DCentric

Good morning, DCentric readers! A foolish Friday to you, and may every prank or joke be a gentle one. On to our links!

The changing colour of cities: Black flight | SIR – We are delighted to see that issues like race and migration are being covered by your venerable publication. – DCentric  | “From Oakland to Chicago to Washington, DC, blacks are surging from the central cities to the suburbs. Analysis of 2010 census data by William Frey, chief demographer for the Brookings Institution, shows that more than half the cities with large concentrations of blacks have seen significant declines in their black populations. About half of black Americans now live in the suburbs, up from 43% in 2000.” (Economist)

DC Taxicab Owners Call for Reform of Industry On Wednesday, a rally at the Wilson Building in support of medallions was “overtaken by scores of cabdrivers who oppose the bill.” A reporter on the scene noted that while the crowd of cab drivers shouted, “Shame on you.”, Mayor-for-life Marion Barry responded to them by saying “Many of you are not from America…we do things differently here.” If you’re wondering why drivers are outraged, read The Afro: “In a July 10, 2010 letter to taxicab organizations, Gray wrote he would honor the 1985 law that gives power to the commission as a whole rather than one individual or the office of the mayor. But cabdrivers said Gray has not lived up to that pledge. “He just used us to get elected,” said longtime taxicab owner, William Lucas, 71.” (Afro.com)

Changes to DCCAS Following Testing Concerns While Valerie Strauss over at the Post argues that we should subpoena everyone in D.C. who was potentially involved with or knew about what happened to those much-erased, standardized answer sheets and points out that “high-stakes testing” explains why some might be tempted to cheat, WUSA 9 reports that current schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson took action to prevent future test-tampering: after D.C. students finish the DCCAS (D.C. Comprehensive Assessment System) tests, their booklets will be sealed. (WUSA Washington, DC)

Meet Inkognito, D.C.’s Youngest, Brashest Street Artists Young, brash, teenaged wheatpaste-artists use an ancient recipe for adhesive to adhere stencils or other images to walls…in Northwest. No need or time for young brash street art in Southeast, apparently: “We’ve hit basically every neighborhood in Northwest below Friendship Heights,” says J. “We definitely want to hit up Southeast at some point. Currently, we haven’t had the time to make the trek across the city to hit it up, but we have every intention to.” (Washington City Paper)

Unemployment Rate in Washington’s Ward 8 Is Highest in U.S. How bad is the unemployment situation in Ward 8? Very: “Average household income for Ward 8 (for 2005-2009) was $44,076, compared with $115,016 for the District of Columbia, according to the institute. “People living in this part of the city tend to have lower education attainment,” said Peter Tatian, a senior researcher in the Urban Institute’s Metropolitan Housing and Communities Policy Center and director of NeighborhoodInfo DC. “You also have a lot of people who are returning from incarceration or have other legal problems, and so those folks find themselves at a disadvantage in hiring.” (Bloomberg.com)