User:Faithandfavor/sandbox

Early Life
Arturo Griffiths was born in 1949 in Panama City, Panama. He immigrated with his family to the District of Columbia in 1964 and lived in Washington, DC for over 30 years. As a teenager, he helped found the Latin American Youth Center (LAYC).

a Latino tells the story of how he got involved as a Latino immigrant teenager in the very first D.C. Latino Festivals held in Adams Morgan. He tells the story of various presidents, many of whom were elected before he was elected President in 1987. Griffiths, together with his committee, organized the last D.C. Latino Festival to b e held in the Adams Morgan neighborhood. In 1989 Griffiths took the Festival “downtown” – to the grounds of the Washington Monument. He tells the story of how hard it was to secure permits, convince authorities to allow the Festival to serve and sell homemade ethnic food on the Monument grounds. Negotiating with D.C. government officials, the National Park Service and community leaders took many months. Griffiths stresses the important role that the Parade groups had supporting the move to Constitution Avenue NW and their energy and commitment in organizing their floats and dance groups. Griffiths reflects on the importance of ethnic Festivals, and in particular the importance of the Latino community and its contributions to mainstream culture. Griffiths stressed the importance of educating the public about the different Latino cultures, racial backgrounds, and histories.

Born in 1949 Panama City, Panama, Arturo Griffiths immigrated with his family to Washington D.C. in 1964. He graduated from Mackin High School. As a teenager, he was one of the founders of the Latin American Youth Center (LAYC). The LAYC youth founded the first Youth day- Saturday- at the early D.C. Latino Festivals when they were in Kalorama Park. Griffiths was involved in many of the Festivals from 1970 to 1987. In 1987 he was elected President of the Latino Festival and organized three Festivals: 1988, 1989, 1990. In 1989 he took the D.C. Latino Festival – Fiesta D.C. – to the Mall. Griffiths has worked for several labor unions. With his sister, Yasmin Garabito, he founded the Afro-Latino Institute. He ran twice for D.C. City Council and was D.C. Coordinator for the Safe Our Cities! Save Our Children! March. In 1992 he planned and coordinated the Citywide Multicultural Leadership Summit. In 2014 he founded Trabajadores Unidos de Washington D.C., a community-based nonprofit that advocates for and educates D.C. immigrant day laborers and low-wage workers.

Arturo Griffiths was born in Panama and immigrated to Washington, DC in 1964. A 30-year resident of the District, Arturo has been a long-time activist in youth organizations, and helped found the Latin American Youth Center. He was elected President of the Latin American Festival for three years. As a community activist and labor organizer, Arturo planned and coordinated the Citywide Multicultural Leadership Summit in 1992. Most recently, he has been working to build a citywide grassroots healthcare advocacy organization called Healthcare Now. He is also organizing with the Coalition for Housing Justice, to stop evictions in Columbia Heights and throughout the city, and to ensure increased access to affordable housing.

A VOICE for all DC Residents...
Build Democracy and Participation of Residents in all Levels of Governance -- The city should foster organizing among communities, tenants, workers, and youth, so that people can truly participate in decision-making processes. ANCs should have more resources and staff so they can better help their communities carry out neighborhood planning and economic development.

Attain Statehood for the District -- DC must attain statehood so that residents truly have local authority, complete autonomy over the DC budget, full Congressional representation, and no more federal interference.

Give a Voice to Underrepresented Communities -- Latinos, immigrants, and others need a voice on the City Council. The Council needs a member who will build bridges across all the diverse communities of the District, to build a coalition that will improve living conditions for all residents.

Restore the Elected School Board -- The elected school board is a vital democratic institution that must not be weakened or eliminated. All parents must have meaningful participation in the issues that affect their children's education. Funding should be provided to encourage stronger parental involvement in the schools.

... and INVESTMENT in our Communities
Create Living Wage Jobs -- We must increase the number of jobs that pay living wages with health benefits, provide training that prepares residents for jobs in growing sectors of our regional economy, and strengthen our transportation networks so that DC residents can get to these jobs. Workers must have the right to organize and form unions. We must work together to improve city services, rather than privatize them.

Increase Supply of Affordable, Decent Housing -- We must develop comprehensive housing plans to stabilize gentrifying neighborhoods so that housing remains affordable to a diverse, mixed-income community. Existing District laws that protect tenants need to be enforced, and our rent control laws need to be expanded.

