WASHINGTON TIMES: D.C. activists 'rebrand' neighborhoods
John Muller SPECIAL TO THE WASHINGTON TIMES
When 33-year-old Charles Wilson challenged D.C. Council member Marion Barry for his Ward 8 seat last year, the Anacostia resident finished second with less than a third of the vote. However, Mr. Wilson's aggressive campaign helped inspire a network of young residents. An outgrowth of the network is the River East Emerging Leaders (REEL), created to strengthen bonds among residents, businesses and government in Wards 7 and 8.
When 33-year-old Charles Wilson challenged D.C. Council member Marion Barry for his Ward 8 seat last year, the Anacostia resident finished second with less than a third of the vote. However, Mr. Wilson's aggressive campaign helped inspire a network of young residents. An outgrowth of the network is the River East Emerging Leaders (REEL), created to strengthen bonds among residents, businesses and government in Wards 7 and 8.
"REEL started out of a need to get the progressively focused and young-at-heart residents actively involved in the community-building process," says Mr. Wilson, who works for the accounting firm Grant Thornton LLP. "There was a need, and it wasn't happening."
Part of the need grew out of reality - underdevelopment, socioeconomic stigma - and the perception that neighborhoods east of the Anacostia River are unsafe and the people who live there are bad.
Regan Ford, Ward 7 representative on REEL's steering committee, says the organization is "returning that old-school feel of community," and the group's greatest strength is "empowering folks with information."
REEL is working to "rebrand" Southeast Washington and enhance its positive qualities, Mr. Wilson said.
"We want people to talk about our historic neighborhoods," Mr. Wilson says. "Our great views of downtown, community activism and the potential of our communities. And most of all, our great residents."
In November 2006, Mr. Wilson co-founded the Historic Anacostia Block Association, which he still serves as president. The group recently received the Vision Award from the Committee of 100 on the Federal City and has been awarded grants from the D.C. Historic Preservation Office to assist residents with home improvements as part of the city's historic-grant program.
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