November 2, 2011 | 10:57 AM | By

Andre Agassi Darkens Skin for Mr. T Halloween Costume

Dressing up in a Halloween costume meant to represent an ethnic group is one thing, but what about dressing as a specific person of a race different than yours? And what if skin paint is part of the get-up? Retired tennis player Andre Agassi dressed up as Mr. T for Halloween and darkened his skin as part of the costume. He’s not the only athlete to wear such a costume this Halloween; hockey player Raffi Torres also darkened his skin for his Jay-Z costume.

There’s a long, painful history behind blackface, beginning in the 19th century when white actors painted their faces and depicted caricatures of African Americans in minstrel shows. Characters such as the mammy were shown to enjoy being slaves or couldn’t be trusted to be free. Sometimes black actors wore blackface and also played these caricatures. These stereotypes evolved and persisted through Reconstruction and well into the 20th century, and many scholars argue they served as the main representation of African Americans in mainstream media for decades.

Now, these athletes’ costumes are a far cry from the history of blackface; Agassi and Torres weren’t depicting stereotypes of black people, but were dressing up as specific people. A comic doing an impersonation would probably do the same. On the other hand, Mr. T and Jay-Z are quite iconic; perhaps these athletes could have pulled off their costumes without having to alter their skin color. And what if Agassi wanted to be famous white person – would he have felt the need to lighten his skin then? What’s your take? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.


To those of you who want to make a big deal out of the fact that Agassi used makeup to darken his skin: This picture was taken two days after Agassi raised $26.1 million for his charter school; the one that aims to represent underserved communities and gives college scholarships every year to deserving students, most of whom happen to be African-American. If Andre Agassi is racist, then I’m Steffi Graf.

Read more at: sports.yahoo.com

November 2, 2011 | 8:44 AM | By

D.C.’s Most Expensive Condo

If you needed further evidence of D.C.’s rising housing prices, here’s an example: the price tag on the city’s most expensive condo is $7.78 million, which is $2 million more than last year’s most expensive condo sale. Both condos are located in Georgetown.


We’re pretty sure this is highest list price ever for a condo in DC, but if anyone out there can remember something above this please let us know in the comments. It certainly bests last year’s most expensive condo sale of $5.75M, which was in the same 70-unit building on Georgetown’s Water Street.

Read more at: dc.curbed.com

November 1, 2011 | 3:43 PM | By

‘DC Or Nothing’ Trends Worldwide

“DC Or Nothing,” the title of a track from District rapper Wale’s latest album, “Ambition,” was trending worldwide on Twitter early today. The song criticizes leadership in D.C. and lyrics reference a number of District issues, including gentrification and demographic changes; “when the city was chocolate, there was death in the air” and “push them whites in the hood” are some such lines.

The song can be heard here (and, fair warning, it does contain profanity). If you do happen to listen to it, we’d like to know what you think: does Wale accurately describe D.C. with this song?

@J_LivesGFGD
J.Mercedes
Dc or nothing is talking about current conditions in Dc, Gentrification,aids, hopelessness,violence,drugs i gotta say this is briliant
Nov 01 via webFavoriteRetweetReply

November 1, 2011 | 1:41 PM | By

Richest Congressmen Get Richer

Some Americans are so frustrated with amount of wealth concentrated in the top tier of society that they’ve been protesting for weeks as part of the Occupy protest movement. The Occupy DC protests have called particular attention to the influence money has in politics. So add this to their frustrations: the nation’s richest lawmakers have gotten richer in recent years. Roll Call found that the net worth of all members of Congress was $2 billion in 2010, which is about 25 percent more than the 2008 total.


The 50 richest Members of Congress accounted for 78 percent of the net worth in the institution in 2008 ($1.29 billion of the $1.65 billion total); by 2010 the share of the 50 richest had risen to 80 percent ($1.63 billion of the $2.04 billion total). The pie of Congressional wealth got bigger, and the richest Members are getting a bigger slice.

But there is still plenty to go around. Overall, 219 Members of Congress reported having assets worth more than $1 million last year; subtracting the minimum value of their liabilities brings the total number of millionaires in Congress down to 196 — again not counting any value on their homes or other non-income-producing property. If one were to assume that every Member of Congress has $200,000 worth of equity in real estate, the total number of millionaires would rise to 220 Members, just more than 40 percent of the Congress.

Read more at: www.rollcall.com

November 1, 2011 | 12:58 PM | By

Ben’s Chili Bowl Owners Buy Longtime H Street Shop

Adam Gerard / Flickr

H Street clothing shop George’s Place, Ltd. will soon be replaced after 43 years of business. Nizam and Kamal Ali of Ben’s Chili Bowl reportedly bought the property at 10th and H Streets, NE for $900,000. The Alis aren’t set on opening another Ben’s, though; they’re conducting market research to see “what concept might best fit the neighborhood,” Washington City Paper reports.

Back in September, we profiled George’s Place owner George Butler as he was readying to sell his property after decades on H Street. He reflected upon his time on the now gentrifying corridor, and he said he felt there was little impetus to keep longtime, black-owned businesses afloat.

Ben’s is a rarity in D.C.; it’s been on U Street since before the 1968 riots, and has not only survived but thrived as that corridor experienced revitalization. Ben’s has expanded its half-smoke empire in recent years with the opening of a location at Nationals Park and Ben’s Next Door on U Street. The Alis have strong roots in the District; so if they’re the ones to buy up a longtime H Street shop to open a restaurant, should it be called gentrification? If not, then what is it?