Expand Health Coverage and Quality Care -- Uninsured District residents need access to quality health care, through improved capacity of health clinics, stable support for the Public Benefits Corporation, and resident participation in all aspects of health care policy and planning.

Improve Educational, Recreational and Job Opportunities for Youth - Training and recreational opportunities should be expanded for youth, and every youth should have access to a summer job. District teachers and schools need greater resources, and schools should be transformed into 24-hour community centers, that serve the many needs of their residents.

Paid for by the Committee to Elect Arturo Griffiths -- Lisa Ranghelli, Treasurer

Call (202) 736-1700 for more information about the campaign. Contributions may be sent to "'The Committee to Elect Arturo Griffiths," c/o L. Ranghelli, 2022 Columbia Rd NW, Apt 407, Washington, DC 20009.

Others in DC Statehood Green Party Slate: TOM BRIGGS for Ward 2 Member of Council · RENEE BOWSER for Ward 4 Member of Council · THOMAS E. SMITH for At-Large Member of the DC Board of Education · MARTIN THOMAS for DC "Shadow" Representative · RALPH NADER for President

DC Statehood Green Party

MEDIA ADVISORY

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Friday, June 2, 2000

CONTACT

Arturo Griffiths, (202) 265-2659

ARTURO GRIFFITHS ANNOUNCES HIS RUN FOR THE AT-LARGE COUNCIL SEAT

Popular Latino activist joins a list of DC Statehood Green candidates

WASHINGTON, DC—Arturo Griffiths, a popular neighborhood activist for Latino rights,

housing, health care, and other causes in the District of Columbia, will announce his candidacy for the At-Large seat on DC City Council on June 7. His name will appear on the DC Statehood Green Party (DCSGP) slot in the September primary and November election.

With “unity, diversity, and a voice for all DC residents” as his theme, Arturo will introduce his campaign at Haydee’s Restaurant, 3102 Mt. Pleasant Street, NW, near the corner of Irving Street in the Mount Pleasant neighborhood, at a kick-off party, 7-9 pm on Wednesday, June 7.

Arturo joins several other declared DCSGP candidates in 2000: Martin Thomas for “Shadow” Representative; Renée Bowser for the Ward 4 Council seat; Tracey Joyner for the Ward 8 Council seat; Thomas E. Smith for At-Large member of the DC Board of Education. Ralph Nader, now seeking the Green Party’s presidential nomination, will also appear on the DC ballot, with running mate Winona LaDuke.

DCSGP, product of the 1999 merger of the DC Statehood and DC Green Parties and a member organization of the Association of State Green Parties, is also working to defeat a June 27 referendum to make the Board of Education a partially appointed body, calling it an assault on the democratic rights of DC voters.

Arturo has made the issue of democratic rights and civic involvement the cornerstone of his run: “The elected school board is a vital democratic institution that must not be weakened or eliminated. All parents must have meaningful participation in the issues that affect their children’s education.”

The same principle underlies his pledge to “give a voice to unrepresented communities—Latinos, immigrants, and others need a voice on the City Council. The Council needs a member who will build bridges across all the diverse communities of the District, to build a coalition that will work cooperatively to improve living conditions for all residents.”

Arturo sees the campaign as part of the larger movement for DC statehood, in the Statehood Party tradition, “so that residents truly have local authority, complete autonomy over the DC budget, full Congressional representation, and no more federal interference.”

Arturo Griffiths was born in Panama and immigrated to Washington, DC in 1964. Arturo has been a long-time activist in youth organizations, and helped found the Latin American Youth Center. He served for three years as President of the Latin American Festival. As a community activist and labor organizer, he planned and coordinated the Citywide Multicultural Leadership Summit in 1992.

Arturo currently works as consultant for the Center for Community Change. He has most recently taken leadership roles in the Health Care Now Coalition, the Greater Southeast Coalition, and the DC Coalition for Housing Justice, which opposes threatened tenant evictions in Columbia Heights and other neighborhoods.

The Committee to Elect Arturo Griffiths (Lisa Ranghelli, treasurer) will organize the campaign. A web site with further information will be announced soon; information about DCSGP can be read at .