SPECIAL BULLETIN
This edition of the newsletter focuses on important events and announcements that affect residents of the District.
Fifth Annual Tenant Town Hall
Join the OAA at the Latino Economic Development Center's Tenant Townhall, where tenants from across the city will talk with elected officials and government agencies about housing needs and priorities! Get involved in campaigns for affordable housing and strategize to build a stronger tenant movement in DC. Help protect our right to Decent, Affordable Housing!
Don't miss out on this opportunity to be heard -- your voices matter, and only you can raise important issues and stand for your rights to safe, affordable housing within the District.
For more information, contact OAA through the following methods.
To e-mail OAA, click here.
3rd Annual DC Africa Festival
The Mayor’s Office on African
Affairs 3rd Annual DC Africa Festival
The
D.C. Mayor’s Office on African Affairs (OAA) will hold the 3rd
Annual D.C. Africa Festival on Saturday, July 21, 2012 from 12pm to 6pm.
Building on the success of the past two years of this festival, we are pleased
to continue this burgeoning tradition of celebrating African culture while
emphasizing the contributions and presence of the African community in the
District of Columbia.
This
year’s festival theme is “Building One City - Showcasing Africa’s History,
Heritage and Interconnectedness.” This theme reflects Mayor Vincent Gray’s
vision of building “One City” in which all residents thrive together, and
brings to life the goals of OAA’s Multicultural Awareness and Community
Building program aimed at promoting greater connection among the District’s
ethnically diverse communities of African descent, as well as showcasing the
cultural contributions of Africa to the rich
multiculturalism of the larger DC community,
The
3rd Annual DC Africa Festival will feature a variety of exciting and
enriching activities for all ages: an eclectic lineup of modern and folkloric
musical performances influenced by African musical traditions; an
Africa-inspired Wellness Pavilion promoting healthy living and fitness,
educational and fun activities in the Children’s Village and the African
Culture Hut, a Fashion Presentation featuring creativity and designs from
across the African diaspora. There will also be arts & crafts vendors, as
well as food vendors bringing the best African cuisine DC has to offer.
We
are happy to invite you to be a part of this grand event. Should you require
more information, please contact OAA at 202-727-5634, or our website: www.oaa.dc.gov. Find key event
details below:
Date:
Saturday, July 21st, 2012
Time:
12 pm – 6pm
Location:
Banneker Field
2500 Georgia Avenue NW, upper
softball field
Washington, DC 20001
Registration:
Free
To sign up to be a vendor, volunteer or donor, please email us
at: oaa@dc.gov
Secure Communities Immigration Checks Resisted in District of Columbia
Mayor Vincent C. Gray continues to honor his commitment to creating a safe, inclusive community, as reflected by his objection to the enforcement of Secure Communities in the District. The mayor worked alongside several government agencies to ensure that immigrant communities are kept informed about important news and decisions that affect them.
The Office on African Affairs (OAA), together with the Office
on Latino Affairs and The Office on Asian and Pacific Islander Affairs recently organized a Secure
Communities informational workshop with the purpose of educating the community
on the newly implemented law and D.C government's position on this issue. Among
other information, participants learned about the emergency legislation the
Council passed, restricting the impact of the Secure Communities law in DC.
Speakers were from DC Metropolitan Police Department, National Day Laborer
Organizing Network, National Immigration Project and CAIR Coalition. The
workshop drew more than 50 residents.
In regards to the Secure Communities Immigration Checks, District of Columbia council members said they plan to act
swiftly on Tuesday to defy a federal immigration enforcement program the city
will be forced to join the same day. Council members said they hope to oppose
the program, Secure Communities, by immediately passing a law instructing local
police to ignore requests from federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement to
hold certain people who have been arrested for low-level crimes.
President's Deferred Action
Process for Young People Who Are Low Enforcement Priorities
Effective immediately, certain young people who were brought to the United States through no fault of their own as young children and meet several key criteria will be considered for relief from removal from the country or entered into removal proceedings. Those who demonstrate that they meet the criteria will be eligible to receive deferred action for a period of two years, subject to renewal.
Only those individuals who can prove through verifiable documentation that they meet these criteria will be eligible for deferred action. Individuals will not be eligible if they are not currently in the United States and cannot prove that they have been physically present in the United States for a continuous period of not less than 5 years immediately preceding today’s date. The use of prosecutorial discretion confers no substantive right or pathway to citizenship. Only the Congress, acting through its legislative authority, can confer these rights.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) alerts eligible individuals NOT to submit a deferred action request under the Deferred Action Process for Young People memorandum issued by Secretary Napolitano on June 15. If you submit now, your application will be rejected. The Secretary’s directive gives USCIS 60 days to create a process to accept these requests and we are unable to accept requests at this time. Please continue to check our website for updates.
Mayor Gray Signs Landmark Bullying Prevention Act
(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – With students, teachers and anti-bullying advocates
in attendance, Mayor Vincent C. Gray today signed into law groundbreaking
legislation that emphasizes a citywide approach to the prevention of bullying
in the District of Columbia. The law will require District agencies that serve
youth to adopt and implement bullying-prevention policies that protect the
health and safety of the District’s young people.
Every day, one in five
children is the target of bullying or cyber-bullying in the United States.
Bullying incidents can lead to severe long-term social and emotional problems
for those who are bullied, and youth are often hesitant to report incidents of
bullying to adults.
“Today we are taking
another bold and concrete step towards eradicating bullying in the District,” said Mayor
Gray. “There is much more work to do, but I can’t think of a more noble
or impactful goal than to end the bullying of our youth and continue to create
environments where our young people learn and thrive in health and safety.”
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