Gentrification and the Pandemic have fueled an emphasis on neighborhoods in the District of Columbia.
As a long-time resident of the nation’s capital, I’ve seen several changes in my adopted hometown. Gone are the days of “Chocolate City” when African Americans comprised more than 70 percent of the city’s population at its peak. It was a time in which DC’s home-grown subgenre of funk, Go-Go as well as R&B, jazz, blues, meringue, and salsa, could be heard from clubs, parks, neighborhood gatherings, and even passing cars. African American culture permeated the city.
But the District today is different with gentrification and the pandemic being among the chief causes. By most estimates, African Americans now make up just over 45 percent of Washington’s citizens. Gentrification with its influx of individuals and businesses with more wealth resulted in D.C. experiencing a loss of long-time residents, significant increases in the cost of living, and displacement of small, local businesses that couldn’t afford the rising rents, among other factors.