U.S : Stand up for SANKOFA and DC's Black-owned businesses !

Stand up for Sankofa and DC's Black-owned Businesses

Tell the DC Council to pass tax relief for Black-owned businesses

TAKE ACTION

Dear friend,

Gentrification is forcing Black-owned businesses in Washington, DC, to close. Many of these businesses have been community staples for decades, surviving recessions and natural disasters, but the drastic increases in property taxes and rent, driven by gentrification, are putting them out of business. The city once known as "Chocolate City," for its thriving Black neighborhoods and rich culture, has been declared the most gentrified city in the country.¹

But this did not happen overnight. The DC government has played an outsized role in enabling the gentrification pushing out Black businesses. Through tax abatements passed by the DC Council, new corporate developments and big national chains have been allowed to operate in the city for years without paying their fair share of property taxes. Black-owned businesses that have served the city for decades pay incessantly rising property taxes and commercial rent that subsidizes the very corporations pushing them out. This must stop. The DC Council has the power to turn this trend around and use tax abatements to level the playing field for local Black-owned businesses.

Tell the DC Council protect DC’s Black-owned businesses!

The DC Council has a history of offering large incentives and kickbacks to attract and retain corporations at the expense of local businesses and taxpayers. In just the last few years the DC Council has offered hundreds of millions of dollars in tax abatements to massive corporations, such as :

• The LINE Hotel - granted a 20-year tax abatement worth $46 million²
• Amazon - offered $480 million in tax abatement and exemptions³
• The Advisory Board - a healthcare IT firm, offered $60 million in performance-based tax incentives⁴
• Living Social - an online marketplace, offered $32.5 million in tax abatements over a five-year period⁵

The same incentives provided to incoming businesses can and must be applied to DC's long-standing Black-owned businesses in the form of tax abatement and rent relief. Rather than giving away hundreds of millions of dollars to massive corporations, the DC Council should be using tax abatements to reinvest in the Black-owned businesses that allow local communities to thrive.

Legislation B23-0075, written by DC Councilmember Brianne Nadeau, addresses tax abatement for a specific Black business, Sankofa Video Books and Cafe⁶. Sankofa has served the community surrounding Howard University for decades, providing residents and students access to an abundant and rare collection of African-centered literature and offering a safe space for Black artists to display their work at little to no cost. Sankofa has a bill of $30,000 in taxes for 2019 as a result of property value increases⁷ and is requesting a 10-year tax abatement. Passing the bill to save Sankofa bookstore will set a new precedent in the fight for the economic vitality of DC’s long-standing Black-owned businesses and give activists a new tool against gentrification.

Tell the DC Council pass B23-0075 and advance further legislation for tax abatement and rental relief to other DC Black-owned businesses.

Until justice is real,

Brandi, Rashad, Arisha, Evan, Johnny, Eesha, Samantha, Marcus, FolaSade and the rest of the Color of Change team

References :

1. “DC the Most Gentrified City in the Country : Report,” Patch, March 22, 2019, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/141838?t=8&akid=33745%2E1942551%2EbhzTk1
2. “In Increasingly Expensive D.C., a Longtime Black Bookstore Looks for Tax Relief,” DCist, May 29, 2019, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/141839?t=10&akid=33745%2E1942551%2EbhzTk1
3. “The Line Hotel Didn't Comply With All of Its Hiring Requirements, Audit Finds,” Washington City Paper, May 8, 2019, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/144473?t=12&akid=33745%2E1942551%2EbhzTk1
4. “D.C. Considers $60 Million Tax Break for the Advisory Board Company,” The Washington Post, October 16, 2015, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/144474?t=14&akid=33745%2E1942551%2EbhzTk1
5. “Is DC Giving Too Much Away in Living Social Tax Deal ?” DCist, June 26, 2012, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/144475?t=16&akid=33745%2E1942551%2EbhzTk1
6. B23-0075, Council of the District of Columbia, http://act.colorofchange.org/go/144476?t=18&akid=33745%2E1942551%2EbhzTk1
7. “DC Gentrification Threatens Black-owned Bookstore, Cafe Near Howard University,” WUSA9, May 26, 2019, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/144477?t=20&akid=33745%2E1942551%2EbhzTk1

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Color Of Change is building a movement to elevate the voices of Black folks and our allies, and win real social and political change. Help keep our movement strong.