census tracts' residents' share of the city population: heart disease (39%), high blood pressure (39%), asthma (34%), 7 or more poor mental health days in a month (35%), obesity (37%), no leisure physical activity (41%), and currently smoking (40%). Data analysis relied on the 2021 CDC Places estimates.

Southwest Voice previously discussed apartheid adjacency in Washington, DC in our September issue. These data findings support the longstanding neglect of city leadership to attend to unmet social, economic, and health needs of large minority areas of the city, particularly in Wards 7 and 8. The map below shows the Census tracts with 70% or greater percentage of Black (green) and White populations (purple). Neighborhoods that are East of the River or in the city's East End, along with areas in the vicinity of Fort Lincoln, Gateway, Carver Langston, have super majority-minority Census tracts. The Census tract containing public housing in the Southwest neighborhood also appears.

The District is without a strategic and sustained focus on narrowing racial health gaps. To achieve health equity, it must account for the public health economy, which encompasses the performance of the growth economy, skills-match for jobs, improving DC public school system, and curbing the excesses of the gentrification economy. It must seek to heavily invest long-term in public health and community health workforce funding to reach deep into communities for health promotion, coalition-building, and new models of community- and home-based healthcare. Hospital accountability for community health outcomes, as required under IRS regulations, is wanting.

The city is on par with other cities such as Atlanta, Baltimore, Memphis, and Philadelphia, that appear to have allowed deep structural inequity to flourish among the most populous Black neighborhoods (Table 1). The legacy of US segregation and political attitudes and inattentive leadership over decades help to explain these findings.

For 30 Years, DC Failed to Follow Law on Publishing Election Results in DC Register 

"I am writing to see if you can help me understand where I can find the DC Board of Elections published election results in the DC Register as required under DC law..."

An email from this paper in February 2022 to the DC Office of Attorney General sought answers on the absence of election results in the DC Register. The Board of Elections is required to publish the results of each election and the nominees or winners in the DC Register. It failed to do so for nearly 30 years until prompted by that email. Results from 1992 through June 2022 were finally published in the DC Register in July 2022.

This incident reflects the dire state of governance within both the executive and legislative branches of government. The Board of Elections went decades without publishing in the DC Register, except for a brief period between 2008-2010. The DC Council did not exercise adequate legislative oversight throughout the 30-year period. The implications of this story go well beyond an accidental technicality. This case exposes the District to legal challenges and reveals needed reforms to the DC Home Rule Charter, starting with a larger legislature.

READ MORE

Deep Racial Spatial Inequality in Four Graphs by Census Tracts in DC

Data obtained from five-year estimates of the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2016-2020 American Community Survey (Policy Map) show stark racial difference in household median income. Census tracts (n=83) with majority white populations are on average $18,700 above the median citywide household income of $93,500 (Table 1). Census tracts (n=81) with majority black populations are on average $10,000 below the median citywide household income, excluding two outliers (Table 2). Census tract with no distinct majority (n=38) are on average $21,000 above the median citywide household income, excluding two outliers (Table 3). Table 2 illustrates the household median income for all 202 Census tracts with available data (Table 4).

Requesting Oversight of DC's "Smart City" Programs

Dear Councilmembers, 

I am writing with urgency to request oversight or an independent OAG or OIG investigation of DC's "Smart City" program. I recently found out that the District has the smart city technology. Advocates have raised serious concerns around privacy rights. I encourage you to research this because DC has a program that is operating without much oversight or public transparency. I had never heard of it until yesterday.

The District's program appears to involve data collection through digital kiosks, public wifi, and "various sources". I cannot make heads or tails of how this technology is being used specifically in the District. DC's smart city page is non-descript - http://open.dc.gov/smart-city. (This government page shows as "not secure" for me).

You may recall that I published a story on CRISP sounding the alarm on the possibility of a serious data breach. https://www.southwestvoicedc.com/crisp As I recall, that data breach occurred several months after my reporting and exposed a vast amount of personal data, including congressional representatives' and senators'. I ask that you look into this.

Sincerely, 

Chris Williams

About Smart City Technology

Washington, DC is using smart city technology to improve the quality of life for its residents, enhance economic growth, and address city challenges. The Smart City Initiative is a collaborative effort led by the Office of the Chief Technology Officer (OCTO) and involves partnerships between city agencies, the federal government, universities, business improvement districts, and the tech community[1].

Some of the smart city projects in Washington, DC include:

1. Smart streetlights: The city is converting all its streetlights to energy-efficient LED technology with remote monitoring and control capabilities. This aims to reduce energy consumption by more than 50%, optimize maintenance operations, and enable safer, more connected communities[7].

