By Sean Furmage, on December 13th, 2011 
On Saturday November 19th Empower DC hosted the 100 Year Anniversary Celebration of Crummell School. The celebration also covered by local media with a video by NBC 4 and an article from the Washington City Paper. The school is located in Ivy City, a historically African American neighborhood in Northeast Washington, DC. The school was established in 1911 and named after Alexander Crummell, an educator, clergymen, and advocate for African American rights. W. E. B. Du Bois devoted a chapter of The Souls of Black Folks to Alexander Crummell in which he writes, “I began to feel the fineness of his character – his calm courtesy, the sweetness of his strength, and his fair blending of the hope and truth of life. Instinctively I bowed before this man, as one bows before the prophets of the world.” Crummell School embodied the determination of Crummell to uplift African Americans through education.
The school was closed in the 70s and Ivy City was left without a vital community center. Rezoning and neglect on the part of the city government led to Ivy City becoming the dumping ground for the city’s unwanted facilities and left this residential neighborhood buried under industrial warehousing and highways. Coupled with the harsh effects of deindustrialization, high rates of unemployment and the mass incarceration of African Americans the heart has been taken out of the neighborhood. After years of struggle and little to show, it seems the community lost the hope to continue the fight against this injustice. But is Ivy City coming back for more?
Alumni, former teachers, and former and current residents came out to participate in the celebration. Crummell School holds a special place in the hearts and memories of a number of people who feel they have their roots in the historic neighborhood of Ivy City and in the education and grounding they received at Crummell.
We aired the latest version of the short documentary “Crummell School: Heart and Soul of the Community” – to be finished in the near future – in order to get feedback and try and involve the community in its production.
The Ivy City community is resurrecting their historic Civic Association (also established in 1911) after a long hiatus. Newly elected Vice President Alicia Swanson-Canty delivered a strong and passionate speech at the event. Residents are beginning to raise their voices a little louder and in unison in regards to what they want to see develop in their community as new housing projects come in. Questions linger over whether the school can be restored as a much-needed community center as part of an ongoing neighborhood revitalization project. The community has spoken, but will they get what they so badly need? This community, and African Americans in historically segregated communities all over the United States, have had to fight for education and resources. This historic struggle continues…
Our hearts are with the people of Ivy City as they attempt to rise from the ashes of long-forgotten struggles for racial equality that still burn with an ugly determination in this divided country. As thousands take to the streets and parks to denounce the brazen greed and indifference of the “1%” it is more important than ever to remember the long and bloody battle for civil rights that have taken place in our local communities for decades and that continue to this day.
By Liane Scott, on December 9th, 2011 In 2010, during Michelle Rhee’s tenure as DCPS school chancellor, the District government promised the parents, students and staff of Bruce Monroe Elementary School as well as the surrounding community that if they tore the building down they would rebuild the school on the same spot. Long story short, the building is down but the new one hasn’t been built. All those Bruce Monroe stakeholders are still wondering what’s up? After all, when you say you’re gonna do a thing, integrity demands that you make your best effort.
Despite the ethical challenges facing our elected officials, parents continue to attend and testify at public hearings regarding the school. The latest hearing in which Bruce Monroe was mentioned was in March of 2011. Although Grassroots Media Project radio producer Rachel Estabrook put this audio segment together way back then, I’m just now getting around to posting it. (My apologies. )
Bruce Monroe Follow Up
To join the campaign to rebuild Bruce Monroe contact Daniel del Pielago at (202) 234-9119 ext. 104 or Daniel@empowerdc.org.
In the above audio segment, you will hear a number of parents testify about their continued frustrations over unfulfilled promises and problems with Parkview Elementary, the school their children are now attending. One of those parents is Sequnely Gray, Empower DC’s childcare organizer. She is all too familiar with the Bruce Monroe saga seeing as how three of her children attended Bruce Monroe before it was demolished. I asked her to chronicle a brief history of the organizing efforts of the Parents and Friends of Bruce Monroe. Her response, which I think is an inspiring example of community leadeship in the face of a city hall that , follows:
For the past ten years the friends, teachers, parents and staff of Bruce Monroe have fought continuously to insure that our children receive a quality education as well as a beautiful, safe and healthy environment for them to succeed in. In 2008, we were informed by the Washington Post that Bruce Monroe elementary school would be closed for good.
At that moment parents, staff and teachers rallied together with the help of Teaching for Change to advocate for our children’s school. We advocated for closed classrooms and new windows. The parents, staff and community members got together and reached out to some businesses in our community. As a result of our efforts, we received a generous donation of $1 million dollars from Target to build a 21st century, state of the art library and the whole east side of the school remodeled, including new walls and new windows.
