Stacie Joy for CTTC
Alex Baca, the blogger behind “Good Hope Anacostia” writes: “Latest Courtland Milloy column is ignorant, hypocritical“. It’s worth a read, especially because she includes reading recommendations, but she lost me when she complained that the term “Chocolate City” wasn’t inclusive enough. Maybe she isn’t a fan of P-funk.
I’m not trying to say that things are all warm and fuzzy throughout DC, but identifying problems is not as easy as saying “white people do this” and “black people do this.” Understandably, longtime residents of this city, many of whom (but not all!) are low-income African Americans, feel threatened by gentrification because there is the possibility of displacement. Though I don’t believe that gentrification always needs to equal displacement, it generally has in the past, which has cemented that fear. But, we can’t forget that the idea of a “Chocolate City” is not exactly inclusive of white people…There’s tensions on both sides, but until we get over these identity stereotypes—which are flattering to no one—we’re not going anywhere.
