M AGA Z I N E
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VOLUME 1. ISSUE 2.
PACK WORLD
LOOKBOOK
2019
(202) CAPSULE
A look into D.C. Culture
p ck world Editor-in-Chief: Nayion Perkins Photography: Elijah Boardley Design/Layout: Nayion Perkins Creative Direction: Nayion Perkins Norbert Klusmann
www.thepack.world @ thepack_world @ thepack.world pack.world95@gmail.com
Contents Articles: Keep D.C. Black by Nayion Perkins
The Nation’s First Chocolate City by Brandi Thompson Chocolate City by Nayion Perkins Displacement: An interview with Dominic Moulden by Nayion Perkins Moechella Photo Series by Justin Johnson PackWear Essentials by The Pack Be Safe by Norbert Klusmann The tragedy from losing the light of a life has a way of finding all of us in D.C. by Norbert Klusmann The Official Colors by Nayion Perkins Worlds Most Dangerous (Art Collage) by Norbert Klusmann Mayor For Life by Nayion Perkins
Models: Shaan Taylor, Chloe’ Love, Monty Slyvan, Nayion Perkins, Najyyiah Gaither, Demarkis Cooper, Deja Apollon, Isaac Hudson, Tayla Black, Najee Braboy, Sackeya Pete, Norbert Klusmann
(202) Using art, clothing, and conversation as tools of exploration; this collection examines three concepts that are essential to the fabric of the Washington D.C. that was once known for being proud and predominately black.
KEEP D.C. BLACK To the rest of the country, Washington D.C. is known as a transient city. Outsiders often pose the question, “Are their people actually from D.C.?” Thousands of people come in and out each month to tour the historic monuments of the nation’s capital. Politicians and their staff constantly move in and out of the city to tend to their constituents. Many young adults come to the city for post grad job opportunities. But D.C.’s culture stems well past these surface level observations. To know DC, you must venture past the monuments and capitol hill, and dive deep into an experience of true black culture. From the food, to music and the atmosphere in general, black people have been at the center of the city’s soul for 40 plus years. Dating back to the late 60’s and 70’s, D.C. has been a prime example of a true black metropolis. A place with black teachers, political representatives, fire fighters, students, residents, artists, musicians and much more. Keeping D.C. Black is a commitment to sharing the stories and customs of the culture to our peers. Ensuring that through the constant change that takes place in the city, we continue to celebrate our past and future, and acknowledge who created the fabric for what D.C. has been able to become today.
Chocolate City
NOW WITH 30% LESS CHOCOLATE !
MADE WITH CHOCOLATE AND GENTRIFICATION
Washington, D.C., is without a doubt, a Chocolate City. The nation’s first Chocolate City, in fact. By Brandi Summers Assistant Professor, African American Studies VCU The tone and tenor of D.C. and its cultural relevance to black life is almost unparalleled. In 1975, Parliament proclaimed the power of the nation’s chocolate cities where black folks became the clear majority once white residents fled to the suburbs. The concept of a majority black, chocolate city instilled and reflected a sense of pride and hope for the future of a black city, but also recognized its limits, like unfulfilled promises from the federal government for black people to achieve true equality. The chocolate city of the funk era referenced an aesthetic of black empowerment and nationalism in music, fashion, politics, and the 11
visual arts. “Chocolate City” emphasized Black distinction, separate from a white world. Most recently, however, the city has experienced shifts in the global economy and revised commitments by the local government to privilege policies that facilitate the displacement of black families. Gentrification along with this displacement of black people from their homes is driven by developers, corporations, businesses, and landlords in addition to D.C. government. They turn “cheap” land into profitable space. Rapid gentrification in D.C. functions as a perfect rejoinder to segregation, and other forms of systemic inequality, in ways that continue to economically marginalize and displace black people in the city. Trauma, struggle, love, joy, and everyday life make both Chocolate City visible and patterns of anti-blackness legible in the face of gentrification and displacement. With gentrification has come the continuation of blackness for profit; an aesthetic form of blackness that entices white consumers and newcomers. Chocolate City as a metaphor for the circulation of Black culture was at one point fully saturated. Now we are experiencing a shift in the
