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On Wednesday, June 29th, activists belonging to the groups SW Action, and Ward 3 Housing Justice, delivered a petition, containing nearly 1,000 signatures to the Mayor Muriel Bowser, calling on her to purchase two lots for sale in Southwest, D.C. and transfer ownership to the Douglass Community Land Trust.

On June 24th, 2022, while on the Politics Hour radio show with Kojo Nnamdi, the Mayor was asked whether she would support the petition, to which she replied “I’ll certainly review it.” Later that day, a meeting request with the Mayor was made via her website. When the activists delivered the petition on the 29th, they reiterated their call for a meeting with the Mayor. The activists hope that the Mayor and other elected and government officials will act on this unique opportunity for residents to collectively own and steward land in the city.

SW Action released a press release on June 6th calling on the DC government to purchase the lots at 425 and 375 M Streets SW and transfer ownership to the Douglass Community Land Trust to allow community ownership and community-led stewardship of the parcels.

Join us on Friday, June 3rd, 5-7pm at 425 M Street SW as we hold a rally to express how much this space means to us and to keep the pressure on elected and government officials to make this happen!

The lots at 4th & M, 425 and 375, are on the market. They were initially purchased for $10. We are calling on the DC Government to purchase the land and transfer ownership to the Douglass Community Land Trust to allow for community-led and community-owned development. The lots have become a vital gathering space in the neighborhood that provide a place to gather, obtain fresh, locally grown produce for people of all incomes, and support small, predominantly Black and Brown, artists and vendors. To sign the petition, click here.

In response to the loss of 10 significantly sized trees on public land, the minimal amount of money paid by the developer, and the lack of transparency involved in all of this, we wrote the letter linked below.

The loss of our tree canopy is not just an environmental issue, but also a racial one as well, since people of color are more likely to be exposed to the heat island effect than Whites. Although the Black population has decreased 20%, due to developments like these that offer minimal amounts of affordable housing, there is still a significant Black population that live in the area that deserve to receive the benefits an established tree canopy provides. If you agree with the concerns listed, please sign on in support. Link to letter.

Residents of Greenleaf Gardens were given a resolution that did not include a promise to fulfill the promise of "Build First" in order to prevent displacement during its redevelop. We wrote this letter and sent it to the DC Housing Authority's Board of Commissioners asking that they vote against the resolution and ensure that the promise Build First is fulfilled: Link to letter.

Our latest on why it makes sense to expand the Douglass Community Land Trust into Southwest with quotes from Kymone Freeman of We Act Radio, Silvia Salazar, a resident and Board member of Douglass CLT, and analysis from the Council Office of Racial Equity on how public land should be disposed. Link to article.

Don't know much about SW Action? Check out this document to learn about what we've been doing since forming in December 2019 and where we hope to go in the future. If you care about racial justice and environmental sustainability, get in touch!