December 27, 2016: Members of Faith Strategies, a network of DC based pastors, share reflections on their recent experience visiting the occupied territories of Palestine. Guest host Rev Graylan Hagler.
December 20, 2016: Today, the People for Fairness Coalition begins the annual memorial service for the homeless of DC who lost their lives over the course of the year. Albert Townsend, Coalition Chair, joins us to talk about the annual event and the state of homelessness in DC.
December 13, 2016: A recent Appeals Court ruling is a victory for people fighting against development projects that spur displacement. What does it foretell for the future of McMillan Park, and what are the implications for the rest of the city?
December 6, 2016: Art and advocacy while homeless in DC, a firsthand account.
November 29, 2016: Deportation? Gentrification? Racial profiling? Loss of Home Rule? What’s at stake for DC residents under Trump, and what are we prepared to do to fight back? Local organizers share their views.
November 22, 2016: From Standing Rock to Buzzard Point. We’ll be discussing land grabs, development and Climate Justice on Taking Action with Empower DC. Today at 1pm. Special Guest Rabiah Al Nur of Ecohermanas will be discussing the Ecohermana delegation to Standing Rock and the Indigenous History of the Anacostia River. Chris R. Otten of DC for Reasonable Development will also join us to discuss fighting back against development in DC. We will also give updates and some important ways you can take action in support of the Climate Justice Frontlines of DC today.
November 8, 2016: A special election edition of Taking Action! We were joined by Dorothy Brizill, Director of the government watchdog organization DC Watch and Elizabeth Davis, President of the Washington Teachers Union to discuss what is at stake for public education and other issues of concern to DC residents in the general election!
November 1, 2016: There is a referendum on the ballot, the DC Council voted on a name – is DC finally about to become a state? Long time DC Statehood activists are updating us on where we are on the road to statehood, and why the referendum on this year’s ballot is an important milestone.
October 25, 2016: Can local movements become stronger by learning about international struggles? Organizers with Many Languages One Voice and the Washington Peace Center think so, and have established a new learning series to encourage the Global to Local Connection.
October 18, 2016: Can a Cultural Plan for the city support the needs of DC’s artists and cultural institutions? We’re talking with leaders in the local arts movement about the Cultural Plan currently being development by the DC Office of Planning.
October 11, 2016: On today’s show Empower DC’s Community Organizer Kari Fulton explores the question, “What songs would you put on your Environmental Justice soundtrack?”
October 4, 2016: Are DC’s small Black-owned businesses under attack? Bo Sampson shares the story of how his family’s 50-yr-old Ward 4 business has been targeted for closure and makes a call to action for small businesses in DC to fight back.
September 27, 2016: Today’s show features Barry Farm residents and BFTAA members Michelle Hamilton and Paulette Matthews and Empower DC Public Housing Organizer Schyla Pondexter-Moore discussing displacement.
September 20, 2016: Three young people from the Ivy City community are fighting to realize their community’s dream of having the historic Alexander Crummell School turned into a multigenerational community center that uplifts residents of the surrounding communities. Working with Empower DC, this year the group formed a development team and responded to the city’s Request for Proposals to develop the site as a Community Land Trust. We’re talking about Ivy City’s past, present, and visions for the future of Crummell School on Taking Action.
September 13, 2016: Today’s show will give an update on what’s happening with Environmental Justice in Buzzard Point.The DC Department of Health JUST released the Community Health and Safety Study for the neighborhood. Find out the Alarming Results and how to push back! Special guests, will be ANC Commissioner, Rhonda Hamilton and Stephen Lester of the Center for Health and Environmental Justice.
September 6, 2016: Among the harmful effects of the rapid gentrification of DC is the loss of large, 3-5 bedroom apartments which are typically eliminated when housing developments are torn down and rebuilt. The residents of the Brookland Manor Apartments are striking back by filing a lawsuit claiming discrimination against large families. We are talking with the attorneys and tenants who are leading this fight.
August 30, 2016: On Sunday, 1,000 people packed into the Pennsylvania Ave Baptist Church to experience the Moral Revival led by Rev William Barber. To elevate Rev Barber’s call to action to heal our country’s heart, and to address the needs of people impacted by poverty and injustice, we are airing his speech from the Revival in full on today’s Taking Action.
August 23, 2016: In this special edition of Taking Action hosted by Rev Graylan Hagler, we spend time with Rev William Barber, Pres. of the NC NAACP and architect of the Moral Monday Movement. Rev Barber is launching a 19-city tour under the banner “The Revival: Time for a Moral Revolution of Values.” The Revival challenges faith leaders and others to be more vocal in our opposition to policies that hurt the poor, immigrants, and others impacted by social, racial, economic and environmental injustice.
August 16, 2016: What is the relationship between arts and gentrification in DC? Artists are important players in social movement to protest displacement. But they are also often used by developers and city planners as part of the gentrification process. We’re talking about this with Cory Stowers of Art BLOC and Desirée Venn Frederic of Artists Union DC
August 9, 2016: Government watchdog Dorothy Brizill of DC Watch joins us to talk about the latest in DC politics including Councilman Vincent Orange’s resignation, the upcoming elections, and the push for Statehood.
August 2, 2016: What can you do to get involved? Kari Fulton talks with environmental practitioner Claudia Barragan, Environmental Justice Committee, Chair of the Washington, DC Chapter of Sierra Club. Along with theologian, visiting professor in permaculture, contemplative and social activist Rev. Dele with Eco Hermanas.