“With gentrification has come the continuation of blackness for profit; an aesthetic form of blackness that entices white consumers and newcomers.” geographic distribution of Black people and an increasing commitment to diversity that is in many ways independent of Black people, yet inclusive of projections of blackness. This current post-Chocolate City context and aesthetic (with 30% less chocolate) market a depoliticized Black cool in the multicultural city. The transition of Chocolate City is not just about an implicit (or explicit) branding of stereotypical representations of blackness for the pleasure of young, white professionals. Instead, there is a retooling of blackness to fit into the city’s emerging cultural narrative. The grit and danger evoked by the mere mention of blackness does not coalesce with the harmonious cultural diversity that the city’s success now hinges upon. Even though there’s been a greater emphasis on the district’s increasing diversity, if we look closer, it becomes immediately clear that black people are being expunged from the city. But the blackness their bodies and culture evoke makes it seem as though D.C. remains authentically black. Elite actors and institutions increasingly weaponize the chocolate sights, sounds, and tastes of yesteryear and use them to move black people out of their designated spaces—leading to a tension between black cultural aesthetics and an aesthetic anti-blackness as ornamental. I call this phenomenon black aesthetic emplacement, where representations of blackness are used to concurrently attract wealthy white people and repel black longtime residents. To make this place feel like it’s no longer their home. This isn’t just a feeling. The D.C. Chamber of Commerce explicitly mentioned the influx of white people
displacing black residents. Even a recent study from the National Community Reinvestment Coalition found that D.C. has experienced the greatest intensity of gentrification in the U.S. between 2000-2013. More than 20,000 black residents have been displaced by mostly affluent, white newcomers. For those of us who live here, this news is no surprise. This violent demographic and economic shift is having a profound impact on the physical, cultural, and political memory of black D.C. that is too often obscured. Black Washingtonians now live in space between being too much (bodies, things, cultures, intensities), and having too little (services, infrastructure, accessibility). As we look to the future, it is vital that we continue to imagine the ways black people make the city in various contexts. The importance of a place like D.C. is not simply a migration story, or even the diverse experiences of black people, but that black people built the city in meaningful ways. What this also requires is customization as a tool of invention. The city must contend with how we remake ourselves. We must change the narrative so we are not trying to fit, but invent. We must continue to call out the ways the violence of gentrification and displacement disproportionately impacts black Washingtonians allows us to imagine new ways to take up space, to expand and potentially grow. Black life, black experience, and black ways of seeing in this chocolate city matter. Despite the dispossession and displacement of Black people in these cities, blackness leaves an indelible mark on the space, even after the Black people leave.
Displacement: An Interview with Dominic Moulden
Gentrification is a topic of great debate within Washington D.C. Some argue the constant changes are good for neighborhoods and the future of the city; while many point to the displacement of native Washingtonians, specifically black people across the city as problematic. I spoke with Dominic Moulden, resource organizer at One DC to clear up some of the many misconceptions that people have when it comes to the topic of gentrification. I’m here with Dominic Moulden, who is a resource organizer for One DC. Could you tell us about what that role [of resource organizer] means specifically to One DC, and what One DC does for city? My particular role at One DC as the resource organizer is to do what other organizers do at One DC; which is to recruit members that are a part of our base. The particular resource organizing position is the fundraising position. So me and members raise money for One DC, so that we can do our work. We raise that money through members, through individuals, and major donors and foundations. As the resource organizer, it’s our responsibility to cultivate relationships with people , institutions, and members to provide the resources to make sure that we can operate day to day. With your day to day operations, what topics do you all tackle? Yeah, so I think the first thing to understand about ONE DC is that we are a grassroots community organization that organizes with a racial equity lens. That means we challenge the existing structures and look at the race, class, gender and inequities that exist in D.C. We organize people to build power, to challenge those inequities. For example, the D.C. government gives land away to wealthy people, but the poor people and the long time black D.C. residents, when they want to stay in their neighborhood, the government doesn’t provide the same opportunities or put it in the same amount of resources. So we challenge that. And we challenge that because we believe as an organization that people have a human right to a house and their land, incoming
