Must Read: "The New Face of Anacostia"

and yes, DC gov still needs to step in to save that house

By now I hope most have seen the Washington Post article that came out online yesterday afternoon as well as the shortened cover story in today's Washington Post Express. Titled "The New Face of Anacostia: Black professionals are leading a charge of gentrification across the neighborhood," the article is a refreshing look at the changes taking place here.

Of course, there is a diversity of colors and creeds moving into the neighborhood, but the article picks up on the reality that the majority of the new and upwardly mobile residents of Anacostia, to this point, are black. Does the race thing really matter? Maybe not. But it at least turns the tables on the otherwise typically very "whites movin' in = gentrification" conversation.

Nice to see this article after such an epic NPR fail earlier in the year...

Anacostia in the Express

A few days overdue, but in case you missed it, Anacostia was featured in the Washington Post's Express!



The article, titles "A Growth Spurt With Plenty of Promise: New Residents Drawn to Anacostia" is mostly accurate (minus some glaring geographic errors), but painted a nice picture of the ways the neighborhood is starting to turn around. Let the good press keep on coming!

Anacostia on NPR's Morning Edition - Update

Set your radio dials to NPR's Morning Edition (88.5 in DC) tomorrow morning at 6:20AM and 8:20AM to hear a segment about population shifts in DC, with a special focus on the Anacostia neighborhood. I was interviewed along with Charles Wilson, Natasha Dasher from Uniontown, Stan Voudrie of Four Points development, and others.



I hope the story accurately depicts some of the changes taking place, but also get the feeling it might skew towards "black people are being forced into PG County" ... to which I usually reply, in general terms: 1) Most of the people moving to Anacostia are black. 2) If you can afford to buy in PG, you can afford to buy in Anacostia. Sure, there are trade-offs, but give me a break.

Update, with links: I see that the reporter insisted I "left the neighborhood after a 2009 incident where 15 friends were robbed at gunpoint" -- so not true (I left eight months after the incident for much less exciting reasons), and a fact that I clarified for him multiple times.

Click Here to read the written aricle or listen to the story

Anacostia on Bones

Last night, the FOX television show "Bones" aired an episode, part of which was about a detective wanting to pursue a lead in Anacostia. The opening dialogue of the episode shows a very typical outsider understanding of the Anacostia neighborhood. Clearly, there is still much to do to challenge and change assumptions.



Hannah: What do you know about Anacostia?

Booth: It's a neighborhood about a mile and a half from here: seedy, prostitution, lots of gangs, bad activity ... why?

Sweets: Anacostia? That’s a really tough part of town.

Booth: Not compared to downtown Kabul, it’s not.

Brennan: Or the surface of Venus, which is covered by clouds of sulfuric acid and hundreds of active mega-volcanoes. What?! We are talking about tough neighborhoods!

What do you think? What will it take to get the local and national media to stop scaring people? I think the neighborhood is on the right track, and am confident in its transformation ... but I represent a very small percentage of people out there.

It's gonna be a step by step process combining community building, new buildings, good role models, and investment of all kinds to get Anacostia off the "bad neighborhood name-drop" list. Have hope.

image courtesy of Real is Just a Matter of Perception

Anacostia on Aljazeera

This summer, Aljazeera English filmed a documentary feature on the changes coming east of the Anacostia River, specifically in the Anacostia and Barry Farm neighborhoods (although there is some footage of Congress Heights as well).

The feature, called "There Goes the Neighborhood", is an interesting look into the current state of Anacostia, and shows it from a few different angles and perspectives (including my own) on different sides of the economic and racial spectrum.



What do you think? Is this an honest portrayal of these communities?