Author Archives: Elahe Izadi

January 27, 2012 | 2:59 PM | By

African Immigrants Finding Inspiration in D.C.’s Black History

The history of D.C.’s African American community is long and storied. African Americans have been around since the city became the nation’s capital, and most were free by 1830. In recent decades, D.C.’s black community has grown in ethnic diversity due to an influx of immigrants; about 18,000 District immigrants identify as black, with many coming from African and Caribbean nations. The District is also home to one of the largest expatriate Ethiopian communities in the world.

Courtesy of St. Augustine Catholic School

Students singing at St. Augustine, a school founded by free blacks and former slaves in 1858, and continues to thrive to this day.

Relations between the African American community and recent African arrivals have been tense at times. That was on display during a 2005 debate over whether to officially rename a corridor in Shaw, a historically black neighborhood, into “Little Ethiopia.”

But the history of African Americans’ struggles and triumphs also resonate with some of D.C.’s black immigrants. In a WAMU Metro Connection story about St. Augustine Catholic School, which was founded by African Americans before the Civil War ended, reporter Jessica Gould speaks with current student body president Lello Negera: “I’m from Ethiopia. I came here in 2003,” Negera tells Gould. “When I learned the history of the school, it made me realize how special this school is and how hard the people fought for us to go to school.”

About 200 children attend the school. The school is predominately black but a number of students hail from other countries.

Friday’s entire Metro Connection show was devoted to how race and ethnicity affects the D.C. region. You can find all of the stories here.

FILED UNDER: History, The People, Metro Connection, St. Augustine Catholic School
January 27, 2012 | 11:00 AM | By

Government: Consider Affordable Housing When Funding Transportation

A number of factors come into play when the federal government decides which local mass transit projects will get funding. The environmental impact. Efficiency. Now the U.S. Department of Transportation wants to add “social equity” to the list.

“Social equity” refers to a number of things, including affordable housing, job creation and general socioeconomic well-being of communities. The proposed change is quite interesting, given that critics of mass transit projects have charged that they bring on gentrification, push out low-income residents and hurt existing businesses (although that’s not always the case).

Under the proposal, the agency would consider a project’s effects on air pollution, energy use, greenhouse-gas emissions and safety, and “social equity impacts” such as affordable housing and job creation.

Read more at: www.businessweek.com

January 27, 2012 | 8:00 AM | By

‘Avoid the Ghetto’ App and Pegging Neighborhoods as Dangerous

Alpha / Flickr

Critics have dubbed a feature for GPS tools that would direct pedestrians to take alternate routes based on crime and demographic data the “Avoid the Ghetto” app. They say it could redirect people away from low-income or minority neighborhoods, or reinforce stereotypes about such areas. Others say the app makes GPS devices more intelligent by giving people useful information.

According to Microsoft’s patent for the app, which was approved last month, pedestrian routes can be calculated relying on demographic and violent crime data, among other things. The potential result: a pedestrian would be directed to walk a route where violent crime falls below a certain threshold, according to the patent.

Dubbing neighborhoods as “dangerous” can be tricky. Calculating the probability that you’ll be the victim of a crime is actually quite difficult, University of Maryland criminology professor Charles Wellford says. For one, it’s most useful when examined by block, not by an entire neighborhood. That’s because crime is highly localized, partially having to do with the conditions of specific locations, he says. However, calculating an accurate probability by block is difficult because it’s affected by how many people travel there, not just by who lives there.

For example, downtown D.C.’s population swells during the day as commuters increase the city’s daytime population by 73 percent. Is the probability that you’ll be the victim of a crime in downtown D.C. based based on how many people live there? The app patent is unclear on how it would take that into account. Wellford cites another example: he says the “most dangerous” place in San Francisco last weekend was Candlestick Park, where the New York Giants played the San Francisco 49ers.

“Any city that has an NFL team, the day they play at home, there’s a lot of crime around and within the stadium,” he said.

The app could potentially tell you to avoid that area. Depending how the data is used, the app can “paint pictures of communities that aren’t useful or accurate,” Wellford says.

Continue reading →

FILED UNDER: Around the City, Crime, Public Safety
January 26, 2012 | 1:54 PM | By

DCentric Picks: Chinese New Year Parade

Photo Phiend / Flickr

Participants in 2010's Chinese New Year parade.

What: Annual Chinese New Year parade.

When: From 2 to 5 p.m., Sunday.

Where: Chinatown, along H Street NW between 6th and 8th Streets.

Cost: Free.

Why you should go: Come to see firecrackers, dancers and plenty of dragons. Organizers of this year’s Chinese New Year parade want to make it one of the biggest yet. The Washington Post reports that the parade committee hopes that a bigger event will stir up pride within second- and third- generation Chinese-Americans, as well as alert people to the history of the neighborhood, which has seen a decline in Chinese residents.

 

FILED UNDER: Around the City, Culture, Delightful City, Chinatown
January 26, 2012 | 12:43 PM | By

D.C. Area’s Government Job Industry Not the Strongest

Love maps and employment data? We do, too. The Urban Institute’s MetroTrends team has released an interactive map showing the strongest industries for 100 metro areas. One surprising fact about the D.C. area: we do not lead the nation in terms of government job strength. That distinction goes to the Nasvhille area, which experienced a 14 percent increase in government jobs between 2009 and 2010. Meanwhile, the number of government jobs in the D.C. area only increased by about 3 percent.