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jobs and health and wellness. We’re trying to build the power, especially for long time black D.C. residents and low income people to organize themselves so that they can stay in the city, and not be displaced by this wave of what we call the tsunami of displacement. So in D.C. we see huge redevelopment projects. Examples of that could be how the wharf received a $300 million subsidy to basically change the entire landscape of the area. Union market is another example with another $80 million or so going into that. When you see things like that, what does that tell you about the priorities of the city and what their main goals are? What it tells us is, first of all, the stress which ordinary people live every day with, right? So imagine that you see your neighborhood changing and you want to stay here; and you’ve been here through the rough times, but you have your government, your council members, political leaders, and everyone thinking that your disposable. And that’s really important to understand because a psychology of feeling disposable is a psychology of feeling powerless. Organizing challenges that mentality by saying you have power and you need to use your power. Because the goal is to make you feel disposable so that you feel dispossessed. You feel like you’re abandoned, and you have no connection. So it’s the dispossession. They don’t want you to feel like it’s your neighborhood, they want you to feel like, well it’s the wealthy people’s neighborhood, or the new people, and
displace those people; so then you can then push forward the agenda of turning the neighborhoods into more expensive places that can privilege the privilege? Yeah, exactly. Because think about it. That’s why we tend to use the word displacement because we feel like people consistently misinterpret the term gentrification. Gentrification was coined by Ruth Glass, a sociologist in London in the 60’s. And what she meant by that is, the Landon Gentry from the countryside that had resources, came to the urban area with those resources and used their power, control, and class dominance to take over urban areas. That’s never a good thing. So we’re on record saying gentrification is never a good thing, right? Just like displacement is never a good thing. If people leave voluntarily, that’s different because you made a decision to leave. And so there’s this mythology around gentrification that gentrification is a good thing. Think about it. If you had a coffee shop and Starbucks came in and forced you to sell, is that a good thing? No
new is better than the old. We challenge that. That’s why displacement is possible because you get worn down and you feel alienated. And we try to deal with that alienation by giving people training through political education, through organizing skill development and by aligning with other organizations and other tenants so that they can make a difference. That’s why we’ve been successful on several occasions. At 13th and Crittenton (street), and 7th and P(street), and 11th and M(street), where we helped people buy their buildings. So that’s why we are perceived as a threat. Because instead of all the money going into the wharf, we would say, why can’t the money go to the 400 plus families in Barry Farms where the government neglected the properties, which we call demolition by neglect. So they can collect it. And then of course people will say, well we need to tear it down, right? Cause now we have mold, we have lead, we have leaky grooves. So that’s a strategy that is used to make people feel dispossessed and alienated. We’re saying, wait a minute, why can’t we use those resources that you give to the people who don’t need the resources to redevelop Barry Farms? To help people own Barry Farms as a collective, create a community grocery store or a great urban garden. All of these things are possible you know. Speaking to what you just said, you definitely think the lack of attention in many ways is kind of intentional in order to
If you wanted to sell your coffee shop, and there’s the Starbucks willing to buy at a price that you decided, is that better? That would definitely be better. If you didn’t want to sell and you wanted to stay; and the government gave you resources like they give Starbucks, right, that’s equity, especially if you’re all residents. That’s what we call racial equity. Because you were getting the opportunities the elite normally get. And that’s why the scale is unbalanced. You see, it’s really important to understand that it’s a gross misinterpretation of the violence that we associate with gentrification. So that’s why we focused on this displacement, because it’s a human disaster. It’s human trauma and what we’re trying to do is organize our communities, our human beings to resist this trauma and this forced migration. Kind of speaking to which you just said regarding the right to have the same access to resources for others. Why do you think the city doesn’t want to implement or give people equal access [to resources]? It’s a part of the history of the United States. Let me explain in this context. This year, along with several other groups around the country, there’s a groundswell of interest in what is called the 400 years of inequality. So to be accurate what we’re saying is, we’re looking at Jamestown and the arrival of Africans in 1619. And so if you take a look at 1619 to 2019, that’s
