SALON | Can gentrification work for everyone?

I have had the pleasure of knowing Malcolm and David for years and are both fierce and community conscious neighborhood warriors who have put themselves on the line for Ward 8 more times than I can count. Ward 8 has been very lucky to have them as residents and I am very pleased to call them friends. Whatever brought us all here, I am glad it did. :)

Go HERE for the full article:

Excerpt:

But there’s a wrinkle to this narrative. Not all of Ward 8′s pockets of gentrification adhere to the blacks-out, whites-in stereotype. A recent Washington Post story on Anacostia, a slowly gentrifying Ward 8 neighborhood, reported that many of the artists, yogis and professionals snapping up houses are black themselves. The article noted that plenty of the area’s current residents are proud to see young, successful African-Americans returning to the historically black neighborhood’s Italianate and cottage-style homes. And while Starbucks may well arrive someday, for now the neighborhood is thrilled to have its first sit-down restaurant, the black-owned,Yelp-approved Uniontown Bar & Grill. 

Of course, whites are moving in, too. Garber said when he first moved to Ward 8 “there was definitely a little tension. I think I needed to prove I was interested in being part of the community.” He says he plunged himself into public meetings and neighborhood events, and as a result, “just ended up meeting everyone.” Once that happened, he says, “It was one of the friendlier places I’ve lived.”

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