Gentrification In Washington

“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” (I Have a Dream, 1963) This phrase is excerpted from Dr. King's iconic "I Have a Dream" speech. This speech is delivered by American civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom on August 28, 1963. Delivered to over 250,000 civil rights supporters from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., the speech was a defining moment of the Civil Rights Movement. Dr. King hoped for the abolition of racial discrimination 50 years ago. Even now, however, racial discrimination still prevails in Washington, D.C. Washington

Shaw is a small neighborhood located in the Northwest quadrant of Washington, D.C. First of all, I have to explain what is gentrification. According to the dictionary, gentrification is “a gradual process in which an area in bad condition where poor people live is changed by people with more money coming to live there and improving it” (Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English 5th Edition, 2008). To put it plainly, gentrification is the phenomenon that well-off people move into less wealthy districts, renovate homes and attract new businesses. In the process, property values increase, rents go up, and poorer residents are displaced. Gentrification fundamentally alters the culture and character of the neighborhood in ways that hurt the poor. The social, economic, and physical impacts of gentrification often result in serious political conflict, got worse by differences in race, class, and culture. Earlier residents may feel ignored, and excluded from their own communities. On the other hand, as a result of the gentrification, the security situation may be improved because land prices increase and the crime rates

At the same time, the non-Hispanic white population rose suddenly by more than 50,000 to 209,000 residents. The census statistics showed a steeper change for both black people and white people than had been estimated. With the city’s African Americans population decreasing by about 1 percent a year, African Americans might already be below the 50 percent mark in the city. A majority of residents have been black since whites began to move to the suburbs at the end of World War II. By 1970, around 70% Washingtonians were African Americans. The demographic change is the result of about 15 years of gentrification that has transformed large areas of Washington, especially downtown. As housing prices rose suddenly, white professionals priced out of neighborhoods such as Dupont Circle began migrating to black areas such as Petworth and Brookland. The city became a tougher place to live for working-class families, who had to contend with rising rents and skyrocketing property taxes. Many of the new jobs created over the past decade have called for higher