Candidate Forum | FightBack! News”)
Washington, D.C. – On Sunday, May 17, community members, organizers and faith leaders gathered at Union Temple Baptist Church in Southeast Washington, DC for the Washington Interfaith Network’s (WIN) Candidate Forum ahead of the upcoming mayoral, city council and congressional primary elections this June.
The forum was an opportunity for DC’s most oppressed communities to make their demands to potential local elected leaders. Families Not Feds, a coalition of organizations working to end local collaboration with federal agents in DC, was invited to speak at the event and bring forward their proposal to the potential candidates.
Reverend Rachel Cornwell of Dumbarton Methodist Church and WIN set the stage, saying, “At the center of this 2026 issue agenda is a belief that a healthy city is one where all residents are valued, invested in, and have opportunities to grow.”
Cornwell continued, “Today we are bringing our work to the candidates, who are interviewing to represent us as DC residents.” The city-based candidates for DC were then invited to the stage to listen to community members’ policy priorities.
A leading organizer with Families Not Feds and Movimiento Migrante DC stated, “When rumors began of ICE and federal agents arriving in DC, I told myself this could not happen here in DC, because we’re a sanctuary, because our leaders are pro-immigrant.” She continued, “Yet, for nearly a year I have seen my friends, my neighbors, disappear right in front of me. I had an immigrant mother faint in my arms as her son was abducted by federal agents.”
Washington DC has been under attack by the reactionary forces in the White House that have been overexerting their powers into local communities who have been here long before — and will be here long after — the Trump administration is gone from the White House. A large part of these attacks comes in the form of racist police terror, with Homeland Security, FBI, U.S. Marshalls and other federal agencies openly collaborating with the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) to brutalize Black and brown residents.
This has led to the shooting of three Black community members, the murder of Julian Bailey, and the ICE kidnappings of almost 20,000 people in the DC region since the second Trump administration has been in office.
Families Not Feds Coalition was formed because the organizers were ready to fight back against these attacks. The capitulation of local politicians, like current Mayor Muriel Bowser, to the racist Trump agenda has been a blow to Black, brown, working-class Washingtonians who have no political representation in Congress.
On stage, the organizer from FNF and MMDC added, “When our executive leader failed to defend our community and instead easily disposed of us by attacking our Sanctuary Values Act and vetoing the FAAR [Full Accountability in Arrest Reporting] Act, we fought back and we won!”
The organizer then turned to ask the candidates her question: “Will you help lead the effort to pass permanent legislation to end the collaboration between MPD and federal agents?” All candidates on the stage said yes.
Other community speakers demanded affordable housing, an end to the racist youth curfew in DC and overpolicing of Black and brown communities, job opportunities for returning citizens and an overall commitment to invest in the working people of DC and not the corporate interests that have been stripping people of their needs like housing, healthcare and education.
Candidates present at the forum included Janeese Lewis-George, a frontrunner in DC’s mayoral race, and DC council at-large candidates Greg Jackson, Dyana Forester, Leniqua’dominique Jenkins, and others. Notably absent was Lewis-George’s competitor, Kenyan McDuffie, who is known to be backed by mega corporate donors like the real estate lobby. He is endorsed by DC’s current mayor, Muriel Bowser, who facilitated the Trump agenda at every turn.
The community members at the forum made it clear that they are ready for new leadership who will stand with their communities against the Trump administration. The organizer from Families Not Feds said, “DC is ready for change, and we are ready for a leader to fight with us and to lead us.”
For nearly a year, Families Not Feds has led the fight against this racist collaboration in Washington DC. The coalition is committed to holding the hopefuls for elected office accountable to the promises they made at the event. Their next steps are to pass permanent legislation to hold MPD and federal agents accountable for the terror they are inflicting on our communities.
Follow @dcaarpr, @_movimientodc, and @familiesnotfedscoalition to stay up to date on the campaign and DC mayoral race!
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