One Community-Based Organization Carves Out Spaces So DMV’s Youth Can Thrive

One activist said we need more organizations like this.

Hundreds of D.C./ Maryland families gathered at Anacostia Park for Opportunities For Deserving Children’s “Rolling Away From Violence,” an anti-violence after-school/community program, on June 1, 2023. Photo taken by Delonte Harrod.

One of the reasons for starting The Intersection Magazine was to amplify Black people’s ideas and solutions. I had an opportunity to report on Opportunities For Deserving Children, a non-profit organization that seeks to provide a safe space for children living in communities that are politically marginalized. Tiera Bratton, a Prince George’s County native, is the founder of the organization. The organization recently won an award for its service to D.C.

This article is reported, to some degree, through the eyes of Kenneth Dawkins, a 66-year-old Ward 8 resident. I met Dawkins at the event. He wasn’t skating. He was just there, he told me, enjoying the “ambiance” of Black people gathering, laughing, eating, and joking. We talked about violence in the city and the region, and how some local media outlets characterize Black youth as inherently violent. Furthermore, he told me that it reminded him of “old D.C.,” where community members organically gathered to chill and to be present with each other.

He didn’t know that Bratton’s organization had organized the event, but he was very much aware of the moment he was in. He thought it was great to be there.

One Community-Based Organization Carves Out Spaces So DMV’s Youth Can Thrive

Excerpt: As the smoke of grilled food intertwined with the sound of 90s R&B and Hip-Hop music sailed upward into the air, some melanated children and adults roller-skated under the pavilion in Anacostia Park. Children ate ice cream cones, potato chips, and hot dogs. Groups of youth took selfies, while others received face paintings. As the joyous, organized chaos swirled at the park, Kenneth Dawkins sat along a short concrete wall, patiently observing and enjoying the presence of his community.

“I am here for the ambiance,” Dawkins said to me. The gathering of people in that place reminded him of old D.C., where community members often organically gathered to sing, dance, eat, and play spades. It was a familiar, safe vibe, one encased in Black culture. He was at an anti-violence event. 

“They don’t show this on the news,” said Dawkins, who is 66 years old. 

The anti-violence, after-school community-based program, “Rolling Away From Violence” was organized by Tiera Bratton, social entrepreneur and CEO of Opportunities For Deserving Children, a non-profit organization that creates extracurricular and mentoring programs for children living in communities that are politically marginalized. This particular community-based after-school program gives children a safe space to play and engage with peers and mentors. Bratton’s organization kicked off its first event in May – when carjackings and murders were steadily on the rise.