 

FILED UNDER: History, Ben's Chili Bowl, Gentrification, H Street NE, Small Business
November 1, 2011 | 11:32 AM | By

Congressmen Receive Food Stamps

How difficult is it to have a nutritious diet while on food stamps? It’s “impossible,” according to D.C.’s nonvoting member in Congress, Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton. She and other Democratic lawmakers took part in the National Food Stamp Challenge organized by religious groups. The objective of the challenge: to demonstrate what life is like for those living off food stamps. The congressmen have $31.50 a week to spend on groceries.

Food stamp usage around the country has risen, and D.C. is no exception; 13 percent more District residents received food stamps this year compared to 2010. About a quarter of the city’s population, 140,295 people, is now on food stamps.

November 1, 2011 | 10:01 AM | By

Cupcakes and Bulletproof Glass

lamantin / Flickr

Nothing says neighborhood change and gentrification like a cupcake shop. But what if such a shop has bulletproof glass inside? The Washington City Paper reports that the first cupcake shop east of the Anacostia River, Olivia’s Cupcakes, has a “thick sheet” of bullet-resistant glass behind the counter:

“It broke my heart to do that, but it’s a deterrent,” says proprietor Cindy Bullock, who runs the cupcake shop alongside her husband, Bob Bullock, and their daughters, Kristina, 20, and Alexis, 18.

“Several people asked (about the glass) and said, ‘It’s a beautiful shop, its unfortunate that you have it up,’ but we had to have it,” Bullock says.

“I have owned several business in this area and we have been robbed several times,” she explains. “We wanted to make [the shop] elegant and beautiful, but because of the teenagers and having my children here we wanted to protect them.”

D.C.’s bullet resistant glass initially appeared in stores in the wake of the 1968 riots, and became much more widespread at the height of the crack epidemic. Like the Bullocks, many store owners have installed glass after bad experiences.

In gentrifying neighborhoods, the glass barricade coming down is a turning point. It’s also sometimes necessary to appeal to a wealthier clientele. Take Logan Circle, where most liquor and convenience stores had the glass for decades. Then Whole Foods opened on P Street, NW in 2000. Property values rose, and Amare Lucas, owner of Best-In Liquors on P and 15th streets NW decided to take down his glass. The more inviting atmosphere, along with new stock he brought in, attracted more customers, new and longtime residents alike. “Some [customers] told me they had been in the neighborhood for 15 years, kind of passing the store by because of the glass,” Lucas told Washington City Paper‘s Dave Jamieson in 2005. “They’re in my store now. It really gives you a satisfaction.”

FILED UNDER: History, Restaurants, Bulletproof Glass, Cupcakes, East of the River, Gentrification, Small Business
October 31, 2011 | 5:27 PM | By

‘We’re a Culture, Not a Costume:’ Racist Halloween Costumes?

Halloween is finally here, and if you plan to dress as a “Mexican” tonight, you may want to reconsider it. That’s according to  a group of Ohio University students, who started the “We’re a culture, not a costume” campaign last week to raise awareness of what they deem to be offensive costumes.

The students are members of the group S.T.A.R.S., and their treasurer Stephanie Sheeley spoke with Colorlines’ reporter Jorge Rivas about some of the criticisms of the campaign. Sheeley told Rivas that its offensive to wear a costume that’s meant to represent a marginalized group rather than dress up as an individual person who happens to be of another ethnicity:

Many of you had a lot to say about the campaign when we wrote about it last week. We also polled readers as to whether it’s racist to dress up in a costume that’s meant to represent an entire race (you can still cast your vote). Most people who responded didn’t have much problem with such costumes:

Continue reading →

FILED UNDER: Media, Colorlines, Halloween, Race
October 31, 2011 | 12:00 PM | By

Longtime Bloomingdale Art Gallery Owner On Gentrification

The Washington Informer profiles NOA Gallery in Bloomingdale, which Michael Little started in 1970s. For decades, the majority of the neighborhood and Little’s customers were black and he sold many works that could be seen on the sets of black television programs.


Gentrification has changed the neighborhood, and brought an influx of new residents. Little had an exhibition that he marketed through his neighborhood list-serve of which two-thirds are white. To his surprise 80 percent of the people who came were white.

However, Little noted, “Just because the neighborhood changed in color doesn’t mean that all of these people know about art. For example [at one exhibition] I had all these European artists’ works hanging on the wall. This white guy comes over to me and says, ‘Where is the white section?’ which surprised me. Evidently he had made up in his mind that since I was black, what he was looking at were black artists. I immediately took him to a Norman Rockwell and an Andy Warhol and said to him, ‘These artists are not black.’ I also pointed out black artists that were in the show, but two-thirds of the artists were white.”

Read more at: www.washingtoninformer.com

October 31, 2011 | 10:00 AM | By

‘Shakespeare is the 99 percent’

The film “Anonymous” is based on the premise that Shakespeare’s works were in fact written by a member of the aristocracy. One D.C. teacher takes issue with a group distributing curriculum materials that back the film’s theory.


I could never stand before a class of high school students and tell them that great writing, and a deep understanding of humanity can only be achieved by the educated elite.

I had the good luck to teach at Cesar Chavez Public Charter High School in D.C. for five years. My students were performing well below grade level and came from households as far from the aristocracy of Georgetown as a kid can get. They also had an understanding of life’s complexities beyond their years. Just as Falstaff holds a wisdom greater than Prince Hal’s and King Lear’s Fool sees the world more clearly than his master, my students knew a side of life that I did not. To suggest that my privileged worldview held greater value or depth would have been criminal. And yet that’s what the folks at Young Minds Inspired are doing.

Read more at: wamu.org