Several months later we meet with Ward 1 councilmember Jim Graham, Mayor Adrian Fenty, and newly appointed DC Public Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee. They each stated that we didn’t need to beg and plead for a new facility for our children because this is what they should have and the only way to get it was to relocate to Parkview Elementary School on Warder Street NW. They promised that a new Bruce Monroe Elementary School would be built by the fall of 2011 under a public/private partnership. The parents were excited to find out that the school would not be closed. We rallied once again, knocking on doors and passing out flyers to make sure the community knew that [even though the old Bruce Monroe would be demolished a new state-of-the-art Bruce Monroe was still going to be built and opened] was still going to be opened.
For the 2008/2009 school year, we relocated to Parkview Elementary on Warder Street NW. The conditions of that building were very poor; poorer than they were at Bruce Monroe. In the summer of 2009, the parents, community members and the staff formed a SIT team to work in partnership with DCPS to develop plans for the rebuild of Bruce Monroe. We meet 2 or 3 times but after that we heard nothing from the city officials. We tried to contact and schedule meetings with Mayor Fenty and Michelle Rhee but we got no response.
While trying to figure out who to talk to next about the rebuild of the school, we decided that we needed help advocating for this property that had been stolen from us and to inform the community of what DC Government was doing behind our backs. With the help of Ms. Dyana Forester, we were connected with Empower DC.
Empower DC held trainings and facilitated meetings with the parents, staff and community members to build leadership and to help . . . → Read More: Bruce Monroe at Parkview: A Story of Promises Unfulfilled
By Liane Scott, on November 21st, 2011 
Free Franklin Activists Hang Banner From Franklin School
At 2:00 PM on Saturday, November 19, 2011, a small group of activists associated with Occupy DC took over the vacant Franklin School building at 13th and K Streets NW, Washington, DC. Their occupation did not last long as the police arrested eleven activists around 7:00PM that same evening. The activists call themselves Free Franklin. They’re goals, motivations and calls to action are posted at FreeFranlkinDC.blogspot.com. A public forum about the future of Franklin Shelter and the importance of public property for essential human services is scheduled as follows:
Public Forum on Franklin Shelter Monday, November 21 6:30 PM – 8:30 PM Asbury United Methodist Church 11th & K Streets NW
All DC community members are encouraged to attend. For more on the November 19 takeover of Franklin School I suggest Luke’s post at DC’s Independent Media Center.
The recent history of Franklin School illustrates the conflict between the needs of long-term DC residents and the actions of District government who, more often than not, represent the interests of developers and the wealthy over those of low and moderate-income residents. Since the Fenty Administration, the government of the District of Columbia has been attempting to declare Franklin School surplus and sell it to a private entity, this despite the school’s long history of public service. One of DC’s first public high schools, the building was used as an educational facility for most of its life. Up until 1995 the Franklin School housed an adult-education center, at which time it was closed for renovations that the city promised but (surprise, surprise) never materialized. The school remained shuttered until 2002 when homeless advocates took over the building and turned it into a shelter. By 2007, the Franklin Shelter was housing 300, working, homeless men. In 2008, then Mayor Adrian Fenty shuttered Franklin Shelter ignoring emergency legislation passed by the council to keep it open, Franklin Shelter Closing Requirements Emergency Act of 2008. After more than two years in the courts, a lawsuit brought by the Committee to Save Franklin Shelter and former residents finally failed in January of 2011. Despite this, homeless advocates continue to challenge the closing of DC’s homeless shelters in the courts. More information about their efforts can be found at FranklinShelter.org.
Except for its brief re-opening on November 19, the Franklin School has remained empty since September 2008. Homeless advocates would like to reopen it as a shelter. Others interested in the property as a historical landmark and District treasure such as the Coalition for Franklin School would like to see it reopened as a school or some other educational or cultural institution. The city seems most inclined to sell the property to private developers interested in turning the Franklin School into a boutique hotel. In accordance with District of Columbia Code 10-801, DC government is not allowed to surplus and sell any property without first conducting a pubilc hearing and soliciting input from the community. Unfortunately, as the above video of the surplus hearing for Franklin School conducted on November 18, 2010 demonstrates, these hearings are far too often used as a forum for city officials to present to the community their reasons for a decision that they’ve already made, rather than a hearing in which public comment is genuinely considered. Is the surplus of Franklin School a foregone conclusion? Stay tuned.
