Five Years of #SoutheastLove by David Garber & Nikki Peele
BY DAVID GARBER
Five years ago, my boss at the time and all things Southeast DC co-conspirator Nikki Peele (aka The Advoc8te) and I came up with the #SoutheastLove campaign to combat what felt like constant discrimination toward the quadrant in the formal and social media: all bad news all the time, rather than a more honest and balanced approach.
Powered with photoshop, some spare cash, and a couple hours to have a sign printed, we took the following day off of work to zigzag across DC's southeast quadrant and photograph as many of the amazing local businesses, arts institutions, residents, and community advocates as we could find. The one-day campaign, which turned into an annual event, got us a spot on NBC News, got the attention of the mayoral administration, and hundreds of others who joined in with their own signs, photos, and hashtags to celebrate Southeast.
It was a simple idea that didn't take much in the way of resources to execute, but it helped change perceptions of a quarter of the Nation's Capital that's all too often misrepresented and misunderstood. #SoutheastLove!
-- David Garber
Follow David on LinkedIn!
BY NIKKI PEELE
Hugs to my bestie
David Garber for starting this #SoutheastLove journey with me FIVE years ago today! In case you don't know, David designed our sign in Anacostia and we got it printed in Capitol Hill and that was all she wrote! The best part has been seeing everyone print/make their signs and take pictures with them and showing all the great things to love about the SE quadrant. And while David and I are both sick as dogs today and couldn't hit the streets with our sign we did get together to take at least one picture on this special occasion (and then promptly coughed in each other's faces).
So while I am home, sick in bed my heart soars looking at #SoutheastLove pics from years past and seeing you out there spreading your community love one sign at a time! Please keep up the good work and remember, #SoutheastLove isn't just today but every day. There is so much work to do and we are the people to do it!
So here it is, our contribution to the 2017 Southeast Love Day. If you took pics please post/tweet and use #SoutheastLove so we can follow and retweet you!
You can print out a sign here: https://www.scribd.com/doc/125498990/SoutheastLove-Printable-Sign
XOXO
Nikki Peele (AKA The Advoc8te)
Follow Nikki on LinkedIn!
P.S. If you want to follow our five year story just click the "SoutheastLove" tab under this post and read prior years posts including the incident that prompted #SoutheastLove in the first place. I would put together some links but I'm sick, and sick people don't want to do much other than cough. ;)
Five years ago, my boss at the time and all things Southeast DC co-conspirator Nikki Peele (aka The Advoc8te) and I came up with the #SoutheastLove campaign to combat what felt like constant discrimination toward the quadrant in the formal and social media: all bad news all the time, rather than a more honest and balanced approach.
Powered with photoshop, some spare cash, and a couple hours to have a sign printed, we took the following day off of work to zigzag across DC's southeast quadrant and photograph as many of the amazing local businesses, arts institutions, residents, and community advocates as we could find. The one-day campaign, which turned into an annual event, got us a spot on NBC News, got the attention of the mayoral administration, and hundreds of others who joined in with their own signs, photos, and hashtags to celebrate Southeast.
It was a simple idea that didn't take much in the way of resources to execute, but it helped change perceptions of a quarter of the Nation's Capital that's all too often misrepresented and misunderstood. #SoutheastLove!
-- David Garber
Follow David on LinkedIn!
BY NIKKI PEELE
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| #SoutheastLove 2017 |
So while I am home, sick in bed my heart soars looking at #SoutheastLove pics from years past and seeing you out there spreading your community love one sign at a time! Please keep up the good work and remember, #SoutheastLove isn't just today but every day. There is so much work to do and we are the people to do it!
So here it is, our contribution to the 2017 Southeast Love Day. If you took pics please post/tweet and use #SoutheastLove so we can follow and retweet you!
You can print out a sign here: https://www.scribd.com/doc/125498990/SoutheastLove-Printable-Sign
XOXO
Nikki Peele (AKA The Advoc8te)
Follow Nikki on LinkedIn!
P.S. If you want to follow our five year story just click the "SoutheastLove" tab under this post and read prior years posts including the incident that prompted #SoutheastLove in the first place. I would put together some links but I'm sick, and sick people don't want to do much other than cough. ;)