Washington, DC

Potomac River

East of the River

Anacostia

Washington, DC

Potomac River

Anacostia River

Introduction

East of the River

Anacostia

Potomac River

Anacostia River

This project forms part of a collection of projects which flowed out of William and Mary’s Hispanic Studies Cultural Research Forum on memory and social justice (HISP 392) in Washington, DC over spring break in 2008 (for more information, see http://srtand.wmblogs.net/). The project is organized as a journey on foot from Capitol Hill, at the symbolic center of the nation, to Anacostia, a neighborhood only a few miles away but often considered peripheral. Although the sequence is loosely based on our pedestrian trek down Pennsylvania Avenue and across the 11th street bridge, we have freely inserted material from other neighborhoods according to our center-periphery scheme. The presentation begins with a whitewashed image of white monuments and deceptive statistics and continues to first hint at and then reveal the divisions, contradictions, and imperfections in the center. L’Enfant’s biography offers a historical example of exclusion, while our invented slogan “Washington: A City I Can Trust” hints at a hidden fear. The poem “Doors Closing” and the image of the tent under 395 explore “percepticide”, Diana Taylor’s concept of the systematic elimination of certain perceptions—in this case, of the “other side” of Washington. The pictures of the capital from the railroad tracks and the overpasses suggest the inhuman anatomy of a city which disfavors openness to pedestrians. The imagined traveler is now far enough from the center that he no longer takes it for granted; he now sees a larger context.

The 11th street bridge and Anacostia river, important physical markers in the transition between neighborhoods, serve as barriers and symbolically as a line which the traveller crosses to fully enter the periphery. The barrier is marked by the memories it evokes—psychological barriers—while a poem describes the effects of physical boundaries and a historical anecdote reports the process of division. A poem on the backdrop of Martin Luther King, Jr. Ave. describes the internal alienation of the displaced traveler. New construction at the corner of Martin Luther King, Jr. Ave. and Good Hope Rd. prompts a discussion of gentrification while the Morgan’s Family Fish Fry, a black-owned restaurant, anchors a review of the district’s “Home Rule.” The final image–a mural from Columbia Heights—invites the traveler to respond to the city’s divisions.

Population: 582,049

Median household income: $40,127

Average home cost: $429,900

Gross state product: $87.664 billion

L’Enfant Square: Memorial to a Patriot

•This citizen of Paris went to the New World and fought at George Washington’s side. He changed his name from Pierre to Peter in order to be more American.

•After founding the new country, Washington charged L’Engfant with designing a capital city.

•L’Enfant envisioned and designed a Baroque city organized aronud a center of government buildings, with extra space left for monuments.

•The designs were modified and implemented—the capital is his masterpiece. However, L’Enfant was not recognized or paid for the plans and died in poverty.

Washington:A city I can trust

Doors Closingon my one-seat metroworld

My world from here to where the book endsfrom here to the newspaperfrom here to the blind stareTo that invisible gated community

That suburb of not seeingOn the crowded metro

Avert thy eyes

Urban river I run downstreamUrban river I run downstreamSpurt up from the ground at the foot of the Canon Senate Office BuildingSpurt up from the ground at the foot of the Canon Senate Office BuildingTrickle around the Library of Congress, past the friendly officerTrickle around the Library of Congress, past the friendly officerCascading past liquor stores and a check-cashing joint,Cascading past liquor stores and a check-cashing joint,Floating serenely past the Eastern Market Starbucks and Chevy Chase BankFloating serenely past the Eastern Market Starbucks and Chevy Chase BankUntil the freeway-Until the freeway-The windowless schools-The windowless schools-The great industrial bridges-The great industrial bridges-I pick up cigarette butts and empty cansI pick up cigarette butts and empty cans

the rumble of trucks at 65the rumble of trucks at 65the shadow of graffiti, the stiffness of barred windowsthe shadow of graffiti, the stiffness of barred windows

And I carry them all to the seaAnd I carry them all to the sea

Of course? From the top of the stadium, look out at the skyline, toward the Capitol Dome. At first, it seems like a happy accident that it is most visible from the cheapest seats. But now look down into the neighborhoods where public schools have become dilapidated brick bunkers, their windows covered in forbidding metal mesh. It's enough to make you weep. Not about the stadium, which is as generic as it goes. But rather the cynical pragmatism that governs our priorities, socially and architecturally. Washington is a city where people can stare straight at the most powerful symbol of their democratic enfranchisement, and still feel absolutely powerless to change the course of our winner-takes-all society.

