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Posts Tagged ‘protests’

Day 320 – Jacob T.

Posted in Gave the money to someone else, tagged , , , , , , on November 19, 2010| 1 Comment »

Save the date!  I am still working hard to secure a space for the Year End Celebration for December 14th here in DC.  Still no definite venue, but I am working on it.  If anyone knows of a venue who will do a lot of this for free or a group, company, law firm, individual person, whoever, that might be interested in sponsoring the event, let me know.  There will be plenty of media there…could be a very interesting opportunity for the right company or group.

Jacob holding his "cowbell" sign next to his father. (photo: Reed)

Anyway, on to today’s recipient!  Today we’re going back a few weeks to the Rally to Restore Sanity that was held in Washington, DC on October 30th.

My father had come to DC to attend the rally.  Dad and I took a bus from Dupont Circle down to Chinatown and walked down to the mall and picked up my friend Tricia.  We were supposed to meet up with lots of other friends and family there however it was a complete zoo and cell phones weren’t working.  There were hundreds of thousands of people, many toting signs, cramming onto the Mall.  I wish I could tell you what was said or what happened, but due to a lack of jumbo screens and speakers I saw and heard very little.  One of the best lines that I later heard that Stewart said referring to a lot of the political rhetoric is that, “If we amplify everything we hear nothing.”  I get it, but if you don’t amplify enough…the thousands of people who come to see you can’t hear you.

Another sign I liked (photo: Reed)

One of the things I did see was Jacob – a 16-year-old from North Carolina who came up the night before with his father.  I was scoping the crowd looking for people I knew when I spotted his sign, “THIS COUNTRY NEEDS MORE COWBELL.”  There were lots of funny, crazy signs being carried around…there were some that were very serious and even a few that were downright hurtful in my opinion.  But this one just made me laugh with its Saturday Night Live reference.  If you haven’t seen this skit featuring Will Farrell and Christopher Walken…stop whatever you are doing now and check this out!  Don’t worry your boss will think it’s funny too.

photo:Reed

Anyway, I made my way over to Jacob and gave him my $10.  He was cool with receiving it.  “I’m going to give it to the other person I saw carrying around a ‘NEED MORE COWBELL’ sign,” he told me explaining that he had seen a similar sign.  “If I can’t find them then I might give it a hobo.”  This sparked a great moment…his father’s face exploded into a smile saying something like, “Hobo?  Maybe a homeless person, but there are very few real hobos anymore!”  I’m hoping Jacob will drop us a note here and let us know what happened to the ten bucks.

Jacob goes to a special high school that has a five-year program that basically gives you the equivalent of an Associate’s Degree when you graduate. That sounds like a good program now, I’m not sure I would have liked the idea of a five-year high school back when I was in school.  

“I’m going to give it to the other person I saw carrying around a ‘NEED MORE COWBELL’ sign. If I can’t find them then I might give it a hobo.” - Jacob (photo: Reed)

When he’s not studying or playing XBOX 360, he’s learning to drive.  “You see this?” his father asks pointing at his hair, “it’s causing my hair to turn gray!”   

These two were a lot of fun.  They made my day since I didn’t get to see much of the rally.  Thanks guys.

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Day 319 – Concepcion P.

Posted in Something for themself, tagged , , , , , , , on November 18, 2010| 1 Comment »

Connie holds a sign showing William Thomas, the co-founder of the Peace Vigil. (photo: Reed)

193 days ago I shared with you the story of Start Loving who I met in front of the White House.  He fills in tending to the Peace Vigil that Concepcion Picciotto started with William Thomas in 1981.  The vigil can never be left unattended and they must not sleep while there.  It is remarkable to think that she has been there every day, with a few exceptions, since I was seven years old! 

The other day I wandered over to Lafayette Park which is in front of the White House and saw Connie, as she is often referred to, talking to some tourists.  I waited patiently and then approached her.  Our conversation lasted about 45 minutes and weaved back and forth from English to Spanish.

