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About Community Organizing
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People cannot be denied the elementary right to participate fully in the solutions to their own problems...Denial of the opportunity for participation is the denial of human dignity and democracy.
Saul Alinsky
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The Equitable Development Initiative (EDI), a project of ONE DC (formerly Manna CDC), is designed to reorient the development process of Shaw’s public land to be responsive to the community, including its long-time, low-income residents. The EDI brings together ONE DC’s diverse connections in the community to create a working group of leaders who critically examine the effects of development on Shaw and set community expectations for future development of our publicly controlled land.
EDI has identified community goals for development, and is working towards implementing them into development plans supported by owners of this public land. We strive to ensure that such requirements are on the front end of the development process in Shaw. EDI leadership group is a coalition of diverse residents, organizations, churches, and businesses that seek to forge community relationships to ensure that everyday residents are given a seat at the decision-making table and real needs are met by development in Shaw. Click here for a PDF of our EDI Fact Sheet, including the ideal community benefits for Shaw.
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The first resident-led comprehensive community benefits agreement in the District has been signed, thanks to the work of EDI.
After almost 3 years of continuous organizing,
research, negotiations, presentations, and all around hard work, EDI won a
community benefits agreement for the public land above the Metro at 7th and
S Streets, NW (Parcel 33) and the vacant lot at 7th and Rhode Island Avenue,
NW (Parcel 42).
What does a community benefits agreement mean? The community benefits agreement means that neighborhood residents had a say in how their public land will be developed. We set forth our goals for development and held NCRC and its chosen development team, Broadcast Center Partners, accountable for including our goals in their project. What does EDI’s community benefits agreement mean? First and foremost, our agreement means that Shaw residents and stakeholders had a seat at the table. We organized so that our voice was heard early and often in this process and the deal did not go through without our approval. In terms of actual benefits, our community benefits agreement means that:
Just as importantly, EDI is gaining momentum. As we make sure that these benefits actually happen on Parcels 33 and 42, we are already looking forward to the next agreement and making future development accountable to local residents. For more information about Community Benefit Agreements or how you can help insure equitable development in the District, please contact David Haiman at dhaiman@onedconline.org
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EDI: Resident-Led Community Benefits Agreements
This past summer, the Equitable Development Initiative (EDI) secured the District's first Community Benefits Agreement which will govern the development of two pieces of Shaw's vacant City-owned land, Parcel 33 at 7th and S Streets and Parcel 42 at 7th Street and Rhode Island Avenue. The agreement, which guarantees affordable housing, local jobs, space for local businesses, and a community fund, was just the beginning. This winter, EDI members have been working to ensure that the benefits that were promised in the agreement are actually implemented in the development.
These meetings, however, were only the first step. We are continuing our communication and oversight with both of these developments, as well as working to reach a similar agreement with Roadside Development concerning their redevelopment of the O Street Market and Giant sites. EDI is also taking the lead with other ONE DC programs and the DC Employment Justice Center to coordinate a Mayoral Candidates Forum in June. Stay posted or contact David at dhaiman@onedconline.org for more details.
What's Cookin' in Shaw: 200 Support Community Benefits!!
This community event and celebration highlighted the outcomes of EDI’s landmark Community Benefits Agreement for the land at 7th and S Streets and 7th and Rhode Island Avenue. Approximately 200 people joined us to get information and to celebrate the future jobs, affordable housing, community businesses, and other benefits that Shaw will receive from the development.
Highlights included the participation of radio personalities from local Radio One affiliate stations (Radio One will relocate their corporate headquarters to the site), food, music, and presentations by the community and developers.
Below is an account of the event from EDI leader, Shaw resident, and ONE DC Board member, Ms. Virginia Lee.
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Promoting information was the underlying purpose of the community event, What's Cookin' in Shaw, held on Saturday, October 1, 2005. There is no such thing as ‘delegation’ or ‘motivation’ without extensive information. The Community Benefit Fair was to make known the collaborative efforts of ONE DC's Equitable Development Initiative (EDI), NCRC, and Broadcast Center Partners, developers of the Radio One complex, to formulate a Community Benefit Agreement associated with the development of Parcel 33, located at the corner of 7th and S Street, NW. The event spotlighted the critical elements of the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between these parties which include affordable and workforce housing, living wage jobs, job training, space for community-owned businesses and a community fund. It also sought to engage residents in the unfolding of this process by inviting them to select an area of interest in the agreement that they would be willing to work on with EDI.
The community’s thirst for information was seen
as over 200 people visited ‘under the tent’. They were drawn, not
only by a desire to know There was a real country fair atmosphere with hot dogs, sodas and cotton candy made available to the families and friends who came out. The moon bounce and clown faces painting were crowd pleasers. Local radio stations (including WOL and WKYS) donated t-shirts and shared listener information. Handmade personalized bookmarks were also available. Just about every one would rather see life get better than get worse in this increasingly intense competitive development environment. Information begets more useful information. When information is around, a lot of it publicly posted, people start asking all sorts of useful questions and require more information. The idea of a Community Benefit Fair is a continuation of EDI's process of managing the changing culture of the Shaw/LeDroit Park community. For us it was a teachable moment that successfully added value to our community outreach efforts. We still have much to learn from these events.
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In
January, the group held an accountability session with the National Capital
Revitalization Corporation to make sure that the planned affordable housing
on Parcel 42 meets the needs in the community. A similar meeting was held in
February with Broadcast Center Partners, the developer of Parcel 33, to
check up on their overall plans for community benefits in their development.
Both meetings were supported by approximately 25 residents who clearly drove
home the point that we will be paying attention to these developments at
every stage of the process to insure that the community is well represented.
In October, Equitable Development Initiative (EDI) members, along with the
National Capital Revitalization Corporation and Broadcast Center Partners,
organized the
What’s
Cookin’ in Shaw? event.
An
individual without information cannot take responsibility: an individual who
is given information cannot help but take responsibility.
and understand what is happening in the Shaw/Le Droit Park area, but by the
affirming voice of Joe Madison, who helped keep the program focused on our
reason for being there. The speakers for the day included Ward 1 Council
Member Jim Graham and Radio One CEO Alfred Liggins. They spoke of those
present as being partners in this undertaking and solicited their assistance
in moving the project forward. The Community Benefit Fair offered a wide
range of information with handouts, a visible posting of information and a
DVD presentation.