Washington, DC

1
Washington, DC
Potomac River
2
Washington, DC
East of the River
Potomac River
Anacostia River
Anacostia
3
Introduction

• This project forms part of a collection of
  projects which flowed out of William and Marys
  Hispanic Studies Cultural Research Forum on
  memory and social justice (HISP 392) in
  Washington, DC over spring break in 2008 (for
  more information, see http//srtand.wmblogs.net/).
  The project is organized as a journey on foot
  from Capitol Hill, at the symbolic center of the
  nation, to Anacostia, a neighborhood only a few
  miles away but often considered peripheral.
  Although the sequence is loosely based on our
  pedestrian trek down Pennsylvania Avenue and
  across the 11th street bridge, we have freely
  inserted material from other neighborhoods
  according to our center-periphery scheme. The
  presentation begins with a whitewashed image of
  white monuments and deceptive statistics and
  continues to first hint at and then reveal the
  divisions, contradictions, and imperfections in
  the center. LEnfants biography offers a
  historical example of exclusion, while our
  invented slogan Washington A City I Can Trust
  hints at a hidden fear. The poem Doors Closing
  and the image of the tent under 395 explore
  percepticide, Diana Taylors concept of the
  systematic elimination of certain perceptionsin
  this case, of the other side of Washington. The
  pictures of the capital from the railroad tracks
  and the overpasses suggest the inhuman anatomy of
  a city which disfavors openness to pedestrians.
  The imagined traveler is now far enough from the
  center that he no longer takes it for granted he
  now sees a larger context.
• The 11th street bridge and Anacostia river,
  important physical markers in the transition
  between neighborhoods, serve as barriers and
  symbolically as a line which the traveller
  crosses to fully enter the periphery. The barrier
  is marked by the memories it evokespsychological
  barrierswhile a poem describes the effects of
  physical boundaries and a historical anecdote
  reports the process of division. A poem on the
  backdrop of Martin Luther King, Jr. Ave.
  describes the internal alienation of the
  displaced traveler. New construction at the
  corner of Martin Luther King, Jr. Ave. and Good
  Hope Rd. prompts a discussion of gentrification
  while the Morgans Family Fish Fry, a black-owned
  restaurant, anchors a review of the districts
  Home Rule. The final imagea mural from
  Columbia Heightsinvites the traveler to respond
  to the citys divisions.

East of the River
Potomac River
Anacostia River
Anacostia
4
Julie Riggs and Alex Douglas present
BARRIERS
A walk through a divided city
5
Washington
Population 582,049 Median household income
40,127 Average home cost 429,900 Gross
state product 87.664 billion
6
(No Transcript)
7

• LEnfant Square Memorial to a Patriot
• This citizen of Paris went to the New World and
  fought at George Washingtons side. He changed
  his name from Pierre to Peter in order to be more
  American.
• After founding the new country, Washington
  charged LEngfant with designing a capital city.
• LEnfant envisioned and designed a Baroque city
  organized aronud a center of government
  buildings, with extra space left for monuments.
• The designs were modified and implementedthe
  capital is his masterpiece. However, LEnfant was
  not recognized or paid for the plans and died in
  poverty.

8
Washington A city I can trust
9
(No Transcript)
10
Doors Closing on my one-seat metroworld My world
from here to where the book ends from here to
the newspaper from here to the blind stare To
that invisible gated community That suburb of not
seeing On the crowded metro
11
Avert thy eyes
12
Urban river I run downstream Spurt up from the
ground at the foot of the Canon Senate Office
Building Trickle around the Library of Congress,
past the friendly officer Cascading past liquor
stores and a check-cashing joint, Floating
serenely past the Eastern Market Starbucks and
Chevy Chase Bank Until the freeway- The
windowless schools- The great industrial
bridges- I pick up cigarette butts and empty
cans the rumble of trucks at 65 the shadow of
graffiti, the stiffness of barred windows And I
carry them all to the sea
13
washington from the inside
Of course? From the top of the stadium, look out
at the skyline, toward the Capitol Dome. At
first, it seems like a happy accident that it is
most visible from the cheapest seats. But now
look down into the neighborhoods where public
schools have become dilapidated brick bunkers,
their windows covered in forbidding metal mesh.
It's enough to make you weep. Not about the
stadium, which is as generic as it goes. But
rather the cynical pragmatism that governs our
priorities, socially and architecturally.
Washington is a city where people can stare
straight at the most powerful symbol of their
democratic enfranchisement, and still feel
absolutely powerless to change the course of our
winner-takes-all society.
This Diamond isnt a Gem. Philip Kennicott
Washington Post Staff Writer Monday, March 31,
2008 Page C01
Background photograph from the Washington Post
14
Estimated time to cross on foot 5 minutes
Estimated time to cross in memory 40 years
15
On April 6, 1968 an average of 30 new fires were
lit in Washington every hour. Martin Luther King,
Jr. was dead. Washington burned. The army marched
on Washington and occupied the city. The army
left. The smoke still burns my eyes.
16
The Warsaw ghetto wall was 11 feet tall and
topped by barbed wire. How many glances did it
hold? How many peeks, how many stares cut
short, how many questions never answered, never
fully voiced? How many hopes, how much pity
dammed up, how much contact, communication,
reconciliation did it hold back? Red and gray and
maroon brick lattice like faces locked in
concrete blank faces censored faces on the
other side that I will never see Footsteps and
jackets and winter hats traffic and
longings Blank brick faces bury human faces
17