Metros are colored and ranked according to the industry’s change in jobs since the end of the recession (6/09). Metros are also ranked according to the industry’s share of all jobs in that metro. Who has experienced the greatest growth in Manufacturing? Lansing, MI. Finance? Dallas, TX. Education and Health Services? Phoenix, AZ

Read more at: datatools.metrotrends.org

January 26, 2012 | 8:53 AM | By

Training D.C. Residents for Tech Jobs

The digital divide in the District affects more than just Internet access. It also impacts job prospects. Many jobs require computer skills. But a number of companies direct job applicants to apply online, even if the jobs themselves don’t require computer skills. That’s a particular challenge in communities where people have limited access and experience with computers.

Microsoft will begin a program this spring to provide tech training to D.C. students, teachers and the unemployed. WAMU 88.5′s Patrick Madden reports that exact details, including how many people will benefit from the program, haven’t been released yet.


Microsoft has a struck a deal with the District to help train residents and students for jobs in technology. The city is calling it a Digital Alliance; Microsoft says it will help train out-of-work residents, provide teaching and technological resources to schools, and award $100,000-worth of support and training to 10 local businesses.

Read more at: wamu.org

January 25, 2012 | 3:37 PM | By

On Diversity, or Lack Thereof, in Media Criticism and Newsrooms

Jon S / Flickr

The Poynter Institute, a journalism-education organization, announced this week it hired Andrew Beaujon as a reporter to cover the media, taking over where Jim Romenesko left off. Beaujon (who is a former colleague of mine from TBD) said he plans to devote more coverage to ethnic media outlets than is seen in today’s current media criticism.

“It’s barely covered at all,” he told DCentric. “If you read about, say, [black newspaper] the Chicago Defender, it’s only ever about its financial troubles. And I’m certainly interested in that, but I’m also curious about how those papers and websites connect with their communities.”

Although Beaujon plans to report on ethnic media, the appointment of another white man as a prominent media critic inspired Washington City Paper‘s Shani Hilton to ask: is media criticism a white boys’ club? She lists off prominent media critics including Howard Kurtz, Erik Wemple, Richard Prince, Jack Shafer and David Carr, all of whom, except for one, is a white man. (Another exception is Eric Deggans, Wemple notes).

The lack of diversity among prominent media critics is somewhat reflected in print media outlets. In 2011, racial minorities made up 12.79 percent of newspaper newsrooms, a decline of about half a percent from the previous year, according to the American Society of News Editors newsroom census.

But while it’s easy to measure the diversity, or lack thereof, in a newsroom, gauging diversity coverage is a different matter. Hiring more minority reporters can help improve coverage of minority communities, but it doesn’t guarantee it. News judgement decisions aren’t always left up to reporters; editors and managers are also involved. And not all minority journalists want to only cover their own ethnic communities. On the flip side, a white journalist can aim to improve coverage of minority issues. Which is what Beaujon appears to want to do.

FILED UNDER: Media, Andrew Beaujon, Diversity, The Poynter Institute
January 25, 2012 | 12:00 PM | By

D.C. Unemployment Rate Drops

D.C.’s unemployment rate fell to 10.4 percent in December, down from 10.6 the previous month, according to newly released data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. But the number of overall D.C. jobs decreased by 100; the private sector lost 400 jobs while the public sector added 300 jobs. The unemployment rate measures the number of out-of-work people who are actively looking for jobs.

  • jiffy-icon
  • Source: Dc

The numbers are drawn from the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) through its monthly survey of the District of Columbia’s employers. Since January [2011], total private sector employment has increased by 3.6 percent, or 17,400 jobs.

Read more at: newsroom.dc.gov

January 25, 2012 | 10:13 AM | By

State of the Union: DCentric Outtakes

Saul Loeb-Pool / Getty Images

U.S. President Barack Obama delivers his State of the Union address before a joint session of Congress on Capitol Hill.

President Barack Obama devoted much of Tuesday night’s State of the Union address to leveling class disparities between the middle class and the very rich.

He didn’t embrace the rhetoric of the Occupy Movement – namely that 99 percent of Americans are suffering while 1 percent hold the wealth. But the president did say that 98 percent of Americans make less than $250,000, and that their taxes shouldn’t go up. Raising taxes on the wealthy is an issue with local relevance; the D.C. Council in 2011 narrowly approved a tax hike on those making $350,000 or more a year.

President Obama pushed for a resurgence of American manufacturing to combat joblessness. He also said there are available jobs in the technology and science industries, but not many people are qualified to fill them. Such a “skills gap” exists in D.C., where many of the unemployed lack the credentials needed to fill available jobs. President Obama made a “national commitment to train 2 million Americans with skills that will lead directly to a job.” That commitment may be easier said than done. D.C.’s job training programs have been fraught with problems and don’t always lead to jobs. There are current efforts underway to reform them so such programs are more effective.

Immigration also had a brief moment during the State of the Union address. Deportations have reached record levels under President Obama. He called for “comprehensive immigration reform” but failed to give specifics. He did, however, urge the passage of the DREAM Act, which would create a path to citizenship for undocumented college students and soldiers.

The issue of race was barely mentioned, with President Obama focusing mostly on class issues, despite the fact that class disparities fall sharply along racial lines. For instance, the black unemployment rate is more than double the white unemployment rate. Here’s the most explicit mention of race, and it came as President Obama directly addressed members of Congress:

Those of us who’ve been sent here to serve can learn a thing or two from the service of our troops.  When you put on that uniform, it doesn’t matter if you’re black or white; Asian, Latino, Native American; conservative, liberal; rich, poor; gay, straight.  When you’re marching into battle, you look out for the person next to you, or the mission fails.  When you’re in the thick of the fight, you rise or fall as one unit, serving one nation, leaving no one behind.

Do you think race should have been more directly addressed? What are your thoughts on Tuesday night’s State of the Union address? You can read the entire speech here.

FILED UNDER: Government, Immigration, President Barack Obama, Race and Class, Racial disparities, State of the Union, Unemployment