This put a smile on my face (and made me want to take a bus in Southeast):
Riding the bus in SoutheastDC is pure comedy! Lil girls have spelling bee battles.Overworked mamas screaming at their kids & gogo music.
@AnacostiaYogi
Anacostia Yogi
About Rend Smith’s Profile of Courtland Milloy
It turns out the City Paper’s cover story on Courtland Milloy by Rend Smith has inspired an ongoing, online conversation. I pointed all of you to Natalie Hopkinson’s excellent response to the feature at The Root; in it she mentions how Smith asked Milloy if he likes white people. Smith explains why he went there, via this post for the City Desk blog, “Asking a Rude Question of Courtland Milloy“:
Root editor Natalie Hopkinson figures out one reason I asked: “Even though Smith is black, I don’t doubt that he was accurately channeling some urgent wonder among the Twitterati,” she writes.
That’s definitely true, but it also goes a bit deeper. As I point out in the piece, Milloy has often done a fantastic job relaying the kind of D.C. barbershop discourse on gentrification many non-black residents might otherwise miss out on. The assumption that he’s just not fond of whites can end up being the elephant in the room, though, and it’s an easy way for those who prefer to treat his admittedly rabble-rousing analysis as nothing more than a collection of bigoted rants. In light of that, neglecting to ask Milloy how he felt about white people—as uncomfortable a moment as it might have created—would have been a disservice to both the “Twitterati” and Milloy.
It wasn’t exactly the first time he’d heard such an inquiry, anyway. The impression I got hanging out with Milloy was that he gets prodded about his racial outlook fairly frequently. It’s also interesting to note that the question bore fruit. Milloy didn’t just reply with a simple, “Of course I do,” but with a long, expository answer that provided insight into both his amiable, humanistic side, and his angry, fed up side.
Giant Food: “No Comment” on Salvation Army Limits
jimmy_best
Bell ringers for The Salvation Army.
Two weeks ago, I wrote about how Giant supermarkets had planned to limit the amount of time The Salvation Army’s bell-ringers could stand outside their stores and bring attention to the iconic red kettle, which many of us associate with giving during the holiday season. The story was widely-reported, because in the past, The Salvation Army would collect half of its total haul from Giant patrons. Limiting “kettle time” to one week in November and one week in December would drastically affect how much money could be raised.
The reactions of local shoppers have been divided; some are angry or saddened at the move, others applaud it, because they don’t care for the “pressure” to give or because of their disagreements with The Salvation Army (specifically with regards to the LGBT community).
I tried to contact someone at Giant because I had several questions about this change in policy. An email sent to Jamie Miller, who manages Public & Community Relations for Giant yielded this prepared statement, which was shared with local media:
Giant is committed to supporting the communities in which we operate, and
we allow non-profit organizations and community groups to solicit outside
our stores. We receive hundreds of requests from groups requesting
permission to use the areas outside of our stores for fundraising,
education purposes, and to collect signatures. Because of the increased
needs in our communities, we felt it essential to create opportunities for
as many community groups as possible.
Ivan has been found!
Washington Humane Society
Ivan the puppy.
Great news! The four-month old pit bull puppy who was stolen from the Washington Humane Society’s New York Avenue shelter has been found. Here’s more, from The Washington Times:
Scott Giacoppo, a spokesman for the humane society, confirmed for The Washington Times that they have located the 4-month-old pit bull, named Ivan.
And here’s something I didn’t see reported elsewhere:
Sources told The Times that three youths thought to be involved in the highly publicized theft of the dog were wards of the city’s Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services. The sources, who talked The Times on condition anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on the subject, said the three juveniles were at the agency’s headquarters on Wednesday.
I’m so relieved that this puppy is safe.
Tasty Morning Bytes – DC9 to reopen, Vince Gray’s Stolen Wallet and HBCUs
Good morning, DCentric readers! While you were watching three locals compete on Top Chef Masters, we were out looking for links!
Marion Barry’s Ex-Girlfriend, Rose Anding, Writes Memoir of ’80s “…it’s full of tidbits Barryolgists will enjoy, like the fact that Anding would always check hotel rooms for recording devices before she and the mayor would do drugs. The book also adds a new perspective on Barry’s drug arrest and trial—arguably the most memorable event in D.C. politics—while confirming what we already knew: Barry was both guilty and framed. Or put another way, Barry was a womanizing crack user, but the bitch really did set him up.” (Washington City Paper)
DC9 Can Reopen in Two Weeks: ABRA “DC9 can serve alcohol if the accused co-owner and four employees cease their day-to-day relationship with the bar and all other license owned by Joe Englert, another DC9 co-owner, until Jan. 19, when another hearing will be held. In addition, club security must undergo background checks and get a training refresher. The club cannot detain people and will record incidents in a log and take part in the police department’s reimbursable detail program.” (NBC Washington)
Mayor-elect’s wallet stolen on Thanksgiving “A drugstore employee has been accused of stealing D.C. Mayor-elect Vince Gray’s credit card on Thanksgiving Day and then using it to buy nearly $40 in cigarettes and liquor in Southeast Washington. Twenty-two-year-old Tamika Garris was the cashier who rang up Gray’s tab at the CVS branch on the 2600 block of Naylor Road, according to court documents. When Gray left his wallet behind on the counter around 2:30 p.m., authorities say video surveillance caught Garris picking it up…” (Washington Examiner )
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Gray has Lunch with a VIP Constitutent
The White House
Long tables are more Presidential!
It sounds like Mayor-elect Gray’s lunch with President Obama went well (via The Hill):
Speaking alone to reporters outside the White House, Gray described his lunch with the president as “delightful” and said that it was “Even better than I could have hoped for.”
