Power Station

Domestic violence, as Karma Cottman explains, is motivated by a drive to maintain power and control within an intimate partner relationship. It is abuse of power that is conveyed in many forms: physical, psychological, economic and coercion. Victims include men but remain overwhelmingly women. Domestic upends families and traumatizes victims, including children who witness violence within their own households. And It is pervasive across boundaries of race and class.

As executive director of the DC Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Karma is a voice for victims and the shelter providers, counselors and legal service agencies whose support turns victims into emboldened survivors. DCADV is where these “everyday heroes” collaborate, learn and advocate for systems change. It hosts Listening Sessions where survivors tell their stories, trains teachers to support students impacted by domestic violence, and engages young men in changing our nation’s culture of violence. It is also a winning advocate for policy change at both the local and national levels. DCADV won passage of the School Safety Act by the DC City Council and is now a leader in national advocacy as well. Its sister nonprofit, UJIMA, focuses on violence against African-American, African Immigrant, Afro-Caribbean and Afro-Latino communities. DCADV is home to a remarkable collection of change makers and Karma is the leader they need and truly deserve to have.

What does it take to eliminate housing discrimination and ensure equal housing opportunity? According to Lisa Rice, President of the National Fair Housing Alliance, (NHFA) it starts with recognizing that discrimination and inequity are rooted in federal policies, most fundamentally, residential segregation. The legacy of racist policies, from redlining to unequal access to credit, persists in communities of color. Disinvestment creates desperation for those seeking credit, a vacuum that has been filled by payday lenders and other predatory actors. NFHA is dedicated to the equal and fair access of all people to live in the housing and community of their choice. And while NFHA advocates for just policies no matter who is in the White House, the extreme actions of the current administration have created unforeseen circumstances. They include the US Department of Housing and Urban Development's eradication of the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing Rule, which NFHA legally challenged and was able to restore, but without the tool that enables municipalities to meet fair housing act requirements. We are all responsible to raise our voices in the name of justice.

What does it take to eliminate housing discrimination and ensure equal housing opportunity? According to Lisa Rice, President of the National Fair Housing Alliance, (NHFA) it starts with recognizing that discrimination and inequity are rooted in federal policies, most fundamentally, residential segregation. The legacy of racist policies, from redlining to unequal access to credit, persists in communities of color. Disinvestment creates desperation from those seeking credit, a vacuum that has been filled by payday lenders and other predatory actors. NFHA is dedicated entirely to the equal and fair access of all people to live in the housing and community of their choice. It operates with a small staff of researchers, trainers, and organizers that support a membership base comprised of local fair housing groups. They are the voices of those who are discriminated against, an experience, as Lisa reminds us, that can traumatize its victims. And while NFHA advocates for just policies no matter who is in the White House, the extreme actions of the current administration have created unforeseen circumstances. They range from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development’s eradication of the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing Rule, which NFHA legally challenged and was able to restore, but without the tool that enables municipalities to meet fair housing act requirements. And they include the separation of children from their families at the southern border. This humanitarian and civil rights crisis is also a fair housing violation. There are many meaningful ways to advance fair housing and we are all responsible to raise our voices in the name of justice.

Sunrise Movement is changing the conversation about this nation's climate crisis and what can be done to turn it around. It builds on the work of scientists and advocates who have long warned about the consequences of our reliance on fossil fuels, the inevitability of environmental degradation, and the influence of industry lobbyists on our elected representatives. And a surge of devastating wildfires and floods due to rising sea levels, which displaced whole communities, has shifted our collective consciousness about the change that needs to happen. College student Yasmeen Pauling is devoting her considerable talents and energy to Sunrise Movement as a Policy Fellow. In the wake of the 2018 mid-term elections, Sunrise Movement, led by the dynamic Varshini Prakash, and powered by a legion of young organizers, convened scores of town halls and meetings with policy makers on Capitol Hill. They are building support for the Green New Deal, an ambitious plan to end our dependence on fossil fuels and create a clean energy economy. And while some political detractors dismiss their credibility, Sunrise has formidable champions as well. And it is not stopping.

Sunrise Movement is a rapidly growing organization that is changing the conversation about this nation’s climate crisis and what can be done to turn it around. It builds on the work of scientists and advocates who have long warned about the consequences of our reliance on fossil fuels, the inevitability of environmental degradation, and the influence of industry lobbyists on our elected representatives. And a surge of devastating wildfires and floods due to rising sea levels, which displaced whole communities, has shifted our collective consciousness about the change that needs to happen. College student Yasmeen Pauling is devoting her considerable talents and energy to Sunrise Movement as a Policy Fellow. She talks to Power Station about the experience of organizing across issues and sectors, for climate and economic justice.

