As the Resource Organizer for ONE DC, I’m writing to make an important and joyful announcement. This year, 2019, marks a truly unique year for ONE DC. It is year 13 since we began our journey as a community organizing collective organizing for racial and economic equity in Shaw and the District.  We are also in a period of Creative Reconstruction, ONE DC organizers, members, and shared leadership team are healing and learning together. This process also includes critiquing ourselves and our organization and doing the work necessary to imagine what our work looks like in the future.

Looking around me, I am honored to stand beside people committed to organizing for liberation and to see the strong and courageous ONE DC movement that we ALL have created. The work I am most proud of is the relationships we have built and sustained. Liberation always requires transformation. For us to grow, something must shift. This shift doesn’t mean anything is wrong, it means that we as an organization are ready to grow in new formations and ways. Shifting is possible for organizations and individuals and I am writing to inform you that at the end of 2019, I am transitioning off of staff as the Resource Organizer for ONE DC.

In the shared leadership structure, no one person is the spoke that keeps the wheel turning. There are many spokes. My transition is an act of solidarity with the movement work of ONE DC. It is rooted in the belief that no one person holds an organization up. I will continue to work closely with our membership and Shared Leadership Team throughout this time. I am committed to working closely with ONE DC to ensure that organizational history and information is transferred. I ask you to bravely support us as we lead this transformation at ONE DC. 

Now in my third decade of organizing in DC, I’m reflecting on what it means to be black and fearless. To me, being fearless means evaluating our organizational capacity; it means fostering membership development and healing; it means taking charge of your own political education and your own leadership development. And it means supporting the staff that will continue to redevelop and reorient the culture of ONE DC after my resignation. This one quote comes to mind:

“You cannot change any society unless you take responsibility for it, unless you see yourself as belonging to it and responsible for changing it.”
-Grace Lee Boggs

ONE DC is a strong and a courageous organization.  We have a long history of people who have demonstrated a commitment to organizing for a more equitable future. As I look back at the strength we have built as a collective, I am ready to fight with you all into the future and to continue our wins in our Right to Housing, Income and Wellness campaigns. A Transition Committee has been formed and is responsible for identifying knowledge transfer, strengthening staff leadership, and working with me this year and next to ensure a smooth transition for staff and membership. I will continue to work closely with them during this time and in the future. I look forward to joining the powerful membership of ONE DC, and hope you will too.

I want to thank you for allowing me to be a part of this very special organization. I’m committed to working with all of you to bring a life of joy and liberation in DC to fruition. 

Please look out for other announcements and information in the coming months. Thank you for the many special memories and the chance to smell the roses.

In solidarity,

Dominic T. Moulden
Join ONE DC