• Welcome to the Costia a brief history
• After the civil war, the Southeast of Washington
  was divided into lots to be sold to ex-slaves
  the black population flourished with community
  organizations and cultural activity.
• The government build housing for industrial
  workers during World War II after the war these
  were converted into housing projects.
• The Anacostia neighborhood became principally
  black after the integration of public schools as
  the whites moved to the center and suburbs to
  avoid sending their children to multiracial
  schools.
• As the diagram to the right indicates, a
  systematic socioeconomic plan enforced racial
  segregation.

18
As the population of Anacostia increased, the
city did not manage to increase its social
services at the same rate. Instead, they zoned
much of the area for apartment buildings,
discouraging home ownership and fostering a
disinterested attitude towards city affairs in
order to favor speculation and moneyed interests.
19
White Thoughts upon Crossing the Frontier
Look at that white boy Hands in his
pockets Looking at the signs Like he never been
here before Look at him trip on that brick Look
at him, pants pulled up, all white-like What
makes him think he can come here? What makes him
think he belongs? Whats he trying to do,
anyway? There arent any white people around
here. Except me. If I look straight ahead, is
that weird? Dont I need to watch my back,
too? If I look all around, do I look nervous? If
I have my hands in my pockets, is that
threatening? If I carry my book, does that make
me look out of place? If I have my hands at my
sides, do I look uncomfortable? I feel
uncomfortable. Am I going to get shot?
20
(No Transcript)
21
GENTRIFICATION
Give me my gentrification! Ill hold my breath! I
want it bad! Push those poor people out to the
suburbs! I mean, up out of poverty! Im hungry
for higher property values (or was that
taxes?) Im hungry for a new city. Cmon!
Please? Gentrification!
This building has a garage under it. Parking
spaces cost 99 a month.
Scheduled for demolition
The ARCH business center
22
The announcement by D.C. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty
(D) that a major city agency would move across
the Anacostia River to the corner of Good Hope
Road and Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue drew mixed
reaction from some residents in Southeast this
week.
Anthony Muhammad, the advisory neighborhood
commissioner, who represents the Anacostia
community where the building is located, said he
learned of the planned move about 30 minutes
before the news conference. He did not attend.
This is going to be a traffic jam every day,
Muhammad said. What are the citizens going to
get? Why should we be so happy to accept all the
social services programs?
The Washington Post, District Extra,
6-March-2008, p.3
Who runs this city? Who divides it?
23
Home Rule
Before 1974, District residents had never elected
their own mayor or city council. Congress still
controls the budget and vets Council
legislation. The Districts judges are still
appointed by the President. The District has
never had voting representation in
Congress. The District is 58
African-American. Congress is 8 African-American.
24
Washington, DC
Potomac River
25
Washington, DC
East of the River
Potomac River
Anacostia River
Anacostia
26
Julie Riggs and Alexander Douglas
27
Do you think Washington is a divided city? How
do you read a city?
28
Do you think Washington is a divided city? How
do you read a city? Is a divided city unjust?
29
Do you think Washington is a divided city? How
do you read a city? Is a divided city
injust? What tactics does the center use to
marginalize the periphery?
30
Do you think Washington is a divided city? How
do you read a city? Is a divided city
injust? What tactics does the center use to
marginalize the periphery? What position does
the periphery take? Does it resist the center?
How?