Southwest Voice August Issue

Since this year’s main event could not take place on its usual day of the week – Saturday – due to a scheduling mishap, a community clean-up and adult kickball game were held on Saturday instead. In the early morning hours, volunteers began bagging refuse starting at King Greenleaf and ending on I St and Delaware Avenue to Carrollsburg Place to the south. Later, the “Missing Our Loved Ones Co-ed Kickball” was organized by Latoure Taylor, Darryl and Shawn Johnson and held in Greenleaf field that evening. The inspiration came from a young lady who had held a similar remembrance event following a funeral earlier this year. Two teams (Southwest Finest Legends vs. Southwest Finest Hitters) were drawn from the public housing communities in Southwest. Each team scored a victory with a tie breaker game scheduled soon.

On Sunday, Lansburgh Park turned into fairgrounds. Carnival and pony rides dotted the field. As early as 7:00 a.m., families began pitching tents. The event provided free food and drinks throughout the day. Many families used the occasion to grill and consume their favorite family meals. Ms. Pat Bishop and Ms. Belinda Belk from Greenleaf led the senior bingo game. DJ Stormin’ Norman entertained and kept dancing going with both oldies and new favorites into mid-evening. Community organizations also tabled.

The impact that Summer in Lansburgh has on the community is immeasurable. Paul shared a touching letter that he received from his English teacher, Ms. Gibbs, at Jefferson Junior High School – he matriculated decades ago. “She taught the majority of us down here,” explained Paul. He still keeps in contact with her after all these years and is sure to invite to special days like this. Following the event, her letter describes how she had felt forgotten as she advanced in age, “I was at a low point.” Her participation prompted by his invitation was a highlight. Paul explains that he felt it was important to let her know how much she meant. This is the kind of person Paul is and the reason why Summer in Lansburgh has been going strong since 2006.
 

Ms. Brown discussed her involvement in the case and broader issues with the lack of transparency with Greenleaf redevelopment and poor city planning. From her perspective, “I don't see any in-depth detail about the wellness of the community. Having a daughter who has disabilities and asthma, building renovation and construction have created more health challenges.” In Greenleaf, she is “seeing that the Comprehensive Plan is already being implemented.” Parts of Greenleaf Senior are being emptied out with residents being given offers to relocate. “Nothing is spelled out what your rights are if you move.” Given the Housing Authority's track record of relocation and underhanded, Ms. Brown cannot trust them. The DC Housing Authority says that the Greenleaf Senior Building is 25% empty, though Linda estimates the number to be higher, “One of the floors is pretty much gone.” 

Ms. Brown saves her force for the Comprehensive Plan. “How can it be a “comprehensive” plan if it doesn't cover the human beings that are being moved around?” She elaborates on the inaccessibility of the Comprehensive Plan for many residents, “Whenever you want something from the people, you find a way to get it in the simplest terms so that they can understand it.” In fact, DC Councilmembers themselves complained publicly about the denseness and length of the Comprehensive Plan. People like her are “left out, pushed out, and forgotten,” despite making contributions. She sums up officials' perceptions, “We have outlived our usefulness (to them). Now that you don't need us, you're willing to sacrifice us.” It is not entirely a racial issue either. “Racism is about the people in power. Your biases is what they count on. Everyone is affected by that.”

Washington Post Quietly Addresses Media Bias
The Washington Post quietly did something remarkable this year when it hired a reporter, Marissa Lang, to cover gentrification and housing issues. Ms. Lang brings a humanity and balance to her stories unheard of on controversial topics as with her story following the July shooting outside Nationals stadium. She interviewed several African Americans leaders from Southwest who spoke to the growing equities and misplaced blame often put on communities of color. “A lot of these people who shoot up our kids and our neighborhoods don’t live there… so it’s not fair to blame whatever crime is happening on the hard-working people who live in what we affectionately call ‘old Southwest,” said Ms. A Dena Walker, Greenleaf Gardens Council President.

Property Management and Lax Security
Landlords that neglect to safeguard public health and safety are a source of gun violence. A major offender is the District of Columbia Housing Authority – one of DC’s largest landlords. The Office of Attorney General settled a lawsuit in 2020 with the Authority to force the agency to implement a comprehensive security strategy at ten public housing sites due to its “failure to confront ongoing drug- and firearm-related nuisances”. The Housing Authority committed to installing lights and security cameras, hiring additional security personnel, and securing vacant units to prevent illegal activity. James Creek and Syphax Apartments – two public housing communities in Southwest – were included in this settlement. Greenleaf was notably excluded although it has experienced several high-profile incidents. When African American residents from Southwest asked the Office of Attorney General about Greenleaf's exclusion on a conference call, the redevelopment plans for the property was received as a poor excuse. OAG has also filed lawsuits against other property owners. Its October 2020 lawsuit against the owners and managers of 1828 Q St SE “alleged that the building has been plagued by persistent violence linked to drug activity”. That case was settled in February of this year.

Concentrated Poverty and Gun Violence
Based on evidence from all Census tracts in the contiguous United States, increasing poverty rates were associated with 26% higher neighborhood gun homicide rates. Based on our analysis of American Community Survey data from 2010-2014 and 2015-2019, 117 of out 178 or 65% of DC's Census tracts experienced an increase in the percentage of people living in poverty. Overall, 2,200 fewer people were in poverty in the District. However, 20 Census tracts experienced an increase of 10,000 more people in poverty in 2015-2019 than the prior four-year period. The increasing poverty concentration east of the Anacostia River containing half of DC's Black population has been previously noted in other studies.

“Southwest was a thriving community of about 23,000 residents, specifically a lot of African American and immigrant Jewish residents. When urban renewal took place, 99% of the existing buildings in Southwest were demolished, and by the end only 25% of original residents still lived in Southwest. The actual demolition and new construction in Southwest were left up to private corporations, while still technically under the broad jurisdiction of the National Capital Housing Authority. These private companies had little interest in building affordable housing for previous Southwest residents, and so they built expensive new housing. Through redevelopment, the overall population of Southwest decreased by 55%, the population of black residents decreased by 50% while the population of white residents increased by 200%, and the mean rent rose by 392%.

Interestingly enough, the executive director of National Capital Housing Authority, John Ihlder, was a vocal advocate for affordable housing to be made accessible in Southwest. Ihlder acknowledged later that the goal of redevelopment went from improving housing of Southwest residents to demolition without regard for the residents. The Redevelopment Land Agency said that while it was their original intent to build more affordable housing, they argued that after redevelopment, Southwest was too “desirable” for the return of Interestingly enough, the executive director of National Capital Housing Authority, John Ihlder, continuously was a vocal advocate for affordable housing to be made accessible in Southwest. Ihlder acknowledged later that the goal of redevelopment went from improving housing of Southwest residents to demolition without regard for the residents. The Redevelopment Land Agency said that while it was their original intent to build more affordable housing, they argued that after redevelopment, Southwest was too “desirable” for the return of the original residents. The director of the Redevelopment Land Agency said that it would be a mistake to try to invite back Southwest’s original residents because, “the wealthy people would leave” and take their tax money with them.”