To successfully execute this initiative, Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) must be more than buzzwords for the NoMa BID. These concepts must be the compass that points the way forward.

NoMa’s diversity is its greatest strength, and the only way to preserve and fortify that diversity is to invest the time, money, and work in preventing its erosion.

Progress on this initiative in 2022 included:

• Increasing the base wages across the board for our Ambassador staff, to a minimum of $17.00/hour
• Diversifying the Board of Directors through the increased presence of Asian-American and addition of Deaf Community representation
• Offering all NoMa BID events at no cost to participants and ensuring that they are accessible and welcoming to all.
• Contracting with Diverse Markets Management, which recruits local BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, or People of Color) makers, to launch the NoMa Farmers Market, promoting vendor diversity
• Securing the addition of a BIPOC-owned operator for the café space at Alethia Tanner Park
• Hosting Alethia Tanner Day to honor the formerly enslaved woman after whom NoMa’s park is named. The celebration featured a pop-up market of local, Black female makers to pay homage to Tanner’s entrepreneurial spirit which enabled her to purchase her and others’ freedom through monies she earned from selling produce at an outdoor market
• During Black History, Women’s History and Pride months, spotlighting and celebrating on social media members of the NoMa community who represent these diverse communities
• For the celebration of Alethia Tanner Day, highlighting and focusing on black-owned businesses and vendors
• Supporting the Asian Pacific American Film Festival screenings at Alethia Tanner Park
• Contracting with a black-owned, woman-owned landscaping firm
• Dedicating BID print work to Blueboy Document Imaging, a black-owned BID business
• Supporting and encouraging BID businesses to apply for Destination DC’s 2022 Diversity Equity and Inclusion Fellowships, resulting in three awardees
• Contracting with small, local, queer-owned, and woman-owned vendors for the BID’s needs, particularly event needs
• Installing a new mural—via an inclusive call for artists and community selection process— above M Street NE by deaf artist Michelle McAuliffe, spelling out “NOMA” in American Sign Language
• Supporting Eckington Hall, a new art gallery and flexible creative and event space launched by a local Black entrepreneur, through social media promotion and paid sponsorship
• Selecting films for our CiNoMatic movie series that represent diversity in front of and behind the camera

Targeted work on this initiative for 2023 will include:

• Conducting an inclusive naming process for the new park, resulting in the name “Swampoodle Terrace”
• Improving internal promotion and on-the-job learning opportunities for our
  Ambassador staff
• Working to develop and implement an intentional retail attraction and retention
  strategy aimed at BIPOC-owned and locally owned businesses
• Codifying these efforts into the BID’s official procurement policy
• Conducting an inclusive naming process for the public spaces that will be created via the redesign of the intersection of New York Avenue and Florida Avenue NE