“This Diamond isn’t a Gem.” ~ Philip Kennicott ~ Washington Post Staff Writer ~ Monday, March 31, 2008; Page C01

washington from the inside

Background photograph from the Washington Post

Estimated time to cross on foot: 5 minutesEstimated time to cross in memory: 40 years

On April 6, 1968 an average of 30 new fires were lit in Washington every hour.Martin Luther King, Jr. was dead.Washington burned.The army marched on Washington and occupied the city.The army left.The smoke still burns my eyes.

“The Warsaw ghetto wall was 11 feet tall and topped by barbed wire.”How many glances did it hold?How many peeks, how manystares cut short, howmany questions never answered, never fully voiced?

How many hopes, how much pity dammed up, how much contact, communication, reconciliation did it hold back?

Red and gray and maroon brick latticelike faces locked in concreteblank facescensored faces on the other side that I will never seeFootsteps and jackets and winter hatstraffic and longings

Blank brick facesbury human faces

“Welcome to ‘the ‘Costia’” –a brief history

•After the civil war, the Southeast of Washington was divided into lots to be sold to ex-slaves; the black population flourished with community organizations and cultural activity.

•The government build housing for industrial workers during World War II; after the war these were converted into housing projects.

•The Anacostia neighborhood became principally black after the integration of public schools as the whites moved to the center and suburbs to avoid sending their children to multiracial schools.

•As the diagram to the right indicates, a systematic socioeconomic plan enforced racial segregation.

As the population of Anacostia increased, the city did not manage to increase its social services at the same rate. Instead, they zoned much of the area for apartment buildings, discouraging home ownership and fostering a disinterested attitude towards city affairs in order to favor speculation and moneyed interests.

Look at that white boyHands in his pocketsLooking at the signsLike he never been here beforeLook at him trip on that brickLook at him, pants pulled up, all white-likeWhat makes him think he can come here?What makes him think he belongs?What’s he trying to do, anyway?

There aren’t any white people around here.Except me.

If I look straight ahead, is that weird?Don’t I need to watch my back, too?If I look all around, do I look nervous?If I have my hands in my pockets, is that threatening?If I carry my book, does that make me look out of place?If I have my hands at my sides, do I look uncomfortable?

I feel uncomfortable.

Am I going to get shot?

White Thoughts upon Crossing the Frontier

GENTRIFICATION

This building has a garage under it.Parking spaces cost $99 a month.

Give me my gentrification!I’ll hold my breath! I want it bad!Push those poor people out to the suburbs!I mean, up out of poverty!I’m hungry for higher property values

(or was that taxes?)I’m hungry for a new city.C’mon! Please?Gentrification!

Scheduled for demolition The ARCH business center

“The announcement by D.C. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) that a major city agency would move across the Anacostia River to the corner of Good Hope Road and Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue drew mixed reaction from some residents in Southeast this week.”

“Anthony Muhammad, the advisory neighborhood commissioner, who represents the Anacostia community where the building is located, said he learned of the planned move about 30 minutes before the news conference. He did not attend.”

“This is going to be a traffic jam every day,” Muhammad said. “What are the citizens going to get? Why should we be so happy to accept all the social services programs?”

The Washington Post, District Extra, 6-March-2008, p.3

Who runs this city? ¿Who divides it?

Before 1974, District residents had never Before 1974, District residents had never elected their own mayor or city council.elected their own mayor or city council.

Congress still controls the budget and vets Congress still controls the budget and vets Council legislation.Council legislation.

The District’s judges are still appointed by the The District’s judges are still appointed by the President.President.

The District has never had voting The District has never had voting representation in Congress.representation in Congress.

The District is 58% African-American. The District is 58% African-American. Congress is 8% African-American.Congress is 8% African-American.

Washington, DC

Potomac River

East of the River

Anacostia

Washington, DC

Potomac River

Anacostia River

Julie Riggs and Alexander Douglas

Do you think Washington is a divided city?How do you read a city?

Do you think Washington is a divided city?How do you read a city?

Is a divided city unjust?

Do you think Washington is a divided city?How do you read a city?

Is a divided city injust?

What tactics does the center use to marginalize the periphery?

Do you think Washington is a divided city?How do you read a city?

Is a divided city injust?

What tactics does the center use to marginalize the periphery?

What position does the periphery take? Does it resist the center? How?