By Liane Scott, on November 11th, 2011 
SongRise in Action
SongRise is an all women’s social justice a cappella group located in Washington, DC. They use their music to inspire people to
fight for social and political change. They offer their singing talents at community events, rallies, protests, farmer’s markets, civil rights celebrations, DC voting rights events, arts showcases, in schools, at churches, in prisons, etc. They are one of the many local artists featured on “This Light: Sounds for Social Change,” a radio series highlighting the connections between arts and activism. Each episode features an interview with an activist/artist, as well as an audio mix of their work.
Click on this link to listen to the interview of SongRise.
Click on this link to listen to the music of SongRise.
“This Light’ is based in Washington, DC and airs on Radio CPR (89.7 FM) or RadioCPR.com every Thursday night and Friday morning from 11:00 PM to 1:00 AM. Episodes are archived at SoundsForSocialChange.com. Enjoy!
By Liane Scott, on October 26th, 2011 
It’s been a minute since we’ve done a post on Walmart, but that’s not to say that DC’s progressive community has stopped working on the issue. Currently, the group No-Ward-4-Walmart is calling for an anti-Walmart presence at the Historic Preservation Review Board Hearing (October 27th at 2:10pm, 441 4th St. NW, Room 220 South) where they will consider designating the old streetcar storage barn at Georgia and Missouri Avenues NW a historic landmark which would make it impossible for developer Foulger Pratt to build a Walmart on that site.
Respect DC takes the position that it’s okay if Walmart comes to DC so long as they sign a community benefits agreement that would guarantee that any Walmart within the District provide its workers with a living wage. Not much word on the community benefits agreement, but on October 20, 2011, Respect DC teamed up with Occupy DC and staged a flashmob at a $1,000-a-plate fundraiser at Union Station. The fundraiser featured Walmart board chairman Rob Walton as well as Wes Bush, CEO and president of arms manufacturer Northrop Grumman.
As its name suggests, the group Walmart Free DC believes that DC doesn’t need any Walmarts: they not only fail to provide a living wage to their employees, but they also have a tendency to drive small businesses into the ground. Empower DC also opposes Walmart coming to the District. This summer, Grassroots Media Project intern Roshan Ghimire and hip-hop artist/community activist Head-Roc teamed up to produce the following video Keep DC Walmart Free, which makes our position pretty clear.
In addition to hosting a series of screenings of The High Cost of Low Price throughout the city over the summer, Walmart Free DC has posted several links that make a strong case for their position. LGBT activist Robby Diesu’s post sums up much of that information and makes a few points that are missed on most of the other anti-Walmart websites.
Why the GLBTQ Community in DC Needs to Reject the Wal-Mart Invasion of Our City
By Robert Diesu
In November 2010 Wal-Mart decided that DC would be its next target in their attempt to amp up their already impressive market share of the retail world. They have met a lot of resistances so far, but not enough. Wal-mart has a special place in the minds of us who are progressive, leftist, and even liberal, and that is the vast majority of us can think of only one word to describe them; evil.
In the District, Wal-Mart plans on bringing in four stores by 2012. Wards 4, 5, 6, and 7 will hopefully not be the home to these planned stores. Each of the four stores in the invasion are going to be 80,000-100,000 sq feet. Doesn’t that just make you feel all warm and fuzzy? But they have not signed leases at any of the four locations, though.
Yet, we as queer people have some extra special reason’s to oppose the evilness that is Wal-Mart, and mainly they don’t support our liberation as a community. To this date, they do not have an anti-discrimination policy that protects trans people and other non-gender conforming peoples. This prompted the National Gay and Lesbian Task force to come out against them invading New York and hopefully soon, DC as well. [1]
They donate to crazy right-wingers, who are actively working against our interest in congress, and by donate I mean hundreds of thousands of dollars, not five grand like Target. Members of the Wal-Mart board of director and the Wal-Mart PAC have given $455,500 to current members of the “Tea Party Caucus” in Congress (this also includes Tea Party backed candidates who lost)[2]. Not to mention $1,431,000 to candidates who have actually voted against voting rights for DC.[3]
Oh, and they think we are a “highly controversial issue”[4], as a reason why they don’t donate to any National LGBT groups. Since when is treating other human beings with respect and dignity a controversial issue? The last time I checked, our liberation and the emancipation of our community from oppression was a good thing, not something controversial? What should be highly controversial is that a city government that is as progressive as DC would even think of allowing Wal-Mart in our city-limits.
Now there is this fad among our community to boycott companies who are against our liberation and it always seem inept to me. (I mean Target is right next to my gym, and is constantly calling my name.) Yet, here . . . → Read More: DC Still Walmart Free
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