It’s been one year since the inception of DC Youth Moving Forward, (DCYMF) a youth advocacy leadership program that myself and a beautiful community helped shape. The experience has been none other than a labor of love. DCYMF was initially birthed after working with a group of impeccable high school students to organize a youth-led […]
We’re Rising. We’re Mobilizing. We’re Making History – That’s the tagline of the 2020 Women’s March taking place this Saturday in Washington, DC and in cities across the country, but the tagline could also be viewed as a rallying call for 2020 and beyond. We’ve entered a new decade and with that an opportunity to re-imagine […]
Last month I had the honor of speaking as a panelist at the “Declare Equity for Girls: Power & Policy Luncheon” by Crittenton Services of Greater Washington. As a poet, I am used to speaking on stages, navigating green rooms, and gauging audiences but something about this experience felt different. Not only was there a […]
This post is second of a two part-series focused on philanthropy’s role in ending homelessness in collaboration with Funders Together to End Homelessness. It originally appeared on The Center for Effective Philanthropy on April 4, 2019. The affordable housing crisis isn’t new. It isn’t even an “emerging” crisis. Our country has been in the midst […]
This post is the first of a two part-series focused on philanthropy’s role in ending homelessness in collaboration with Funders Together to End Homelessness. On a given night, close to 7,000 people are living in shelters or on the streets in the District of Columbia. Many more are at high risk of experiencing homelessness, dependent […]
A few weeks ago, Dr. Jamila Perritt and I represented Washington Area Women’s Foundation’s DC Family Planning Project (DCFPP) on a panel at the annual Society of Family Planning (SFP) Conference. The panel was about prioritizing equity and community engagement in contraceptive access work. We told attendees that the progress of the DC initiative so […]
Every day, we see targeted efforts to limit the rights, diminish the dignity, and harm the lives of immigrants, in particular immigrants of color. Throughout American history, immigration laws have been rooted in anti-blackness to privilege some immigrant communities over others, a deliberate strategy to define the demographic makeup of who gets to become a […]
Just a couple of weekends ago, I heard an episode of Bitch Media’s Popaganda podcast that sought to reframe sex work by exploring the legal and financial realities of the trade. My ears perked up when this episode started; DC is in the middle of considering full decriminalization of the sex trade. I have been […]
Celebrar nuestra latinidad, durante el mes de la herencia hispana, después del tiroteo de El Paso, se siente casi como un pequeño motín. Casi cómo rebelarse y decir “estamos aquí para quedarnos, somos increíbles, y hacemos de Estados Unidos un mejor país con nuestra alegría, nuestra risa sin censura, nuestra comida y nuestro color.” También […]
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