Dismantling The Structural & Systematic Racist-based Exclusion of Black Progress In America

PUBLIC LETTER TO PRESIDENT, BROTHER JOE BIDEN & VICE-PRESIDENT, SISTER KAMALA HARRIS

>>> Dismantling The Structural & Systematic Racist-based Exclusion of Black Progress In America <<<

Written by:

Sister Mirlande “Dina” Michel-Wiggins

Through the Holy Spirit

January 23, 2023

In Honor Our Beloved Late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

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From: Sister Mirlande “Dina” Michel-Wiggins, Servant & Founder of Tell The World Ministries, Inc.

To: United States President, Brother Joe Biden

United States Vice-President, Sister Kamala Harris

The White House 

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW

Washington, DC 20500

Dear Honorable President, Brother Joe Biden:

Dear Honorable Vice-President, Sister Kamala Harris:  

Please accept my late, but sincere CONGRATULATIONS on your 2020 win to the Presidency of the United States of America. GOD brought your administration to the White House, in a pivotal era where unless the seats of racism and fascism is irrevocably dismantled - lawless men will intimidate the course of the democratic process and forcefully relegate the Constitution of the United States of America to its own meaning and coerce the bars of justice to keep guilty man free and the innocent - shackled.

I am Sister Dina. I am the Haitian-born daughter of a Haitian woman Immigrant who bravely took the seas from Haiti into the Bahamas - on a sailboat, in 1970. My Mother is Sister Marie Josette Michel. Though I have been in the United States of America since the tender age of nine (9) - already, I had experienced the unfortunate encounter with bondage and oppression. And into my adulthood, I would learn to bend with fear. Don’t feel bad for me just yet. No! I am here to report that I no longer live in fear of what men or women may try to do to me. “i Is Free!” However, there is an evil that continually chases my progress, scatters my efforts, 

and strongarm my race. I AM BLACK. I am poor! And I speak the heart of many of my People - whom, like myself, would say: I am tired of being forced to live in the structural maze of poverty designed by White supremacists!

President, Brother Joe Biden; Vice-President, Sister Kamala Harris, the structured social and economic racism that has perpetuated the systematic policy of exclusion of Black Wealth 

must be simultaneously dismantled, while the Democratic Party continues to lay the groundwork for change. If not, the well meaning programs and policies of your administration will continue to be undermined by opposing state leaders who do not want you to reap the cards of success - thus, strategically sabotaging your intentions of bringing recovery to America, to struggling households, to impoverished communities. 

Blacks are not deprived of choices and options or excluded from power and decision making - by accident. The economic status of Blacks in America is not entirely reflective of poor choices and missed opportunities. For hundreds of years, the walls of success have been designed to erect itself against Black Progress. Black Builders of America have worked their fingers to the bone, but received - no “Just Compensation.” As a result, little Black girls and little Black boys of the non-slavery era, were born of poor Black Mamas and poor Black Papas who had no assets to pass on to their lineage - as an inheritance. Thus the creation of segregated poor Black communities, the cycle of generational poverty, the Ghettos, and the slums!

While it seems Black America has made some progress, there are children of White supremacists who have methodically installed themselves in local and state government, in the United States Senate, in the U.S. Congress, in federal and state court systems, and control large corporations and universities. This strategic positioning has guaranteed a monopoly for White wealth and the perpetual culture of exclusivity and premium opportunities for "White only." 

The fathers of White supremacists have sworn not to be the tail, but to always be the head and be ahead of Blacks and minorities - in the areas of education, in access to technology advancements, in film production and the ownership of television networks, in business development and self-employment, in vocational training and skills building, in financial capital and access to money, in financial literacy and investment strategies, in homeownership and land acquisition, in access to transportation and international travels, in the engagement and knowledge of local and national politics, and in the qualification to vote on local and national elections.

The structure for “Black Slavery” is still building on its unjust foundation, even in this now - the twentieth century. The philosophy of the KKK and of Jim Crow Law founders -is not only 

active in the administration of our public school systems, in the distribution of federal and state dollars to rural communities, in the non-written and partial sentencing guidelines of the U.S. and state justice systems, but White supremacists have also militantly grouped into a synced cell - that at a moment’s notice, will attempt to bring misfortune to any person or group that stands to threaten the segregated norms they have built on for hundreds of years. 

