Feb 10 | BLACK SIDE OF THE RIVER Author Talk at Busboys and Poets Anacostia
Feb 10, 2022 6:00pm
2004 Martin Luther King Jr Ave
Sociolinguist Jessica Grieser brings together ten years of interviews with the residents of Anacostia in THE BLACK SIDE OF THE RIVER, and explores the changes over time through the lens of language use. A historically black neighborhood in Washington DC, gentrification has played a huge role in transforming the landscape of Anacostia, with a big impact on the Black population. In THE BLACK SIDE OF THE RIVER, Jessica Grieser asks what does gentrification mean for the fabric of a community? And how do we see this through language? Grieser unwraps how residents use certain speech features to create connections among racial, place, and class identities; reject negative characterizations of place from those outside the community; and negotiate ideas of belonging. Anacostians use language to assert a positive, hopeful place identity that is inextricably intertwined with their racial one. Grieser's work is a call to center Black lived experiences in urban research, confront the racial effects of urban change, and preserve the rich culture and community in historic Black neighborhoods, in Washington, DC, and beyond. Jessi brings the conversation back to where it came from, joining Busboys at our Anacostia location, with one of the interviewees for the book, Troy Donté Prestwood This event is free and open to all, accessible through our Facebook and Youtube pages (@busboysandpoets).
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