I
am witnessing an ethnic cleansing as sure as I am alive.
I�ve read about the Native American, the Jews of Eastern
Europe and apartheid South
Africa. I�ve seen Kosovo,
Myanmar
and Tibet in my lifetime. I
see the news reports out of Tunisia,
Yemen
and Libya. Yet, there�s a cleansing
in America,
of its own citizens. It�s so close to me that I taste the
bitterness of its waters in my daily travels. When our city
elected its last mayor, that cleansing came masquerading
as �One City.�
It�s not Kosovo, Palestine or Haiti,
it�s Washington,
DC, a city as color-separate as a chess
board. The lines are drawn, the cleansing has begun.
Our
city�s cleansing began during the years following the fall
of Marion Barry. Barry served as the second elected mayor of the District
of Columbia from 1979 to 1991, and again as the fourth mayor
from 1995 to 1999. He was a leader committed to empowering
a constituency disenfranchised by American legacy. Since
Washington, DC
- a predominantly black city - is constitutionally overseen
by a predominantly white Congress, its residents suffer
from the superiority-governing model: �we know what�s best
for you, boy.�
After
the infamous public 1990 fall of Barry, the white congressional
overseers of the city saw fit to fiscally back a fiscally
conservative chief executive who would commit to the type
of governing that hurts poor people and enriches rich ones.
Anthony Williams� consecutive terms from 1999-2007 set into
motion a form of economic cleansing that sent blacks in
the heart of the city fleeing for more friendly living conditions.
The influx of whites, concurrent with exploding property
tax rates, spawned a gentrification that brings me to today.
Washington DC is often touted
as one of the best cities in which to live. We all know
Washington as the capital of the United
States. This city is also home to the
most powerful man in the world, the President of the United
States. It has the White House, Smithsonian
museums and many more ancient buildings which are filled
with rich history and heritage. Washington DC is filled with employment opportunities,
entertainment bastions and great neighborhoods. It�s also
home to the 11 richest counties of the US. One of those counties
is even predominately black. But that�s only half the story.
Nearly
one out of five DC residents lives at or below the poverty
line, a statistic that helps expose a widening gap between
the rich and the poor in the nation's capital. This is the
contradiction of current mayor Vincent Gray�s vision of
�One City.� Last year, the city experienced
its biggest single-year increase in poverty since 1995.
Yet, that 20% is a significant number among the whole because
the vast majority of the impoverished are black. Based on
unemployment rates and other data, it is estimated that
the city has 106,500 residents - up 11,000 in a year - living
at or below the poverty rate, which in 2009 was $21,800
for a family of four. $21k isn�t nearly enough on which
to survive in a city that boasts the second highest city
council payroll in the nation. And more relevant, the city
wants to cut or eliminate essential social services to that
constituency. Falling in line with the national debate,
�cutting spending� is the theme.
But
doesn�t that raise a question for you, the contradiction
between great employment opportunities and a ridiculously
high unemployment rate? Employment is great if you�re a
government employee. Employment is great if you�re a private
contractor. Employment is great if you�re a foreign diplomat
or a covert operative; if you�re a hard-working blue-collar
American, an unemployed American or simply a black American,
employment isn�t so great in the nation�s capital. Most
Americans don�t know that�that�s why I�m here to tell you.
If
you want to get a sense of what a disparate tall-tale Washington has become
in recent years, check out the Virginia suburb of Falls Church City.
Boasting
a strong school system and positioned about six miles from
the nation's capital, Falls Church has, for years, enticed rich families
to their burg, making it the nation's richest county with
median annual household income of $113,313. Compare that
with $21,800. Don�t get me wrong, even wealthy Falls
Church isn�t exempt from the kind of tough fiscal realities
facing counties and cities across the nation. Fall Church has cut 14% of its workforce over
the last three years and raised property taxes. In DC, we�re
having a hell of a time getting our well-to-do city council
to raise taxes on the richest residents to maintain
those essential city services for the most vulnerable residents.
Although
white households had a median income of about $101,000 in
2008, the median income of black households in DC was about
$39,000. And, in 2010, affordable housing was cut by 1/3
and child care by 1/5. More budget cuts in low income programs,
including child care, homeless shelters, affordable housing
and TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families)
were passed for 2011. On April 1st of this year, Mayor Vincent
Gray proposed an additional $130 million in cuts to low
income programs. Yet, those same high-paid legislators and
executives play coward when it comes to raising the income
tax on DC�s top 5% income bracket. I�m pissed!
And
even more, DC is currently embroiled in a re-districting
battle that has drawn whites to show their racist tendencies
in council hearings; unfettered efforts to keep blacks in
their �traditional� ward districts - and re-draw them out
of white ones.
While
DC stomps on the poor, they give an estimated $250 million
in tax abatements and exemptions to corporations�a virtual
well-to-do welfare program. When you plan your trip to the
nation�s capital as your next tourist destination, remember
this commentary - better yet, this news report - and change
your vacation. The rhetoric of �One City� is just
a tale. Don�t be fooled; don�t believe the hype. Race and
class make this city an American tale that no child could
believe.
BlackCommentator.com
Columnist, Perry
Redd, is the former Executive Director of
the workers rights advocacy, Sincere Seven, and author of
the on-line commentary, �The
Other Side of the Tracks.� He is the host of the internet-based
talk radio show, Socially Speaking in
Washington,
DC.
Click
here to contact Mr.
Redd.
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