"I've learned a lot about inequalities in our society." - Concepcion Picciotto (photo: Reed)

Originally from Vigo, Spain (on the west coast just north of the border with Portugal), she came to the US in the early 60s.  Although she told me that she lost count of the years when I asked her how old she was, some sources online claim that she is 65.  

She has an amazing story.  In addition to the $10, I gave her $15 for a book that she sells to help support her efforts.  Almost all the information in the book you can find here online.  It is worth checking out.  It spans her immigration to the US, troubled marriage, the adoption and loss of her daughter, etc.  

The part about her daughter really touched me.  She couldn’t have children so they ended up in Argentina trying to buy a baby from a variety of doctors.  It sounded a little shady; doctors showing up in cars with newborns in their arms.  The short story is that in 1973 she finally made it back into the US with a baby girl, Olga.  But ended up losing her 20 months later when her husband gave her away while Connie was being kept in a hospital.  To my knowledge the two have never been reunited.  You can listen to a heartfelt letter she has written for Olga.

Picture courtesy of Connie's website.

Connie said she was going to use the $10 to help either print more books or possibly come out with a new book with additional material.

I believe that Connie has suffered a great deal in her life and my heart goes out to her.  She told me stories of her being beat, subject to harmful chemicals and tortured.  “I lost my teeth because of chemicals they have used on me,” she says referring to the government and military.  “I now have the teeth in a jar.”

I caught up with Nature Boy during his "office hours" in Lafayette Park.

I really enjoyed meeting her. I gave her a hug when I left and cut through the park where I ran into my friend Elijah Alfred Nature Boy Alexander Jr. from Day 185…check out this picture.  I love it!  And if you look closely at his legs you will see hundreds of scratches from squirrels that were climbing on him!

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Day 221 – Ca’Vonn E.

Posted in Food & Beverage, Something for others, tagged , , , , , , , , , on August 7, 2010| 4 Comments »

Tent City DC at Parcel 42 (photo: Reed)

Have you heard of Tent City in DC?  I hadn’t until a week ago Thursday when I went to an event for Bread for the City on 7th Street and then walked a few blocks with Karen, a YoG follower, to see what was going on there. 

Tent City DC was founded on July 10th, 2010 when members from a variety of community groups including ONE DC came together to bring attention to the lack of affordable housing in the District.  Long time residents are finding it nearly impossible to pay their rent much less achieve home ownership.  Here is a news clip that aired on ABC Channel 7 on their first day. 

Some of the community member's tents (photo: Reed)

Tent City DC is located at 7th and R Streets on a piece of land known as Parcel 42.  You can find information about Parcel 42 here.  The short story according to ONE DC’s website is that their organization had a meeting with then Deputy Mayor Neil Albert and reached an agreement that Parcel 42 would be developed into “very affordable housing.”  This has not happened and in fact it is rumored that this land will now be one of the many land areas here that get turned into luxury housing.  As a result of this, Tent City DC was established.  An interesting side note is that I have been there several times now and see almost no involvement from ONE DC anymore.  They apparently pulled most of their volunteers out of Parcel 42 after the fifth day, however, other community members have kept the protest going. 

I went back to Tent City DC the next day to bring some food, water, and supplies to the residents.  While I was there I met Ca’Vonn. 

A Shaw resident for past eleven years, she was born in DC and has grown up all over town.  After 15 years of marriage, she is now in the process of a divorce and trying to raise her six children; the youngest of which turned three on Monday.  I learned that a seventh child sadly died of SIDS.

Ca’Vonn said she had been there since the first day (photo: Reed)

 

She hopes to finish her studies at the University of the District of Columbia where she was studying journalism and music education.  But all of these demands have put a tremendous amount of pressure on the 33-year-old single mom.  And to make matters worse, she finds it increasingly difficult to find suitable housing for her and her kids.  That is why she is voicing her opinion about the need for affordable housing in her community.

As we are talking, two teenagers enter into Tent City DC and start talking to some of the members of the tent community.  All of a sudden, the one boy who was shirtless and had the number 500 tattooed across his stomach snatched a bicycle from a Tent City DC community member and rode off with it.  Can you believe it?!  Ca’Vonn got up and tried to calm the young lady down. 