White slave masters birth children who were indoctrinated to continue the path of White supremacy. Thus we have in America, generations of White descendants who have been conditioned to view Black Progress as a threat to maintaining headship and control of Blacks. White supremacists are afraid, if Blacks were to have equal footing, equal balance of rights and powers - that Blacks might avenge the senseless killing and mutilation of African ancestors. But this is far from the truth! 

The majority of African descendants have long wanted to live in Brotherhood and Sisterhood with their White counterparts. Many Blacks have intermarried and formed a union of beautiful and colorful families - with each race sharing untainted love and adopting culture, cuisine, and the formation of a common bond where the word “Black” or “White” is only a mention on their government identification and not in the couple’s love language nor during times of marital conflict. Black America has -for a long time- wanted to lay a blanket of many colors: where people of all races, people of all colors, and people of all persuasion -can be included in and not excluded from- the equal opportunity to learn, to compete, to partner, and to build. 

President, Brother Joe Biden; Vice-President, Sister Kamala Harris: The racist-based structuring of policies that has systematically trampled on the breathing room of Blacks, in an attempt to "keep Blacks in their place" - must be dismantled! Without inclusion in all areas of public and private life, Black America could regrettably say: We have not reached the bars of expectation demonstrated by the exemplary courage, sacrifices, commitment, and tenacity of:

Abolitionists: Brother Frederick Douglass and Sister Harriet Tubman

Fathers of the Civil Rights Movement: Rev. Dr., Brother Martin Luther King Jr.; Brother Malcolm X; and President, Brother Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela;

Partners in the Civil Rights Movement: President, Brother John Fitzgerald Kennedy (JFK); President, Brother Lyndon Baines Johnson; 

Civil Rights Activists: Sister Fannie Lou Hamer; Rev., Brother Alfred Charles Sharpton Jr;  Rev., Brother Jesse Louis Jackson; Brother Muhammad Ali; President, Brother Barack Hussein Obama II;

President, Vice-President, communities of Color need the tools to collectively nurture Black constituents with the basic needs of quality and affordable housing, modern educational and recreational facilities, access to food and fresh produce, community medical care equipped with today’s technology, and transportation. 

State governors rarely visit the poor and impoverished cities. The decision of where money should go, can no longer be open to politically-based or racist-based distribution. Local 

governments know first hand what their city needs. The government of each city must be equipped with its own share of federal dollars, in order to successfully carry out the rigorous work of building and rebuilding Communities of Color. This can be achieved through a Direct-To-City Funding approach, with the investment and grants of federal dollars to predominantly Black communities. 

The racist-based structuring of poverty programs must be dismantled and identified as race-based strategies designed to hinder Blacks from equal participation and equal access to: quality education, employment and self-employment opportunities, and the building of assets - through land and homeownership. 

President, Vice-President, we need real solutions and want to continue building on the foundation of our late Rev., Dr., Brother Martin Luther King, Jr. Direct-To-City Funding on economic and community development projects (specific to each city), will ensure equal distribution of federal dollars and equal opportunities for Black Progress. Black leaders are ready to work just as hard and are willing to sacrifice just as much as predecessors of the Civil Rights Movement - so future generations will not only read the pages of Black Progress, but will also recount their individual participation in the building and rebuilding of Communities of Color.

I WILL DEMONSTRATE WHY IT IS SO CRUCIAL TO DEVELOP AND APPROVE A DIRECT-TO-CITY FUNDING APPROACH FOR 

“Dismantling The Structural & Systematic Racist-based Exclusion of Black Progress.” 

The federal branch of the government of the United States of America sets out directives that make it unlawful for Black communities to be denied the same level and quality of services provided in predominantly White communities.

Georgia has some of the poorest cities within the United States of America. Those in rural areas still do not equally receive the benefits of the anti-poverty aid and services that came out of President, Brother Lyndon B. Johnson's "War Against Poverty." 

The Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of the Treasury is charged with enforcement powers to deter racist-based distribution of goods and services by its grantee

recipients of federal dollars, whom -through a Non-Discrimination Agreement- agrees that its entity will design their programs and administer the U.S. Department of the Treasury funds, in a manner where "all people" will have equal access to apply and equal consideration to receive services or assistance; that no person shall be blocked, barred, or discouraged from applying for needed assistance - due to race, color or national origin, age, sex, disability, language barrier or Limited English Proficiency; that no person shall be deterred or denied access to the U.S. Department of the Treasury funded assistance or services, due to: illiteracy or limited reading comprehension, lack of technology (cell phone, computer, Internet access), 

limited or no knowledge of Web browsing, having a mental health disorder, a cognitive disorder, a chronic and severe physical ailment or an addictive disorder that may make it difficult or too traumatizing to navigate the program’s application process - without the reasonable accommodation of technical staff that can assist prospective applicants with completing their application process.

Grantees of the U.S. Department of the Treasury receive funding and are given the liberality to design their programs, hire the projected number of staff necessary, develop an engaging online platform with IT personnel ready to mitigate required updates, revisions, and corrections, as well as design a face-to-face application process for non-Internet users and other of its applicants whom their online platform may not be appropriate for or accessible - without technical or hands-on assistance. 

Even with these federal protections from the U.S. Department of the Treasury -The Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA), under the leadership of Commissioner, Brother Christopher Nunn- denied approximately 60% percent of their tenant applicants for the Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) program, a COVID-19 pandemic relief designed by your administration to provide urgently needed rental assistance to struggling renters suffering financial hardship and to displaced renters needing hotel/transitional assistance after becoming homeless during the pandemic. 

The Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA) received a total of $989,000,000 million of ERA1 and ERA2 funds from the U.S. Department of the Treasury;

On October 28, 2022, without a 30-day notice, without a 10-day notice, without a 1-day or 24 hour notice, DCA announced on its ERA website - it will no longer accept any new ERA applications nor will it accept any recertification requests by approved ERA applicants - even applicants/beneficiaries who had not received the maximum of eighteen (18) allowable months of the COVID-19 pandemic relief to renters. 

DCA left families facing evictions and those who were temporarily sheltered in hotels -  with no help and no recourse! A wave of homeless Mothers began grouping at night at Wal-Mart parking lots and sleeping in their cars, in the cold winter temperatures - with their babies! 

On October 28, 2022, when DCA abruptly shut down their ERA program - DCA had committed only $830,000,000 million of its $989,000,000 million and had approximately $159,000,000 million available ERA funds - that could still be distributed to struggling households with an income at or below 80% of the Area Median Income (AMI) and a priority given to households below 50% of the AMI.

On January 2, 2023, my interview with WSBTV’s Channel 2 Action News aired. Investigative Reporter, Sister Ashli Lincoln reported numbers directly related to Georgia Department of Community Affairs’ administration of the $989,000,000 million of Emergency Rental Assistance funds issued by the U.S. Department of the Treasury. It is as follows: 

“Total number of applications: 186,110.” 

“Total number of tenants/landlords paid out: More than 56,000 tenants and 8,800 landlords.” 

“Total number of denied applications: Approximately 60%.”

President, Brother Joe Biden; Vice-President, Sister Kamala Harris, this is not sixty (60), or six-hundred (600), or sixty-thousand (60,000). This is sixty percent (60%) of a combination of struggling renters and homeless displaced renters directly or indirectly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Most of the 60% of applicants denied are likely from predominantly Black and rural communities. Some of the 60% denied, may have been people with disabilities, applicants who are illiterate or are not English proficient, and applicants who are homeless and have no access to a computer or to Internet access.   

CLICK HERE FOR WSBTV INTERVIEW: 

"After federal dollars dwindle, the demand for needed rental assistance isn’t going away"

https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/after-federal-dollars-dwindle-demand-needed-rental-assistance-isnt-going-away/3IJWSKNU3RG67JCAEIMZ7BC2VU/

THIS IS HAPPENING IN AMERICA AND IT COULD HAVE BEEN PREVENTED, WITH DIRECT-TO-CITY FUNDING.

