As the country desperately tried to deal with race relations, black communities felt
the tension. D.C. and other cities begin to swelter with discontent of an unjust
government. Black communities like D.C. that flourished before the Civil Rights era
became powder kegs of urban unrest. Soon the dream of true freedom became an illusion
and King was gunned down. The powder keg was ignited. When the smoke cleared from
the urban revolt D.C. would never be the same. The community was purposely neglected
and left to rot. The black community would go through decades of neglect, condemnation
and underdevelopment. Crime, unemployment, drugs, and poor schooling were the norm.
The deterioration of the neighborhoods went unabated by city officials with plans to retake
the heart of the nation.
The planned pillaging needed the displacement of the already weakened black
community. As the buildings were left to condemn and the businesses fled, the properties
were deemed hot spots across the city encouraging gentrification. Areas with low income
residents afflicted by poverty were littered with housing code violated property. The
government encouraged real estate spectators to hold such properties in time for property
values to rise, even while homelessness plagued the city. The city ended rent control and
demolished cheap housing. Property value, property tax, and rent skyrocketed as the city
refused to safeguard housing affordability for low income residents. Whole communities
with long generational ties were displaced because of they could no longer stay in
neighborhoods that were once left forgotten. Schools, parks and other social institutions
gave way to expensive condominiums, expensive stores and stadiums. Affluent people
reinvested in the neighborhood and restored the properties as well as bring in new business
that caters to residents with higher income. The displaced retain the same problems they
had in their previous community as they are just shifted around the area.
The dream of the black community can be salvaged. The black community of D.C.
and other cities must seize control of their own destiny. The community must organize and
educate each other on the current crisis. They must form their own initiative and
corporation with the intent on rebuilding the community. The united community must
demand that the government manage the housing market change. The government is
responsible for taking measures to ensure housing remains available, so the disruption of
established communities will not occur. The people will grow with real investments in the
neighborhood. The community can be revitalized and reinvested in without the
displacement of residents. The community can grow diverse and include people with
various incomes. The urban renewal should involve the existing residents in the planning
of the neighborhood. The healthiest neighborhoods are the ones that are ethnically diverse.
”Dreams of a United Community”
By Sankofa Shakur
There once was a dream dubbed D.C.. A city burdened with shaping a new idea of
freedom also shined as a beacon amongst the chaos of a torn country. It is to this city the
downtrodden flocked. African slaves seeking sanctuary fled to the Civil War
encampments during the early 1860’s and began building free black communities. The city became a mecca for African Americans and it soon became the largest urban African American community in the nation. The U. Street Shaw area served as the heart of this black community. Here there arose a birth of culture and creativity. Predating Harlem’s
Renaissance, the area became a center of religion, art, music, politics, and intellectualism.
Black owned businesses lined the streets as well as jazz clubs and movie houses. Howard
University attracted some of the best artists and intellectuals. D.C. became a model for the African American dream.