400 years. We’re saying we want the United States to acknowledge the 400 years of inequality and how we have come to accept that inequality. And see we [at One DC] don’t necessarily use the word inequality. We use the word inequity. What we’re saying is, everybody’s taught to practice that. So what we’re saying is, the black people in political office, like the current mayor, the past mayor, the current council members and past council members, they practice this historical anti blackness. They associate, what we call racialized capitalism with what is bad. And so racialized capitalism thinks good is white and abundant, bad is black and poor; rather than saying the reason why people are poor is because of capitalism, because you’re exploiting them and you keep stripping them of their resources. So that’s why it’s easy for black politicians to say ‘oh we don’t need training in racial equity’, well actually you do because you internalize your oppression. When you see a black person on the corner, you immediately think they’re unemployed or they’re a drug dealer, right? You don’t think, well, what was their story? Or what is their story? It could’ve been working two jobs early in the morning. And so it’s a historical paradigm that we’re caught in. And it’s almost like a historical nightmare that we refuse to recognize as [something that has] influenced every person’s life and decisions that we make today. So that history from the past, influences the decisions that we make today. That’s why it was easy for Anthony Williams to say, well, we want to bring in 100,000 new people. Do you think it was helping black people? Rather than saying, why don’t we build up the 200, 300,000 poor people who’ve been suffering from this racial capitalism, this inequity, and this anti black history right. Another example is emancipation day. So in DC, we celebrate the emancipation day. April 16. That’s right. What’s important about it though is that when the enslaved Africans were quote unquote emancipated, they didn’t get any restitution. The restitution went to the white owners. So it’s the same story, right? We’re doing the same thing. So you can compare that analysis to what we do today. How the developers on the wharf gets all this money, but they’re going to tear down people’s homes in Barry Farms and not provide them with the resources to rebuild that community on their terms. Speaking more to that, the Washington Post just posted an article chronicling D.C.’s gentrification; saying that in a 10 year period from about 2003 to 2013, 20,000 black people were displaced and nearly half of the neighborhoods basically experienced gentrification. They also described D.C. as having the highest intensity of gentrification in the country,
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while also mentioning places like New York and San Francisco. What role does affordable housing play into displacement? So here’s how affordable housing plays into displacement. The first issue we need to deal with, is the terminology. So I’m not going to start with affordable housing. I’m going to start with a concept that we promote, it’s called equitable development. It means the development of people in place. So one thing about capitalism, capitalism is so exploited that they teach all of us how to use certain people’s language and make it mean something else. So if you look up equitable development, you will see people who are clearly practicing anti-black development that support, displacement and that support the removal of poor people from D.C. They’ll be using that term now because now it’s in. The same thing happens with affordable housing. Affordable housing in D.C. is not actually affordable. That’s why One DC, in the last five years we’ve been moving toward the term of ‘low cost housing’, because in D.C., a person making over a hundred thousand dollars qualifies for affordable housing, and that’s where the government tends to put its money into; with the upper middle class because they don’t want to provide resources to the poor people. So one of the ways that affordable housing exacerbates the crisis, is that there’s too many technocratic people and politicians that define affordable housing for the people who need low cost housing. So that’s one of the biggest problems is that it needs to be a clear definition and explanation on what affordable housing is. That’s why we say the only affordable house in DC right now, is what we call public housing, or housing that subsidizes. Because if you are paying rent without any subsidy or without support, then you’re most likely, if you’re a working class person, a black person and paying 50 to 70 percent of your income [for a home]. And so the whole issue about housing is exacerbated because the housing is a commodity and it’s not a right. So I just sent you an email from a guy named Rob Robinson from the UN, where the UN just announced, and you’ll see this letter circulating, that the United States as a country, and then there’s a company named Black Stone, that they’re violating people’s human rights because they made almost all access to housing a commodity. Which means if you can’t afford it, then you’re going to be without housing. And so that’s why even the affordable housing crisis is real because we’re saying affordable, and the question is affordable to whom? And where? Which is real important. And to make that point clear, if you look at Brookland Manor, which has the largest number of three, four and five bedroom units; if you look at Barry Farms, which has been torn down, had the largest number of two, three, four, five bedrooms units. If you look at Park Morton, which is scheduled to be torn down. If you look at any family development in D.C., all of these developments are under the
