Collection: Selected racial equity articles in Greater Greater Washington
Racial equity is a critical topic for the Washington region (and nation and world). Here are a selection of the most significant articles on racial equity issues published in recent years in Greater Greater Washington, beginning with general articles, followed by ones on housing, transportation, education, demographics, criminal justice, and employment.
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Why we’re going to keep writing about racial and gender equity even if some commenters really hate it
When we write about race, gender, and similar issues on GGWash, we often get more irate comments than the typical article, even a controversial one. I'd like to say a few things about that based on one highlight of the 2018 YIMBYtown conference in Boston last year, a workshop on inclusion by Angela Park. Keep reading…
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City planners need to talk about race. The lives of our residents depend on it.
Historic discriminatory urban design practices, such as redlining and restrictive zoning, continue to degrade the health of communities of color. In order to build more equitable communities, planners must better understand and acknowledge this legacy of discrimination—and actively work to undo its persisting effects. Keep reading…
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Where DC used to bar black people from living
One of many pieces of America’s shameful racial past was when racial covenants forbade people in certain areas from selling their houses to an African-American family. DC had these in several neighborhoods, particularly Mount Pleasant, Columbia Heights, Petworth, Park View, and Bloomingdale. Keep reading…
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Look how real estate professionals in 1948 perpetuated segregation in DC
It wasn’t that long ago that DC’s Real Estate Board told agents not to sell homes in white areas to black people. A 1948 report called Segregation in Washington put the discrimination into plain language. Keep reading…
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Watch how the suburbs became white with “Settlers of the Suburbs: redlining edition”
Decades of racist zoning policies continue to perpetrate segregation in neighborhoods and schools and disenfranchise racial minorities to this day–long after redlining policies were officially taken off the books. Keep reading…
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How segregation shaped DC’s northernmost ward
DC's largest ward replaced historic black enclaves with whites-only neighborhoods, then segregated back following white flight. Today developers benefit from the artificially depressed housing prices in Ward 4. Keep reading…
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Homes in black neighborhoods are vastly undervalued, costing black homeowners billions
In the DC Metro area, the average cost of a home in a majority-black neighborhood is $48,490 less expensive than a comparable home in a neighborhood with few to no black residents, according to a recent report from the Brookings Institute. Keep reading…
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A mapping project shows how racial discrimination in housing persists in DC
A local mapping project from two local historians sheds light on the impact of racially-restrictive deed covenants that kept housing in DC segregated during the first half of the 20th Century. Keep reading…
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Banks find loopholes to deny blacks and Latinos home loans at twice the rate of whites
Here in the Washington region, African Americans are 2.2 times as likely to be denied a home mortgage loan compared to whites, an analysis from Reveal News shows. Latinos are 1.9 times as likely to be denied — even when controlling for factors like the applicant’s income, loan amount, and neighborhood. Keep reading…
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Arlington’s Christian Dorsey says “protecting” neighborhoods often means protecting segregation and unaffordability
Christian Dorsey, the vice-chair of the Arlington County Board, gave an amazing speech at the Alliance for Housing Solutions’ annual Leckey Forum in June. He talked about historical racism in our housing policy, about environmental justice in locating infrastructure and polluting industry. And he tied it to today’s debates over housing and density in a powerful way. Keep reading…
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A new report highlights the stark racial disparities in Metro fare enforcement
As Metro Police have ramped up enforcement of the fare evasion law, a disproportionate number of people issued citations are black, a new report from the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs shows. The study comes as activists push the DC Council to vote on a bill to decriminalize fare evasion in the District. Keep reading…
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This video shows why it’s important for black women to bike ... and organize
The Washington area has two organizations devoted to getting black women and girls to ride bicycles: Black Women Bike and a local chapter of the national group Black Girls Do Bike. This video by Groundswell talks about why these are important. Keep reading…
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Bike sharing systems push to reach underrepresented groups
Bike sharing has been a huge success in many cities and received many well-deserved plaudits, but some have criticized bike sharing for not necessarily serving all segments of the population. What are bike sharing systems doing to expand their reach? Data on the demographics and socioeconomics of annual bike sharing users is only now emerging, and there are no comprehensive… Keep reading…
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De facto segregation threatens Montgomery public schools
Montgomery County Public Schools are often regarded as one of the best school systems in the nation, with schools routinely topping regional and national rankings. But as the county grows more diverse, MCPS is becoming a system of haves and have-nots. Keep reading…
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Are bad boundaries spurring inequality in Montgomery schools?