Ca'Vonn looks for some relief from the scorching sun (photo: Reed)

My time at Tent City DC is somewhat surreal.  Although it’s just a small patch of land in the city, it represents so much more.  Gentrification has become rampant in many parts of DC, the Shaw community included.  This instance is a symbol of the systemic virus that is crippling our community.  Families who have lived in this neighborhood for generations are facing the reality that they will have to abandon their grandparents’ homes and try to start over in a new place.  If you want to help or learn what is going on at Tent City DC, you can check out their blog or check out the Lend a Hand page. 

So what does a mother of six children do with $10 during one of the hottest summers we have had in a long time?  She says she will treat her kids to an ice cream that evening!

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Day 154 – Joan S.

Posted in Donation, Gave the money to someone else, tagged , , , , , , , , , on May 22, 2010| 3 Comments »

Remember Mike from Day 146?  You may recall that he works as a Physical Therapist at a Rockville, MD PT clinic.  He shared my story with his boss Bill.  They graciously offered for me to come in to their clinic at no cost for some PT sessions on my neck and back to see if I can improve the pain that I have.  Isnt’that incredibly nice of them!  It means a lot to me.  Thank you guys!  I look forward to the day when I no longer have pain and numbness in my neck, arm, and hand.

After my first session, I was feeling good.  I went out that day with a little more pep in my step and my posture a little better.  

Photo: Reed

Some days I find myself walking around the city…seeing potential recipients but never thinking that they are the right person for that day.  I passed all kinds of people who I debated giving my $10 to, but for some reason I kept on walking.  I walked all over the city, 67 blocks in total.  The light rain was just enough to keep my umbrella up the entire time, but I didn’t mind.  I started to get hungry though and decided to make my way over to John’s burrito stand.  On my way over my cousin Cheryl called and we talked until I came face to face with a large protest that had taken over the intersection of 15th and K Street.  The mix of angry cries for justice and police bullhorns trying to control the situation was making it difficult to talk on the phone, so we hung up and I went to find out what was going on.  This is when I ran into Joan.

Joan, a retired small business owner living in DC, was holding one end of a banner that read, “WE WANT OUR $$$ BACK!”  Although I hadn’t taken her money, in fact, I didn’t even know Joan, I hoped that my offer to give her $10 back might help her and her colleagues out.  Thankfully Joan wasn’t mad at me.  She was fed up with big businesses and lobbyists owning our government.  She feels that they have taken all the power away from the people.

Photo: Reed

As a CODEPINK activist , Joan actively participates in protests that the grassroots peace and social justice organization puts on.  The organization emerged out of a desperate desire by a group of American women to stop the Bush administration from invading Iraq.  On November 17, 2002 CODEPINK was launched when a group of women set up for a 4-month all-day vigil in front of the White House during the cold of winter. I wonder if they went over and spoke with Connie and Thomas at the Peace Vigil.  Anyway, they inspired people (mostly women) from all walks of life, and from all over the country, to stand for peace.  Now the organization has grown international.

Photo: Reed

On this specific day she was a little disappointed because CODEPINK received information about the protest very late which limits their ability to mobilize and produce a large turnout.  She cites messaging and timing as areas that need improvement in these types of protests.  Despite falling short of her expectations, the protest still managed to attract an estimated 1,000-1,500 people.  Plus it shut down a major corridor of transportation.  Their location at 15th and K was no coincidence given that K Street has long been home to a sea of lobbyist offices. 

As Joan and I started to talk, the mass of people began to march South on 15th Street.  I tagged along and pulled my video camera out and started to record.

Photo: CBS News

The march came to a halt near the White House and I parted ways.  Later they went on to Capitol Hill to voice their disapproval of BP at the Homeland Security Committee Senate hearing where BP America President Lamar McKay testified.  CBS News later reported that “only three Senators – Joseph Lieberman, Susan Collins, and Mark Pryor – of the 17-member Homeland Security Committee showed up to ask any questions at all.” In fact, Lieberman and Collins reportedly praised McKay for his cooperation and dismissed him in less than 45 minutes.

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