threat of being torn down. So imagine that right? This city says that they have an affordable housing plan, but they have torn down all the low cost housing that is really affordable for people that live here. The people that go to work every day. People that have two bad jobs. And then they’re under threat. So you can imagine the trauma that these people feel every single day in the city that used to be Chocolate City. So we talked about the different issues that lower income families, specifically black people are facing. What are some solutions and ways to move forward in order to counteract what’s happening? One of the fundamental things that we’re trying to teach more clearly, is that we need to build power. So you can have a strategy, and you get resources, and you can even have land. But if you notice in the United States, it’s been plenty of black people who have had land and it was taken away from them. Plenty of black people have had resources, especially small businesses, get displaced or moved. So the first thing that we’re trying to do, which makes people really nervous, is that we’re trying to build power and have people understand that you have power and we need to use it. So then after you build power, then you have to come up with a strategy right? So our strategy is part of an international movement that’s called the right to the city. We believe every single person, especially if you’re unemployed and you don’t have insurance or resources, you still have a right to the city. Which means you have a right to shelter and the right to domicile. And so the only way we can get people to understand that, because that sounds strange to most people, is to do political education. Our strategy is to politically educate the community. So on April 27th we’re having our first leadership education for action in power, and it’s going to deal with the history of housing and organizing in D.C. So people can understand that people have been fighting for this for ages; and even though it seems like we’re losing, we are under the bill of momentum because various classes of people, as well as various ethnicities in D.C., are realizing that this is a national crisis, and housing is a serious crisis in DC. If you walked through the wharf. If you walked through southeast. If you go to upper northwest. If you come to shaw. Georgetown used to be black. Foggy bottom was black. Anacostia used to be white, and the white folks fled, but now that it’s 90% black people and they want to build the 11th Street Bridge so the white folks from southwest, can walk over the bridge to southeast. So who they building the bridge for? That’s why you have to have an organized strategy. We think that the central part of the organizing strategy is that we have to take back control of public land. Because here’s what’s interesting about all the benefits
that the wealthy people get. Guess whose money it is? It’s the money of most of the poor people who’ve been paying taxes for generations. The taxes don’t accumulate quickly, it takes like a generation for the tax money to be in the coffers, more or less right? And so that’s what’s really interesting. They’re using our own money to displace us, which is always the story. They use our own culture, and our own history to displace us, to disenfranchised us. The ultimate strategy I think can help with the land issue, housing issue, the income and jobs, and the health and wellness of our people is the clear strategy around land trust. Meaning, the people are in control of the land collectively, and then they can build what they need on the land and grow what they need on the land. So that’s why urban farming as a strategy is so important, so people can get healthy food that’s affordable and accessible. That’s why the land trust is important, because imagine a small group of us who live in Woodbridge, all put our houses in land trusts and we wheel them to the next generation. And so as the neighborhood changes, we control all that land. And then let’s say there’s some vacant land that the government owns, instead of them giving it to a friend of Kenyan McDuffy in ward five, we organize and tell the government no, we want to create and urban farm there because we want to deal with health issues around food. You know that’s what we’re talking about here. You have to have a different vision of your community and people. We believe people have that, we just need to jump start it.
“We lost something special: The women’s hospital in D.C. that became a Trader Joe’s”
“Want to rent in D.C. without being ‘cost-burdened’?
A household needs $132,857 a year, report says.” “Gentrification can impede well-intentioned plans to revitalize communities”
“The banning of cash only heightens gentrification” “Gentrification in D.C. means widespread displacement, study finds”
“D.C. has the highest ‘intensity’ of gentrification of any U.S. city, study says” “How we talk about gentrification can unite or provoke us”
“It’s primarily racial’: Study finds DC has the most intense gentrification in the country” “DC is the most gentrified city; Navy Yard is its most gentrified neighborhood” “D.C. residents must earn $34.48 an hour to afford a two-bedroom home, report says”
“In expensive cities, rents fall for the rich - but rise for the poor”
“Barry Farm residents still fighting for their homes, even as many have been demolished”
washingtonŽ‘s
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Washington D.C. has experienced the most intense rates of gentrification and displacemnt in the United States since the year 2000.
