By African Communities Together
Photos: YouTube Screenshots
ALEXANDRIA, V.A. On Saturday, April 13th, African Communities Together (ACT), housing advocates, and residents of the City of Alexandria, will rally outside City Hall to call on the City of Alexandria to prioritize affordable housing and tenant protections. A shocking 78% of renters in Alexandria with incomes up to $75,000/yr are spending over 30% of their income on housing costs, making them housing cost-burdened.
ACT will preview its public art project, “Doors of Displacement,” which calls attention to the ongoing housing crisis impacting the community through a series of community-designed doors. The doors were created in collaboration with local artist and former tenant of Southern Towers, Nana Ama Bentsi-Enchil.
Date: Saturday, April 13, 2024
Time: 1:00PM
Location: Market Square, City Hall, 301 King Street, Alexandria, VA 22314
Invited Guests: Southern Towers Tenants, Tenants & Workers United, Virginia Coalition for Immigrant Rights (VACIR), VOICE
Confirmed Speakers:
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Solomon Ayalew, DMV Chapter Director, African Communities Together
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Sosseh Prom, Housing Justice Director, African Communities Together
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Tarig Dafalla, Tenant Leader
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Tsehayinesh Menberu, Tenant Leader at Southern Towers
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Monica Sarmiento, Executive Director, VACIR
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Maria Granados, Member, Tenants and Workers United
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Evelin Urrutia, Executive Director, Tenants and Workers United
Program Details:
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Tenants will be chanting with handmade signs.
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The program will include speeches by tenants and advocates.
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African Communities Together will unveil one door from the Doors of Displacement series.
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Coincides with the City’s public budget hearing, which ends at 11:30 am and will include discussions around affordable housing.
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The action will come two days after the anniversary of the passage of the Fair Housing Act, which was signed into law on April 11, 1968.
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Every April, the nation celebrates Fair Housing Month, and the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development has declared that this year’s Fair Housing Month theme is “Fair Housing: The ‘Act’ in Action.”
About African Communities Together
African Communities Together is an organization of African immigrants fighting for civil rights, opportunity, and a better life for African families in the U.S. and worldwide. ACT connects African immigrants to critical services, helps Africans develop as leaders, and organizes African immigrant communities on the issues that matter.
Twitter/Instagram: @AfricansUS
Facebook: facebook.com/AfricansUS
Website: www.africans.us
African Communities Together
NYC | VA | DC | PA
