Where D.C. Crime Is Bad, Residents Question Trump’s Motives
The president might have found allies in Southeast Washington, where violent crime has long vexed residents. But when he described the city as “disgusting,” with “roving mobs,” his remarks left those looking for help cold.
The president might have found allies in Southeast Washington, where violent crime has long vexed residents. But when he described the city as “disgusting,” with “roving mobs,” his remarks left those looking for help cold.
www.nytimes.com
“… It’s not that they don’t believe crime is a problem in the nation’s capital. They know it is.
They just don’t believe the president cares — at least not about them. If he did, they asked, why are residents hearing of federal agents roving the whiter areas of 16th Street Northwest but less so in their largely Black neighborhood? Why are National Guard members posing with tourists at the Washington Monument?
… In neighborhoods such as Congress Heights and Washington Highlands, where the District of Columbia abuts Prince Georges County, Md., the city’s Black working class struggles with the twin challenges that have diminished the ranks of what was once, when Washington still had a majority Black population, affectionately called Chocolate City. There’s crime, for sure, but also gentrification driving Black residents into suburban Maryland and Virginia.
In Ward 8, where Congress Heights is found, there have been 38 homicides this year,
accordingto data from the District of Columbia government. That’s almost 10 times as many as Ward 2, where the National Mall is located.
But when Mr. Trump on Monday
described the district as “dirty” and “disgusting,” menaced by “roving mobs of wild youth,” he offended some who otherwise might have been more receptive to his “law-and-order” pitch.
… [Some residents think the real goal is to push Black residents out of DC]. Salim Adofo, a member of the Advisory Neighborhood Commission that represents parts of Congress Heights, was not surprised that residents were drawing connections between crime, federalized law enforcement and gentrification.
“It’s becoming harder to live in this specific community as it continues to get developed,” he said. “It’s all wrapped up in together. You really can’t separate any of these things.”…”
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