2. Digital kiosks and free public Wi-Fi: Washington, DC is working on providing free public Wi-Fi and installing digital kiosks to enhance the citizen experience and improve access to information and services[3].

3. Pennsylvania Avenue 2040 (PA2040): Launched in 2016, this smart city initiative focuses on enhancing public safety and introducing other smart city solutions without compromising citizen privacy. The project includes the deployment of OCTO-sponsored outdoor DC-Net Wi-Fi and remotely managed, sensor-based LED streetlights[5].

4. Data-sharing platform: The city is developing a platform to gather and analyze data from various sources, enabling it to make more informed decisions and improve city services[3].

These projects are part of Washington, DC's broader smart city strategy, which aims to leverage technology to create a more livable, sustainable, and economically vibrant city[3].

Citations:

[1] http://open.dc.gov/smart-city/

[2] http://open.dc.gov/smart-city/what.html

[3] https://www.aboutsmartcities.com/smart-city-washington/

[4] https://www.smartcitiesworld.net/news/news/washington-dc-progresses-smart-city-transformation-plans-7882

[5] https://the-atlas.com/projects/how-dc---s-smart-city-initiatives-don---t-sacrifice-privacy-for-safety-4

[6] https://www.smartcityworks.org/smart-region-initiative

[7] https://www.digi.city/articles/2022/7/18/washington-dc-progresses-smart-city-transformation-plans

[8] https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2015/09/14/fact-sheet-administration-announces-new-smart-cities-initiative-help

Only One Conclusion: DC Resembles Apartheid 

Housing Code Violations and Change in Black Populations in Census Tract

The District Turned Southwest into a Perpetual Construction Zone, Residents Met with Harms and Hazards

The District has turned the Southwest-Waterfront neighborhood into a perpetual construction zone associated with noise and air pollution. Safety conditions for bikers and pedestrians are compromised with changing road signs and eliminated bike lanes. - Southwest Voice DC https://www.southwestvoicedc.com/ | Video taken on August 7, 2023

Southwest DC Sees Concentration of Declining Building Conditions Based on HUD Physical Inspection Scores

For Immediate Release
Contact: info@southwestvoicedc.com

August 6, 2023

The Southwest neighborhood has a concentration of declining building conditions based upon an analysis of HUD multi-family inspection reports. HUD assesses the physical condition of all HUD-related multifamily projects and assigns a score from zero to 100, with 100 being the best. The District of Columbia has 17 sites that have inspection scores that declined by 18 points or more between the most recent inspection and its third most recent inspection. Three sites in Southwest - Capitol Park Plaza and Twins, Tel Court Cooperative, and St. James Mutual Home - make up 18% of the city's properties with the most declining inspection scores. The 17 sites are 15% (n=113) of the analytic sample. The number of worst scoring properties varied by ward: Ward 8 (n=5), Ward 6 (n=3), Ward 7 (n=3), Ward 1 (n=3), Ward 5 (n=2), and Ward 2 (n=1).

Properties with the same address, although different names, were counted as one. Sites with two addresses for the same property were counted once. Sites without a third most recent inspection (n=7) were not included. This HUD dataset does not include public housing. The District's ward finder tool was used to determine the ward.

Mow the Lawn: Compounding Indignities in Public Housing

August 4, 2023

Dear DCHA Officials, 

Subsequent to my last email, I learned that DCHA staff are mowing the lawn today because there is an upcoming visit by a prominent public official(s). They also believe that residents are responsible for mowing their own lawns unless they are senior or with disabilities. They believe that this information appears in residents' leases at cost. I cannot verify at this time, but this is NOT covered in the ACOP. That cost appears to be $50 to borrow a DCHA lawnmower. No lawn mowers are on-site. For obvious reason, this is an untenable position for property maintenance. There is much confusion about whether this policy exists.

I ask that public housing communities are treated equal to all resident groups in the District, consistent with the law and human decency.

Sincerely, 

Chris Williams

August 4, 2023

Dear DCHA Officials, 

I am writing to again convey my deep dissatisfaction at the indignities that public housing residents suffer. The whole of the Housing Authority seem exempt from tenant laws and resident protection. You know well the conditions of the properties and displacement record. I wish to discuss the mowing issue.

I have spoken to many families, including the resident councils, at Greenleaf to understand why DCHA is not mowing the lawn across the property. They feel that it is part of a systematic pattern of mistreatment and human degradation. I agree. Grass grows to incredible length (see below). I have observed mowing on occasion, but it is always a handful of families that get their lawn mowed. From my balcony yesterday, I saw a man mowing the tall grass at one unit with a household mower. The grass was too tall and it caused his mower to malfunction. He appeared to be the same individual each time. This suggests that ONE INDIVIDUAL has the mowing contract or has the responsibility for mowing. I finally saw today the appropriate mower to use - a riding mower at Greenleaf. This time is was a different individual, but there was no team of people, no commercial company...no rakes, or bags. The tall dense grass was a challenge for his mower.