Displacement, By the Numbers
20,000
60,3399
34,520
The number of people the white More than 20,000 black The number of black population has increased by residents have been displaced residents that have decreased since 2000, an overall increase in D.C. since 2000 in economically expanding of 201.8% areas of D.C., 23.4% fewer
AVAILABLE NOW AT THEPACK.WORLD !
Nutrition Facts
Gentrification Serving Size Amount Per Serving
%Daily Value * Chocolate Rent Construction New Condos New Apartments Coffee Shops Travel Bike Rentals Scooter Rentals
- 30% + 200% + 40% + 30% + 40%
Information according to a study released by the National Community Reinvestment Coalition. Statistics start at the year 2000.
40%
About 40% of the District’s lower income neighborhoods experienced gentrification between 2000 and 2013
24.7% The percent that low-income residents in D.C. have decreased by since 2000
75% The percentage of the low income population in the Capitol Hill neighborhoods that have vanished since 2000
In D.C. we don’t say goodbye. We say, be safe.
“Two people found slain in Southwest D.C.” “Man charged with murder in Northeast Washington shooting”
“Man killed in D.C. shooting had been professor, scholar”
“Year’s first D.C. homicide is on year’s first day”
“Murders are falling — just not in D.C.” “Last year, homicides in the District were up 38 percent”
“D.C. police need help combating gun use” “Man arrested in fatal stabbing at D.C. apartment” “Six year-old shot in D.C. in one of five shootings reported since Friday night”
“He coached a D.C. football team with
28 players. Only five are still alive.” “Two men fatally shot an hour apart in same D.C. neighborhood”
“My baby shouldn’t be on this wall: D.C. mural honors teens gunned down during school year” “2 Dead after 3 separate DC shootings in less than 2 hours”
# of Homicides per year in D.C.
2017: 116 2018: 160 2019: 166
Headlines from the Washington Post in 2019. The issue of gun violence intensified during the past few years as homicides increased by 38% at the conclusion of 2018.
“So are you glorifying violence?” “Are you proud of this city’s past as the Murder Capital?”
“Why would you promote this?” “Are you profiting off of your city’s death and despair?”
In the incubation stage of the ‘Be Safe’ concept, we predicted all of these questions. At times, these questions and the potential ramifications that come along with them began to deter us. Is this the right route to take in regards to this specific conversation? Sure - WE understand why we created this, but will the city? Will the city digest and embrace the concept for the right reasons? At that point we said, ever so eloquently: “Fuck it.” These conversations need to be had. These monikers the city earned and, in so many ways, still struggles with and exemplifies, need to live on. We began working on this concept in the Fall of 2017. 116 homicides during that year (2017). By the time the concept was fully introduced to the public in 2018, the city had already surpassed it’s homicide total from the previous year, en route to a 38% increase. No one in their right mind would suggest we’re headed back to the late 80s/ early 90s… but these are OUR people we’re talking about! Your brothers and your sisters. Your nephews and your neighbors. Additionally, I’m not sure if violence rocks any major city to its core that way it does in the Nation’s Capital. We are a major city and a proud one at that. The global seat of power. But we’re also small, size-wise. Everyone knows everyone and, if I don’t know you, I damn sure know someone who
does! The tragedy from losing the light of a life has a way of finding all of us in D.C. So we decided to move forward. Since then, 2019 has been an even deadlier year than 2018, as the stressors of change in the city seem to have many on edge. Scott C. McDonald did a study, published in Crime and Justice, from 1970 to 1984 on gentrification in major cities like Boston, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, D.C. The subsequent analysis of crime rates in the fourteen neighborhoods they focused on in these cities indicated that gentrification leads to some eventual reduction in personal crime rates but that it has no significant effect on rates of property crime. Relief from long-term trends of urban decline may be only temporary in gentrified neighborhoods. Crime may act as a feedback mechanism to deter neighborhood stability resulting from gentrification. (McDonald, 1986) So, not only does gentrification not yield ANY less violence than normal in these neighborhoods over time, but crime and violence may begin to act as a feedback mechanism to stop any further changes or turbulence as a result of gentrification. I’m not going to draw conclusion for you. I’m just saying there’s 20,000 less of US in the city now. What’s their excuse now? Either way, #besafe out there and remember to get home safely.