 In the wake of the 2018 mid-term elections, Sunrise Movement, led by the dynamic Varshini Prakash, and powered by a legion of young organizers, has generated scores of local town halls and meetings with policy makers on Capitol Hill. They are building support for the Green New Deal, an ambitious plan that will end our dependence on fossil fuels and create a clean energy economy. And while some political detractors dismiss their credibility, Sunrise has champions as well, in particular, Representative Alexandria Ocasio Cortez and Senator Ed Markey. Sunrise Movement’s latest strategy is to advocate for a climate debate among the 2020 presidential candidates. Their efforts, including a 3-day sit in at the National Democratic Committee, is paying off. At the end of August, the DNC’s executive committee, will vote on whether to endorse a climate debate. 

Liberation in a Generation is a new organization that takes a fresh, laser-focused and unapologetic approach to breaking down systems that oppress people of color and building an economy that raises them up. It is co-directed by Jeremie Greer and Solana Rice, whose vision for change is informed by their collective experiences as community and political organizers, researchers and policy advocates. They are reimagining how policy change at the intersection of race and economics is made and opening the door to engage new partners in the journey. It starts by working directly with local organizing networks, including PICO, Faith in Action and Center for Popular Democracy, that build power in communities of color. Jeremie and Solana are asking us to challenge the elite systems, from corporations to academia to the media, that perpetuate institutionalized racism and create a new and more just system. And they are inviting philanthropy to invest in organizations led by people of color that are at the forefront of a movement for economic and racial justice.

Liberation in a Generation is a new organization that takes a fresh, laser-focused and unapologetic approach to breaking down systems that oppress people of color and building an economy that raises them up. It is co-directed by Jeremie Greer and Solana Rice, whose vision for change is informed by their collective experiences as community and political organizers, researchers and policy advocates on economic and wealth building issues in the national nonprofit arena. They are reimagining how policy change at the intersection of race and economics is made and opening the door to engage new partners in the journey. It starts by working directly with local organizing networks, including PICO, Faith in Action and Center for Popular Democracy, that build power in communities of color. Liberation in a Generation will work with them to identify the issues and policy solutions that communities are motivated to tackle and to advocate for with candidates and policy makers. They will support these networks in leveraging their power and influence including with the national nonprofits that are known leaders in the field. Jeremie and Solana are creating a sea-change in how to embolden and empower communities of color. They are asking all of us to challenge the elite systems, from corporations to academia to the media, that perpetuate institutionalized racism and create a new and more just system. And they are inviting philanthropy to invest in organizations led by people of color that are at the forefront of a movement for economic and racial justice.

Let's start with this statistic: One in five Americans lives in rural America. And these communities are far more diverse than the archetypical bucolic New England town. They include tribal lands, the Mississippi Delta, border Colonias, and Appalachia where the legacies of injustice include barriers to the capital needed to build homes and multi-family housing. As David Lipsetz, CEO of Housing Assistance Council (HAC), says, these communities are home to rich histories, assets and opportunities. But in many cases, they are also epicenters, over decades, of persistent poverty. A product of rural towns, David has spent his career focused on changing the fortunes of rural Americans. Before leading Housing Assistance Council, he worked in the Obama Administration at both HUD and USDA. He knows first-hand, the difference federal investment can make in struggling communities. HAC is well-known as a fierce champion for rural America. And as a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), HAC is a lender in places that traditional banks do not serve.

Let’s start with this statistic: One in five Americans lives in rural America. And these communities are far more diverse than the archetypical bucolic New England town. They include tribal lands, the Mississippi Delta, border Colonias, and Appalachia where the legacies of injustice include a lack of access to the capital needed to build homes and multi-family housing. As David Lipsetz, CEO of Housing Assistance Council (HAC), tells Power Station, these communities are home to rich histories, assets and opportunities. But in many cases, they are also epicenters, over decades, of persistent poverty.

A product of rural towns, David has spent his career laser focused on changing the fortunes of rural Americans. Before leading Housing Assistance Council, he worked in the Obama Administration at both HUD and USDA. He knows first-hand, the difference federal investment can make in struggling communities. He is keenly aware of the mismatch between federal housing policies, which are geared towards urban areas, and what is needed to develop housing in rural America. Because HAC has devoted itself to bridging these gaps, it is well-known as a fierce champion for meeting housing and community development needs in rural areas. As a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), HAC is a lender in places that traditional banks do not serve. And HAC also conducts rigorous research on the state of housing in rural America and its analysis undergirds the development of progressive housing policy. David and his team know what is needed to make positive change happen. They are doing the work and are calling on the philanthropic and policy making sectors to go all in with them.

When Paty Funegra was on Power Station one year ago, she told La Cocina VA's founding story and promised to return with an update on a new capital campaign. La Cocina VA was already training and certifying unemployed Latino immigrants as food industry professionals. The next step was to scale up the model, teach entrepreneurship, and serve a growing refugee population. La Cocina VA is now recognized as a model for workforce development both nationally and internationally. It is a disruptor in a sector and field that needed this burst of energy and innovation. Which brings us to this latest conversation about La Cocina VA. Its capitol campaign generated over $2 million for construction costs and ground has been broken for the Zero Barriers Training Center. It will include include a training center, kitchen incubator, Café, and technology center and promises to be a beacon for a immigrants, refugees, friends and neighbors. There is so much more to this conversation. Don't miss it.