“One of the most important things to me was that the president really wants to work closely with our city,” he said. “We’re going to — in the days and weeks ahead after I’m sworn in — are going to work very closely together.”
I had a feeling D.C. schools would come up, after that infamous interview the President did with Matt Lauer for TODAY, which referenced his daughters attending private school…
Gray said that the president and he spoke about improving public education and early childhood instruction in Washington, as well as funding for infrastructure around the proposed new Department of Homeland Security headquarters in impoverished Southeast Washington. They also discussed solutions to the city’s high unemployment rate.
Tis the Season…to be Careful
DCentric
Hey, holiday shoppers-- be careful out there!
Worrisome, but predictable (via TBD):
D.C. police second district commander Matt Klein sent out an email saying a woman was robbed last night shortly after leaving the Georgetown Apple Store on Wisconsin Avenue NW near M Street. As she was headed to the 3300 block of N Street, a pair of thieves threw her to the ground and fled with the two laptops she’d just bought.
According to Klein, it appears the woman was tailed from the store. “The suspects may have been waiting for someone to leave the store with large bags or other obvious indications of a large purchase,” Klein wrote.
Last Christmas (I gave you my heart), I was still living in Georgetown and I was always a little paranoid about exactly this happening– not that I was dropping a few thousand dollars for anything as spiffy as a new Mac, but still. There were plenty of logo-covered bags bearing loot, hundreds of shoppers carrying too much stuff and nowhere near enough vigilance. Several times a day, I saw people on M street put down their shopping bags and turn around to use the PNC Bank ATM which is next to Old Glory, blithely assuming their packages were safe.
I think some people are lulled in to a warm, fuzzy sense of complacency because it IS Georgetown, but that’s the wrong attitude to have. It may be an expensive neighborhood to live and shop in, but that’s exactly what would make it attractive to people coveting shiny white and silver toys.
Have you seen this puppy?
Washington Humane Society
Ivan is a four-month old pit bull puppy; he was stolen on Monday.
Last February, I adopted a little black and white puppy who was surrendered with her litter at the Washington Humane Society’s New York Avenue shelter, so I am extra-sad about this:
Four month old Ivan was snatched from his kennel at the New York Avenue shelter early on Monday afternoon. Three suspects were caught on surveillance video taking the dog from the shelter. The individuals entered the shelter on 1201 New York Avenue, NE posing as potential adopters. Once inside the shelter the suspects took Ivan from his cage and escaped by breaking through a wooden fence behind the building.
On the news, I saw a WHS official describe the crime by saying that the suspects entered a restricted area and then kicked down a wooden fence to exit with the puppy. As commenters on other news sites and blogs have pointed out, the dog-nappers look young, and it’s possible that a local teacher or school employee might recognize them. I hope that’s exactly what happens and that the story is picked up by other outlets, so more people can see the suspects.
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Still don’t get Milloy’s appeal? Read The Root.
Julie Lyn
View of the Capitol from Barry Farm, in Southeast.
Last week, I pointed you towards the City Paper’s extensive profile of Courtland Milloy by Rend Smith. Over at The Root, Natalie Hopkinson continues to unpack why Milloy’s voice is important to some and offensive to others. I think she nails it. It’s not about Milloy, it’s about the disconnect, the disparity:
This is the color-coded reality of life in the District. White median income is $92,000; black median income is $34,000. The boom in cafés and farmers markets has done nothing to stem a stunning slide into poverty in recent years. In 2007 the black child poverty rate was 31 percent; in 2008 it was 36 percent, and the latest figures show that the figure has shot up to an appalling 43 percent. Forty-three percent. The poverty rate for white children is 3 percent. Unemployment doubled, and black people disproportionately lost their jobs and homes.
This is what they mean when they talk about class warfare: two trains — one privileged, one not — running in opposite directions at a dizzying speed, each with divergent needs and expectations from government. No need to invent it or “inject race” into it; this is the objective reality of life in the District. Yet somehow the narrative about change becomes “Courtland Milloy doesn’t care about white people!”
The following point Hopkinson makes cannot be understated; certain black views are constantly invalidated. It’s sickening to read DCist or WaPo comments which refer to the residents of Ward 8 as if they are mindless, crime-craving savages who are too simple to grasp what their virtuous, wiser counterparts immediately grok (tellingly, occasionally when I’m mired in such threads, the words to “White Man’s Burden” appear, unbidden, to my mind’s eye):
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Tasty Morning Bytes – Lunch Dates, D.C. General and Education Reform
Good morning, DCentric readers! Here are your breakfast links:
Obama-Gray meeting set for Wednesday “President Obama and D.C. Mayor-elect Vincent C. Gray will break bread together Wednesday at the White House, a meeting the two Democrats began penciling in the week of Mr. Gray’s victory in the general election. The lunch follows Mr. Gray’s breakfast meeting last week with Education Secretary Arne Duncan, with interim Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson also in attendance.” (Washington Times)
Social services with nowhere else to go end up at D.C. General complex “Every time he walks in, he gets depressed, Poindexter said. “They closed this place down for a reason,” he said, waving his hand at the sprawling parking lots, run-down brick buildings and the grassy tracts that have become his front yard. “If they wasn’t going to tear it down, leave it closed. Turning it into a shelter is like going backwards.” (The Washington Post)
Who Wants a Park? “Urban land is extremely valuable, and city governments are generally far too quick to limit development on it. Limited development hurts everyone, including the poor…Sometimes, government use of city land for one thing or another, including the occasional park, is justified, but the use of regulation to deliver these ends fuels the pernicious idea that land obtained in such ways is somehow “free” — there to be appropriated by the local government for whatever is deemed by city officials to be the highest and best use. It isn’t.” (ryanavent.com)
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