President, Vice-President, I am not just on the outside looking in. I am personal acquainted with the pain and the tears of homelessness, of not having anywhere to go:

I, Sister Dina, am a renter who became homeless after a discrimination-based eviction. I owed no money to the property manager. However, the company was armed with legal resources I did not have. I was evicted, June 7, 2022. And I have been in need of ERA relief, to pay for hotel/transitional assistance - through the Emergency Rental Assistance program. 

I received seven (7) months of Emergency Rental Assistance. However, after my January 2, 2023 WSBTV interview, the Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA) stopped my Emergency Rental Assistance. My processor and DCA’s legal associate - both, ignored all my messages and emails since January 6, 2023 and waited till my last 

paid hotel date -my January 23, 2023 check-out and also my fifty-seventh (57) birthday- to send me an email with indication their ERA program stopped taking new applicants.

I, Sister Dina, am a SURVIVOR of multiple spousal rape, sexual assault, and domestic violence by multiple partners. I suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). I am a person with disabilities, protected by the American with Disabilities Act of 1990. Due to the severity of my disability, I have received Social Security Disability Income (SSDI) since 2005 (over 17 years ago). 

Because of  the symptoms and limitations caused by my diagnosis of PTSD and by other chronic ailments, I am not a candidate for the congregate setting of a homeless shelter nor of a transitional home - housing multiple unrelated persons. 

My passion is for helping house those who are homeless and helping those at risk of eviction - to remain in their homes. I connect callers to local and state resources. I also make phone calls, write letters, assist in completing housing related forms, accompany constituents to eviction hearings, and often utilize my own limited funds to help provide a 1-night hotel stay to vulnerable homeless persons with disabilities and those who are “literally homeless” and sleeping on the streets.

My non-profit work is through Tell The World Ministries Inc., which I founded in March 2000 (almost 23 years ago). I do all that I do, only by the grace of GOD

President, Vice-President, Blacks are tired of being poor! Blacks do not need the handout of a carrot that keeps getting pulled back - each time we begin to progress. Blacks want and need Equal Rights and Equal Protection from deprivation and discrimination. Blacks want, need, and deserve Equal Opportunity to Progress and to also enjoy bread from the Table of Plenty.

The GOD of Israel, the Creator of mankind and His Son - JESUS Christ, said: "Let us make man into our own image (Genesis 1v26)." This means, “All men were created equal.” 

The Founders of the United States of America were endowed with the knowledge that: All men and all women were fearfully and wonderfully created by GOD (Psalm 139). And John 3v16 tells people of all races, people of all creeds, and people of all persuasions: "For GOD so loved the world that He gave His one and only begotten Son, that whomsoever believe in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life." Lastly, as we build and rebuild our Communities of Color, ministers and servants of GOD will stay vigilant and cover this Great Nation with our prayers; that its ideals, its liberties, and its human and natural resources will be protected from the "The thief [who] cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy (John 10v10).” We will continue standing and believing in the promises of JESUS, who tells us also in John 10v10: “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more 

abundantly."  May YAHWEH bless the United States of America and protect its borders. May ADONAI cover your Presidential Administration. May the love of GOD cause tolerance and compassion to flood our hearts and be the glue that bonds us together. Amen Amen Amen

Respectfully, 

Sister Mirlande “Dina” Michel-Wiggins, Servant & Founder of Tell The World Ministries, Inc.

Warner Robins, GA 31088

Phone: 404-407-0213

Email: Sisterdina.3@gmail.com

Webpage: http://SisterDina.com

cc: 

U.S. Congressional Advocates

U.S. Senatorial Advocates

U.S. Department of the Treasury, Office of Civil Rights

U.S. Department of Justice

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development 

U.S. District and State Courts

Mayors & State Representatives (nationwide)

Civil Rights Leaders & Advocates

Black History Professors

Black Businesses & Community Leaders

Local Churches & Ministries

Non-Profit Organizations & Service Providers

Advocacy Organizations 

Foundations & Philanthropists

Television & Radio Networks

Newsprint & Social Media

Constituents and Voters