What is going on? Must public housing residents continue to experience compounded misery and indignity? I have never seen in all my experience, a government treat a group of people so badly so often. 

~Chris Williams

Southwest Voice Editor Puts Question on DC-directed Structural Racism to DC Mayor in Press Conference on New Police Chief

July 17, 2023

The question to @MayorBowser was clear during her press conference announcing Patricia Smith as the new police chief. She deflected. The city has deep racial disparities, made worse because of DC policies. The economic and social context matter. We cannot expect change as long as structural racism & root causes are ignored as problems.

I am testifying on Thursday to oppose DC's reparations bill. My personal perspective is that it makes so little sense for the District to move on this at this time when it has been responsible for strengthening structural racism and the legacy of slavery. Instead reparations should be directed at the contemporary populations for which the District does share responsibility for their harm and abridgement of constitutional and civil rights. For starters, here are some populations deserving of reparations.

• Gentrification - Forced and coerced physical, emotional, and cultural forms of displacement are a legacy of slavery, Jim Crow, urban renewal ("Negro removal"), American Indian removal. Displaced and existing populations in gentrified areas should be compensated.

• DC Lead Water Crisis - The DC lead water crisis in the 2000s was 20-30 times worse than the Flint water crisis yet has been minimized as a historical footnote. There was never a victims fund. The DC Water Authority (now DC Water) misled the public and outright lied. A congressional investigation proved this to be true.

• Environmental Racism - Mendelson called Buzzard Point in Southwest a "classic example of environmental racism". Those SW families have received nil compensation.

• Policy Violence Against Black Women and Families in Public Housing - The ghettoization and displacement of public housing residents formed the highest and most acute forms of racism in DC policy.

• Life Expectancy - DC has more than a 10-year difference in life expectancy between Black and Whites. The latest research is showing that this divide is growing. Racial health equity is not a priority in the District. All African Americans should benefit from reparations due to severe and chronic neglect to implement policies across government to address this deep chasm. 

• Income Inequality - During the Bowser administration, DC income inequality based on Black-White median household income grew by $25,000 in 8 years. The racial income difference now stands at $100,000. 

• Civil Rights Violations - The discriminatory effect of the totality of District policies in the last two decades constitutes an egregious violation of civil rights of African Americans in the District. Populations should receive reparations for this. Public officials should go to jail. 

A reparations plan should be focused on repairing the damage from two decades of policy violence and racial discrimination. If racial equity is really the goal with reparations, then it logically follows that structural barriers to racial equity in political government and agency performance should be studied and vastly improved.

• Expand Legislature - The US Senate had serious concerns about the size of the DC legislature as it deliberated over the Home Rule Act in the 1970s. Many thought that a size of 50 would be more appropriate, but ended up compromising. As I am told, Sterling Tucker, the first Council chair under Home Rule, raised concern about the size of the legislature soon after Home Rule took effect. To increase oversight and effective political representation to further political accountability for racial outcomes, the priority of the body politic and government should be the expansion of the legislature - with or without statehood. The 13-member Council is chronically overcapacity to perform oversight and legislative work. 

  • Give Black People a Vote - Reform of the state legislature (DC Council) would improve democratic accountability. Rather than rely on residents to testify on oversight, budget, and other agency hearing, GIVE BLACK PEOPLE A VOTE WITH A REPRESENTATIVE FOR THEIR INTEREST. The current system relies on people pleading before government officials and agencies, but we should ask ourselves, "What are the characteristics of people who have the time to take a day off of work to testify at various hearings?" "Who really holds the power and sway over government policy?" People would be far better off with an elected official, like the ANC, that can vote in the legislature.

  • Investigations - An expanded legislature would also have the capacity to conduct investigations and make referrals for criminal conduct to the US Attorney or the Office of Attorney General. There is an endless stream of allegations of corrupt public officials and government officials, an adequately-sized legislature would enable swift justice, especially where official or agency conduct engaged in policy and individual instances of racism.
    
    

• Public Health Economy - The failure for the District to realize racial health equity is found in the performance of the Public Health Economy - the totality of the structural determinants of health. As you know, Southwest DC residents are leading a movement to reign in contradictions and tensions of the Public Health Economy, which are at the root of vast and chronic chasms in racial health inequity. It makes little sense for the District to expand Medicaid if it is fueling social determinants of health - increasing poverty and income as a determinant of health, policy violence against Black women and families, rising income inequality, ghettoization of public housing, lack of housing affordability, ineffective agencies to enact health policy and interventions, and lax regulation of DC agencies and enforcement of existing law.
  
