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Neighbors,

August is Black Business Month. Black businesses provide safe and welcoming establishments for our residents to work, shop, and receive services, as well as serve as an economic engine for our communities. Small businesses have always been the backbone of our economy and now more than ever we must be intentional with our support.

Black Business Month is particularly important this year given the impact caused by the COVID-19 public health emergency on small businesses. Long before COVID-19, black businesses in the District struggled with equitable access to capital and opportunities. According to Forbes, black-owned businesses in the U.S. increased 34.5% between 2007 and 2012 totaling 2.6 million firms, however more than 95% of these businesses are sole proprietorships or partnerships. COVID-19 coupled with long-standing economic inequities is forcing many black business owners to consider closing.

In the District's fiscal year 2021 budget I funded a disparity study needed to legally implement a true minority business enterprise program, created an equity impact fund to provide access to capital for economically and socially disadvantaged businesses, and established a new Certified Business Enterprise designation that will address structural impediments to funding access faced by many black business owners.

As we continue together in our responses to COVID19 as well as racial and economic injustices, I ask that you join me in supporting black business by patronizing a black business, writing a positive review, and sharing your experience on social media using the hashtags #BlackBusinessDC #OurWard5.

In service,

Kenyan
In this issue of the Ward 5 Report:

* District Economic Recovery Town Hall
* Kenyan in the Community
* Kenyan in the News
* Black Business Spotlight
* Board of Elections Volunteers
* Department of Transportation Announcment
* COVID-19 Testing
* Grocery Distribution Sites
* DCPS Reopening Plan



** District Economic Recovery Town Hall
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[link removed][UNIQID]

Check out the Department of Planning and Economic Developments District Economic Recovery Team’s Weekly Check In featuring a conversation on equity with Councilmember McDuffie.


** Kenyan in the Community
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Thanks to Ivy City Smokehouse for supporting our Ward 5 community based organizations. More than 20 organizations across Ward 5 were able to receive frozen food to distribute to some of our most vulnerable residents and families in need.


** Kenyan in the News
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D.C. Is Making Changes To Its Medicaid Program. Critics Say It’s The Wrong Time ([link removed][UNIQID]) . - In a statement sent to DCist, McDuffie said the process is worthy of stricter scrutiny, given the concerns about what impact the contracts will have on the city’s Medicaid recipients who get reassigned to different health care providers.


** Black Business Spotlight
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Here is a partial list of Black owned businesses in the District. Let’s support this month and every month, remember to hashtag #BlackBusinessDC and #OurWard5.

Also, check out a great list at Destination DC Link to - Where to Find Black Chefs and Black-Owned Restaurants & Bars in Washington, DC ([link removed][UNIQID])


** Board of Elections Volunteers
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Join the Board of Elections for their Election Worker Open House on August 12th at 1PM. This event is a virtual session for volunteers to find out more about serving as an election worker.


** Department of Transportation Announcment
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The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) will roll out at least 20 miles of DC Slow Streets by September 1st. Residents can use these Slow Streets to practice safe social distancing while walking, biking, and rolling in neighborhoods across the District.

Installation will begin the week of August 10 and is expected to be completed by September 1st. Please see the locations for Ward 5 below. The Notice of Intent (NOI) will be published here ([link removed][UNIQID]) . Please visit [link removed][UNIQID] to see the upcoming locations and to learn more about the operations and goals of Slow Streets.

Ward 5
* 10th Street NE between Otis Street NE and Rhode Island Avenue NE
* 17th Street NE between Randolph Street and Bryant Street/Montana Avenue NE
* K Street NE between Bladensburg Road to 18th Street NE/Maryland Avenue NE
* Oates Street NE between West Virginia Avenue to Bladensburg Road NE


** COVID-19 Testing
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** Grocery Distribution Sites
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** DCPS Reopening Plan
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