July 26, 2016: ‘Put Some Respeck On My Age.’ What is the difference between youth organizing and youth services? Schyla Pondexter-Moore talks to youth from Melanin Uprising. They discuss what they do, who they are and their mission.
July 12, 2016: Discussion on the role of the DC Office of Human Rights in protecting the rights of DC residents. Today’s guest is Monica Palacio, Director, DC Office of Human Rights.
May 10, 2016: Ralph Nader is one of America’s leading advocates – but he is also a longtime DC resident. We are finding out his latest project, the upcoming Breaking Through Power conference, and hearing his take on the changes taking place in the District.
MAY 3, 2016: What is the role of the tenant organizer in a city experiencing an affordable housing crisis? Philip Kennedy, a tenant organizer with Latino Economic Development Center joins us to talk about tenants’ rights, organizing and the upcoming 9th Annual Tenant Town Hall.
April 26, 2016: Schyla Pondexter-Moore, Public Housing Community Organizer at Empower DC, hosted a conversation unpacking last week’s ‘Space Finding’ bus tour in Anacostia. Guests included Kari Fulton an Environmental Justice Community Organizer at Empower DC, Empower DC Members Kepren Pondexter, India Fuller and Maurice Alexander, as well as Black Lives Matter DMV organizers Chioma Iwuoha and April Goggans.
April 19, 2016: Young members of #TheRealIvyCity return to the Taking Action studio to update us on their efforts to convince the city to restore the historic Alexander Crummell School as a recreation center, and to premier their new song “Ivy City Needs a Rec.”
April 5, 2016: After a visit to the White House, 107 year old DC resident Virginia McLaurin shares stories about her volunteerism in DC public schools and her activity with her tenant association, here on Taking Action. Also, Naji Mujahid provides updates on UDC’s Law School’s activism and programming.
March 29, 2016: Can your home make you sick? Public health experts are increasingly making the housing – health connection. Find out what to look out for in your home today on Taking Action! On this show we spoke with Linda Green from Metro Washington Public Health Association, Byron Sogie-Thomas from Health Policy Research Consortium, and Janet Phoenix from Breathe DC.
March 22, 2016: Tonight Mayor Bowser will give her second State of the District Address since taking office. She will no doubt tout what she believes is her good work on behalf of District residents. But what do DC residents think about the Mayor’s performance in office so far? We are inviting our listeners to call in and share their views, the “People’s State of the District”
March 15, 2016: The escalating cost of property taxes contributes to the displacement of DC residents. One of the ways to combat this is through appealing property tax assessments. Campbell Johnson of the Urban Housing Alliance tells us how.
March 8, 2016: You pay taxes, but do you know how your money is being spent? For over a decade, the Fair Budget Coalition has coordinated advocacy among the social services sector to ensure the needs of DC’s lowest income residents are met through the city budget. Find out what the Fair Budget Coalition is prioritizing this year, and how to get involved in the city’s budgeting process.
March 1, 2016: Anya Schoolman of Power DC Coalition gives an update on the Pepco-Exelon merger, and youth from #TheRealIvyCity talk about the changes they see in their community, and concerns that low income residents are being left behind.
February 23, 2016: As DC gentrifies, what happens to local arts and culture? The proposed conversion of 411 New York Ave, NE, aka the Union Arts building, into a “boutique hotel” is emblematic of the ongoing “condo-ization” of the city. We’re joined by 4 members of the Union Artists Collective to talk about how artists are organizing to fight gentrification and displacement, and what to expect at tonight’s Zoning Commission hearing.
January 26, 2016: On October 1st of this year thousands of children and adults will be cut-off from receiving assistance from the TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families). This assistance is critical to families being able to eat, pay their monthly rent and several other supports just to keep afloat. On this show we were joined by Kate Coventry of the DC Fiscal Policy Institute, Kimberly A. Waller of DC’s Children Law Center and Samantha Davis of So Others Might Eat who are all working on this issue to discuss what is going on, how people will be hurt by this cut-off and what people are doing to fight back.
January 19, 2016: The Buzzard Point community in SW DC has been painted as a no-man’s land set for revitalization. The area will see a new DC United soccer stadium, a new Pepco sub-station and the development of 1000’s of new residential units. This narrative by developers and DC leadership has forgotten that Buzzard Point is home to hundreds of low-income families who have for decades been adversely impacted by industrial sites in their neighborhood. These new developments will once again threaten the health and safety of existing residents. On this show we spoke with Rhonda Hamilton a resident and leader in Buzzard Point as well as Environmental Justice Advocate Tamara Toles-O’Laughlin on what is really happening and what the community is doing to fight back.
January 12, 2016: The annual MLK Peace Walk and Parade is an event to honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., it is also an event many District residents look forward to each year. On this show we spoke with Keith Silver and Haywood Donerson III both members of the planning committee for this event about the history of the event, what’s happening this year and what’s in store for the future of the MLK Peace Walk and Parade.
January 5, 2016: As we begin the new year Mayor Muriel Bowser has been touting the accomplishments of her first year in office. But many DC residents don’t believe her accomplishments are worth celebrating. On this show we were joined by local activists Chris Otten from DC for Reasonable Development and Anya Schoolman of Power DC to discuss the mayor’s first year and issues of DC housing, development and crime.