The Official Colors Black, blue, bronze, and white. Those were the official colors of the Washington Wizards and Capitals from 1997 to 2011 and 1995 to 2007 respectively . This marks a unique time period in the history of D.C. sports. A period that was highlighted by Michael Jordan’s arrival to the Wizards, the drafting and eventual superstar career of Alexander Ovechkin, along with the rise and fall of the ‘Big Three’ lead by Gilbert Arenas. Though D.C. sports are known for being mainly abysmal in recent years, the color ways of this time period are near and dear to the fans of D.C. sports for their uniqueness in comparison to the rest of their respective leagues. The color way proved to be one of the most unique in sports history, and the designs are now ingrained into D.C. fashion lore. For the Wizards, the change in uniform extended beyond sports. In the 90’s D.C. was known
as the undisputed ‘Murder Capital’ of the country. Violence was an epidemic plaguing the city, leading to many cultural changes taking place. One of those changes was the team’s name. Originally known as The Washington Bullets, meant to highlight their speed and finesse on the court, the name had now gained new meaning with the state of violence taking place within the city. Owner Abe Polin moved to change the team name as he had grown increasingly uncomfortable with the violent overtones related to the name as the 90’s progressed. This feeling was cemented once his friend, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated by gun. Though he was not gunned down within the district, the constant violence relating to guns surrounding him pushed him to a name change for the franchise. The Wizards were born, and the black, blue, bronze and white colorway was cemented among a generation of DC youth.
Apply this schem beside a large photos from the dice game
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“Say what you want about Mayor Marion Barry, but he kept me off the streets.” These words from actress and D.C. native Taraji P. Henson during her recent testimony on Capitol Hill regarding mental health, incapsulate the feelings that many from D.C. have about Marion Barry. He is mainly known nationwide for his infamous hotel indiscretion, but his influence begins far before that event, and ends well past it. What Henson is referencing in her statement is Barry’s implementation of SYEP, the Summer Youth Employment Program that has provided D.C. residents ages 14 to 24 with meaningful employment during the summer for the past 40 years. To some this may not seem like a huge deal, but to D.C., it proved to be an investment in the future of the city, providing many with their first real job experiences. The program educated, employed and empowered youth, rather than antagonizing them. In 2019 the program employed 11,000 youth across the city, and is now named after Barry.
“People in the neighborhood, have to have a feeling that the government belongs to them, a feeling that they can participate too.” This quote from Barry was used in his very first ad for his inaugural campaign for Mayor. His attitude of wanting to empower a city of predominantly black people was essential to the fabric of Chocolate City. His roots of empowerment stems from his background of civil rights activism. Prior to arriving in D.C., Barry was a member of SNCC, and worked within the Civil Rights movement. Upon his arrival to the city in the late 60’s, Barry co-founded Pride Inc., which helped black youth and ex-offenders of the law receive employment so they would have the ability to empower themselves. Barry observed the predominantly black nature of D.C. and recognized that leadership did not reflect the people; especially with the majority of police officers, fire fighters, and leadership being white. The phrase ‘Take a Stand’ became his inaugural campaign slogan, speaking to that lack of representation in leadership. He wanted residents to no longer accept the status quo, and define their own futures by their own terms. Love him or hate him, you cannot tell D.C.’s story without acknowledging its Mayor for Life.
Take a stand. Marion Barry. Mayor.
Thank You! This magazine is dedicated to the city of Washington D.C. and its rich history and culture. As long as we continue to share our stories and pass down culture, Chocolate City can never die. This publication serves as a reminder to how unique we are as a city. As long as we continue to tell our stories and pass down culture, our city will never die.
Sincerely, The Pack
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