Washington, DC
Washington, DC
East of the River
Anacostia
Introduction
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 11 th
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
East of the River
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 theAnacostia
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 Closing
on my one-seat metroworld
My world from here to where the book ends
from here to the newspaper
from here to the blind stare
To that invisible gated community
That suburb of not seeing
On the crowded metro
Avert thy eyes
Urban river I run downstream
Spurt up from the ground at the foot of the Canon Senate Office Building
Trickle around the Library of Congress, past the friendly officer
Cascading past liquor stores and a check-cashing joint,
Floating serenely past the Eastern Market Starbucks and Chevy Chase Bank
Until the freewayThe windowless schoolsThe great industrial bridgesI pick up cigarette butts and empty cans
the rumble of trucks at 65
the shadow of graffiti, the stiffness of barred windows
And I carry them all to the sea
washington from the inside
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-takesall society.
“This Diamond isn’t a Gem.” ~ Philip Kennicott ~ Washington Post Staff Writer ~ Monday, March 31, 2008; Page C01
Background photograph from the Washington Post
Estimated time to cross on foot: 5 minutes
Estimated 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 many
stares cut short, how
many 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 lattice
like faces locked in concrete
blank faces
censored faces on the other side that I will never see
Footsteps and jackets and winter hats
traffic and longings
Blank brick faces
bury 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.
White Thoughts upon Crossing the Frontier
Look at that white boy
Hands in his pockets
Looking at the signs
Like he never been here before
Look at him trip on that brick
Look at him, pants pulled up, all white-like
What 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?
GENTRIFICATION
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!
This building has a garage under it.
Parking spaces cost $99 a month.
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
elected their own mayor or city council.
Congress still controls the budget and vets
Council legislation.
The District’s judges are still appointed by the
President.
The District has never had voting
representation in Congress.
The District is 58% African-American.
Congress is 8% African-American.
Washington, DC
Washington, DC
East of the River
Anacostia
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?