Community and government advocates at Communites in Focus!
WASHINGTON, DC - MLOV and the DC Office of Human Rights (OHR) celebrated the 9th anniversary of the passing of the DC Language Access Act with "Communities in Focus" on April 23, at The Dunes. The celebration featured immigrant oral histories, presentations of the first annual Language Access Champion awards, and performances by local musicians.
Participants of "Communities in Focus" were invited to view the photographs of 5 immigrants from the Latin@, Asian Pacific Islander and African communities, as well as listen to their oral histories in their own language. Included in the showcase were Tamira Ramirez, a community organizer with the Latino Economic Development Center; Qihuang Wang, a DCPS student, Ngozi Nmezi, Director of the Mayor's Office on African Affairs, Arturo Griffiths, a community organizer with DC Jobs with Justice; Wumei Liu, a restaurant worker.
Following a rousing performance by the Chin Hamaya Culture Center, Deputy Mayor of Health and Human Services Bibi Otero presented the Language Access Champion awards. This year's recipients were Winta Teferi from the Mayor's Office of African Affairs, Marita Etcubanez from the Asian American Justice Center and Joana Ayala from the Student Multiethnic Action Research Team (SMART). Congratulations to all our recipients, and thank you all for everything you do to promote and strengthen language access in our District!
Participants of "Communities in Focus" were invited to view the photographs of 5 immigrants from the Latin@, Asian Pacific Islander and African communities, as well as listen to their oral histories in their own language. Included in the showcase were Tamira Ramirez, a community organizer with the Latino Economic Development Center; Qihuang Wang, a DCPS student, Ngozi Nmezi, Director of the Mayor's Office on African Affairs, Arturo Griffiths, a community organizer with DC Jobs with Justice; Wumei Liu, a restaurant worker.
Following a rousing performance by the Chin Hamaya Culture Center, Deputy Mayor of Health and Human Services Bibi Otero presented the Language Access Champion awards. This year's recipients were Winta Teferi from the Mayor's Office of African Affairs, Marita Etcubanez from the Asian American Justice Center and Joana Ayala from the Student Multiethnic Action Research Team (SMART). Congratulations to all our recipients, and thank you all for everything you do to promote and strengthen language access in our District!
 Joana Ayala |  Winta Teferi |  Marita Etcubanez |
Our evening concluded with a heart-felt performance by the Tetra Boys, DC's first multi-lingual English Language Learned (ELL) student band, and Danse Flat, an indie-pop group from DC.
 Tetra Boys |  Danse Flat |
View pictures from this event in this slideshow!
A special thanks to all of our supporters!
We could not have hosted this event without our partners. A special thanks to Gustavo Velasquez, Monica Palacio, Stephanie Franklin and Elliot Imse at the DC Office of Human Rights; Angela Lam, a former MLOV AmeriCorps VISTA who raised $275 for MLOV through her Birthday appeal; Tiffany Finck-Haynes and Tereguebode Goungou for their work on the Prescription for Inequity report; and all our volunteers: Rachel Freeman, Marshall McCurry, Anna Duncan, Fayzan Gowani, Ben Parisi, Amit Bagga, all the SMART members, and Sahar Shafqat for making this event possible!
We would also like to take this time to thank our sponsors: Epoch Times, Don Juan, Beau Thai, Jyoti, Keren, Meskerem, La Tasca, Meze, Julia’s Empanadas, Bukom, and the Washington Trophy Center for funding this event.
Entertainment was provided by Chin Hamaya Daiko, Tetra Boys, Danse Flat, and Azul. Space was provided by The Dunes, a special thanks to Star Silva and the rest of the crew for all their help.
As always, we thank the DC Language Access Coalition and our District's language access advocates for ensuring that everyone has access to public services, regardless of language spoken.
If you were not able to attend our event, but would still like to support MLOV and its language access work, please visit this page!
We would also like to take this time to thank our sponsors: Epoch Times, Don Juan, Beau Thai, Jyoti, Keren, Meskerem, La Tasca, Meze, Julia’s Empanadas, Bukom, and the Washington Trophy Center for funding this event.
Entertainment was provided by Chin Hamaya Daiko, Tetra Boys, Danse Flat, and Azul. Space was provided by The Dunes, a special thanks to Star Silva and the rest of the crew for all their help.
As always, we thank the DC Language Access Coalition and our District's language access advocates for ensuring that everyone has access to public services, regardless of language spoken.
If you were not able to attend our event, but would still like to support MLOV and its language access work, please visit this page!