  To achieve racial health justice, it is imperative to ensure through legislation and oversight that the District moves in a uniform direction. No policy should be allowed to move forward that damages the Public Health Economy.

READ MORE - "DC Discussion on Slavery Reparations Makes Light of Its Role in Structural Racism"

Follow Us on Twitter - @SWVoiceDC

Southwest Coalition Calls on Council to Vote "No" on DCHA Bill 24-1144

Position Statement of the

Southwest Black Families Equity Coalition 

The Southwest Black Families Equity Coalition calls on DC Council to reject Bill 24-1144, the “District of Columbia Housing Authority Stabilization and Reform Emergency Amendment Act of 2022” at the legislative meeting scheduled for December 20, 2022. The bill to reform the DC Housing Authority Board on an emergency basis reinforces the findings of the HUD report that DCHA and the District work against the interests of residents.

The removal of two of the three resident-elected Commissioners is yet another affront to Black families who pay our rent yet live in public housing conditions that neither the Mayor nor Council would permit their pet. We have repeatedly asked DCHA to follow the law to provide fair and equal housing, rather than pursue policies of displacement and gentrification. Diminishing our voice and representation on the Board signals that DCHA, DC Council, and the Mayor have no intent to see through racial equity. We had a full and transparent electoral process for resident commissioners in January 2022. The three resident positions on the Board must be preserved. In addition to Board members such as Bill Slover and Ann Hoffman, the records of past and current resident-elected Commissioners have exercised greater independence than the interest-driven cabal on the DCHA Board. It is because of resident leaders and advocates that full-scale privatization of public housing and more acute displacement did not occur.

While we support having a representative from the Interagency Council on Homelessness (Theresa Silla) and presentation of voucher holders (Ronnie Harris), neither position was elected by residents. Their appointment should not come at the expense of families currently residing in public housing.

Mayoral control of the Board has prevented DCHA from fulfilling its mission to serve the most vulnerable resident population and from exercising independence from the Executive. The HUD report criticized Mayor Bowser’s appointees as “vot(ing) as a group without individual review of the action requested.” After the initial version of Bill 24-1144 was released, the DC Office of Attorney General published its report criticizing mayoral control of the Board, “In order to address the dysfunction at DCHA, we believe we must start with making DCHA truly independent.” Bill 24-1144 does not achieve sufficient independence. There are considerable gaps in knowledge about the political activity of named appointees in Bill 24-1144, including campaign donations to the Mayor and DC Council members.

DCHA officials, DC Council, and the Mayor created this crisis - officials through negligence and corruption, DC Council through lax oversight and complicity, and the Mayor through her proxies. Rather than strengthen DC code Section 6-211 which governs the DCHA Board, Bill 24-1144 seeks to jettison the law because it became too much of an inconvenience to DCHA. It is widely reported that DCHA circumvented the law that the Board approve contracts and services over a set dollar amount by creating multiple increments of smaller contracts. Section 6-211 does not provide procedures for radical changes of the DCHA Board of this magnitude. It leaves little doubt in our minds that Bill 24-1144 is precisely what the HUD audit warned about - the lack of independence of DCHA from political influence and deep-seated corruption and cronyism. Bill 24-1144 is intended to grease the wheel for developer profits while our families' lives and homes are placed as bargaining chips. We shall not be idle spectators to the diminution and destruction of the law and Constitution, which guarantee us equal protection and fair and equal housing.

The Mayor, Chairman Phil Mendelson, Councilors Kenyan McDuffie and Anita Bonds, and Ward 6 Councilor Charles Allen were all re-elected in November. None of the candidates indicated their support for the Board to be reformed by removing Resident Commissioners. Mendelson has indicated that he has the support of nine Council members, which means that several candidates hid their position and abused the American democratic process.

We are aware that there is grave concern inside Council that Chairman Mendelson is poised to use his committee chairmanship and appointment powers as leverage for a December 20 bill. Our anonymous source lamented, “The day after the vote, the Chairman will also tell Councilmembers what committees they will be assigned to chair or serve on for the next years. He has distraction plus leverage."

The Southwest Black Families Equity Coalition Calls on DC Council to reject Bill 24-1144 and seek comprehensive, measured reform in the next Council period.

The Southwest Black Families Equity Coalition Partners

Dena Walker, President of Greenleaf Gardens Resident Council, Patricia Bishop, President of Greenleaf Family Midrise; Rhonda Hamilton, President of Syphax Resident Council; Community Allies - Southwest Voice: The People's People and Christopher Williams, President of Capitol Park Plaza and Twins Tenant Association 

Video on Southwest Social Injustices Goes Viral - 19,000 Views in One Week

The Disappearance of Relisha, Age 8: The System Failed Her and Continues to Fail Children