Montgomery County public schools have been growing at an incredible rate and show no sign of abating. Instead of adjusting boundaries to allow a more equal distribution of students, the county is building additions in its over-capacity and less-wealthy schools. Keep reading…
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DC’s charter schools are sharply segregated. Here’s what we should we do about the racial and economic divide.
In order to build a more diverse student body, successful local schools have focused on the deeper issues driving segregation. They've also created a space for parents to have honest and uncomfortable discussions about identity and race. Keep reading…
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Where the wealth is in the Washington region, so is the exclusion
Our region is experiencing a 40-plus-year economic boom. We can see it, feel it, and hear it. Stories about the pressure exerted by the high cost of living in DC and its inner suburbs, particularly on longtime residents, abound—and rightfully so. But this economic boom hasn’t been constrained by geography. Keep reading…
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There’s a big racial disparity in where people born in DC end up moving (or not moving)
Thirty-two percent of black people born in DC still live there, but only 4% of white people born there do. Where they’ve moved to also differs greatly by race. This disparity arose from racial and racist policies in our history. Keep reading…
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“Degree density” maps show region’s east-west divide
What’s the difference between Friendship Heights and Capitol Heights? The number of people with college degrees. Keep reading…
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If racial inequities didn’t exist, DC would look like this…
Across DC, black and Hispanic residents see a lot less socio-economic success than white residents, and many argue that’s because the playing field is not level when it comes to opportunities for success. The charts below show what DC would look like if minorities got a fair shake, according to a recent study. Keep reading…
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DC has almost no white residents without college degrees. (It’s a different story for black residents.)
One of FiveThirtyEight’s great interactive features looks at voters in different groups (college educated whites, Hispanics, etc.) and their effect on the Electoral College. One part graphs each group and its prevalence in various states. This graph really stuck out for how unusual DC is: Keep reading…
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A color-blind Montgomery County is still a myth
Supporters of Montgomery County’s proposed teen curfew say we shouldn’t worry about racial profiling. But in this newly majority-minority jurisdiction, race is the one thing we should be talking about. In a recent Washington Post op-ed, Montgomery County police officer Robert Carter explained that cops don’t see race: "I understand that some… Keep reading…
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Today
In the last 72 hours, Alton Sterling and Philando Castile were killed by police officers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Minneapolis a suburb of St. Paul, Minnesota, and then a sniper killed five police officers in Dallas. These tragic deaths, on the heels of a mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando last month, have left us reeling. At its core, Greater Greater Washington is about… Keep reading…
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Violence against our neighbors is an urbanist issue
For several days now, the editors at GGW have struggled over what to say about the events leading up to the deaths of Eric Garner and Michael Brown. Such acts of violence are unconscionable. How does an online community like ours invite open, compassionate, productive discussion about it? Keep reading…
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How do our cities’ decisions perpetuate racial bias? How do the choices we advocate for?
America’s struggles with gun violence and police relations with communities of color have burst, again, into the headlines over the last few weeks. Our contributors and editors have some thoughts about these issues and how they relate to the decisions our cities make around housing, transportation, and much more. Keep reading…
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Charles Allen to Park Police: Handcuffing black teens for selling water is ridiculous
On Thursday, undercover US Park Police handcuffed four black teenagers for selling bottled water without a permit on the National Mall. The next day, Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen basically asked the police chief if, in the name of enforcing park rules, his officers would do the same if they caught little girls selling lemonade. Keep reading…
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Have DC’s black unemployed become invisible?
More than 1 in 4 workers in Ward 8 are unemployed, the result of an alarming increase in the rate of joblessness that is now one of the highest of any community in the nation. The only thing more alarming is the apparent invisibility of the black unemployed to the rest of the city. The DC Council has not held a single hearing about it all year. I’ve been waiting for the opportunity… Keep reading…