DCentric

Good morning, DCentric readers! While you were singin’ in the rain, just singin in the rain, we surfed around and found you some neat links. Enjoy!

Bike Stealing Can Bring Out Racism "The fact that we link criminality to race is pretty pathetic. In the What Would You Do? clip, note how the white thief begs for a confrontation, only to find that people are unwilling to even be rude to him. White privilege is that overpowering." (Washington City Paper)

Investigation: Debt Collectors, the N-Word and Bank of America“Two days after being confronted by ABC News, Bank of America has fired a debt collection agency after several of its operators were caught using racist and obscene phone calls to collect debts from bank customers. “What’s up, you f—ing n—r?” said one of the collection agents in a message to 32-year old Allen Jones of Dallas, who owed $81 on his Bank of America credit card.” (ABC News)

Murky waters for D.C.'s 'boat people' on Southwest waterfront "The 310-slip Gangplank was founded in 1977 and soon became a haven for suburbia-overdosed divorcees, distrustful of all things land-lubbing. Since then, it has grown into an eclectic mix of young families, Navy personnel and Capitol Hill workers enticed by the idea of drinking their morning coffee on their waterborne decks and, the illusion at least, of being able to cast off at anytime to parts unknown." (The Washington Post)

Look, DC: Chicago’s Black churches offer prayers, HIV tests“Following a national trend, African Americans in Chicago shoulder a large share of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, according to the AIDS Foundation of Chicago…Once known to have shied away from addressing the diseases plaguing their communities, many black churches have become advocates for awareness and education of HIV and AIDS.” " (Chicago Breaking News)

Census finds record gap between rich and poor "The income gap between the richest and poorest Americans grew last year to its widest amount on record as young adults and children in particular struggled to stay afloat in the recession. The top-earning 20 percent of Americans – those making more than $100,000 each year – received 49.4 percent of all income generated in the U.S., compared with the 3.4 percent earned by those below the poverty line, according to newly released census figures." (The Washington Post)

"The Southeast-Southwest Freeway: Southwest Washington's great divider" "…the Southeast-Southwest Freeway will remain the great rampart setting Southwest off from downtown D.C. Unfortunately, Kennicott’s hope that the freeway will be converted to a “street-level boulevard” seems an almost impossible dream to me. I can just imagine the wail from commuters – many of them powerful ones who head to the U.S. Capitol each morning – when they hear that some of their lanes may disappear." (tbd.com)