A unique class teaches the seemingly powerless how to make changes
The organizing institute is a six- to eight-week class that meets twice a week at Bread for the City’s Michelle Obama center on Good Hope Road SE. Students learn how the District works — the council, the mayor, the advisory neighborhood commissioners, etc. — and get trained in the different tools organizers can employ, such as petitions, protests and “walk-throughs.
“We started by joining forces,” Potter said. They circulated a petition and enlisted other residents in their cause. They contacted the powers that be.Students at Bread for the City’s organizing institute are introduced to a mnemonic for structuring their approach, CEVA, which stands for connect, engage, vision and ask.
Williams thinks “vision” should come first. Whatever the order, success “makes you feel good inside,” she said. “It makes your spirit happy that you’re learning things that you can teach others.”A bus stop is a tangible thing — a small thing, even. Phelps-El and her students have their sights set on larger things.
“I feel like the more organizing we do in this city, the more we can put the fire up underneath the politicians,” Phelps-El said.There seem to be more underdogs these days. A big issue in the District is affordable housing. There isn’t enough of it. The three women know that’s their next quest.On the morning I met her, Phelps-El brought some of the neighbors who had worked on that project.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
House should have done in 1974 what it did in 2022, historian saysMichael Beschloss: 'If the House had referred Nixon for possible criminal charges ... that would have sent a message to later presidents like Donald Trump that you cannot run roughshod against the law for four years and expect to get away with it.”
Read more »
Perspective | Duke Ellington teens resist DCPS, fear losing school ‘to bureaucracy’The D.C. public school system wants to take over its hybrid crown jewel — the prestigious Duke Ellington School of the Arts. The students are fighting back.
Read more »
Perspective | A new book explores the Jewish history of Northern Virginia in photosThe area's first Jewish congregation was founded in 1859. Things have grown since then.
Read more »
Perspective | Doing the same thing about overdoses and expecting different resultsWith fentanyl fueling the worst drug epidemic in the nation’s history, it's past time to address the root causes of addiction — including racism.
Read more »
Jalen Hurts’ injury has some Eagles followers freaking out. Is it really time to panic? | Mike SielskiLet's step back, take a deep breath, and evaluate where things stand with Hurts, Gardner Minshew, and the Eagles with a clear mind and a little perspective.
Read more »
San Antonio trauma surgeon defends Robb Elementary medical responseFollowing a report criticizing the medical response to the Robb Elementary shooting, a San Antonio-area surgeon is offering his perspective.
Read more »