Young black professionals: The new face of gentrification

Anacostia, a neighborhood once synonymous with crime and violence, now offers yoga studios and chai lattes. Young black professionals are spurring development and gentrification of Ward 8.

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Rebecca Renard walks past a decrepit house in Anacostia. Renard is among a group of young black professionals who are trying to improve the Anacostia neighborhood.

Bonnie Jo Mount / The Washington Post

Rebecca Renard stands on the property she grew up on in Anacostia. Renard, a librarian for teen and youth reading initiatives in Anacostia, is building a home on the property, even though the neighborhood is filled with abandoned and rundown houses.

Bonnie Jo Mount / The Washington Post

Renard walks along Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue in Anacostia. An influx of amenities is beginning to give Anacostia the welcoming feel of a quintessential American main street.

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Charles Wilson, 35, is head of the Historic Anacostia Block Association. He ran against Marion Barry in the 2008 Ward 8 City Council race, but lost.

Marvin Joseph / The Washington Post

Amber Robles-Gordon works in the living room of her Anacostia home. Gordon earned an Master of Fine Arts degree from Howard University.

Bonnie Jo Mount / The Washington Post

In addition to making art, Gordon teaches yoga at Anacostia’s Spirit Anacostia Health and Wellness Center. Her commute to work is 10 minutes.

Bonnie Jo Mount / The Washington Post

Amber Robles-Gordon displays her work at the Pleasant Plains Workshop, a shared studio space on Georgia Avenue.

Bonnie Jo Mount / The Washington Post

Courtney Davis, author of the children's book, "A is for Anacostia," sits on the porch of her home in Anacostia.

Marvin Joseph / The Washington Post

Davis reads her children's book,"A is for Anacostia," at the Anacostia Library.

Marvin Joseph / The Washington Post

Johnny Boyd cleans the front windows at Uniontown Bar & Grill in Anacostia. The restaurant opened in February and has become a popular gathering place.

Bonnie Jo Mount / The Washington Post

Keisha Matthews and Dominique Dubose take self portraits with a cellphone during early evening hours at Uniontown Bar & Grill in Anacostia. One wall of the restaurant is lined with historical photographs, including the image above Matthews and Dubose, which shows the first desegretated classroom at Anacostia High School in 1959.

Bonnie Jo Mount / The Washington Post

Uniontown Bar & Grill is the first new sit-down restaurant to open in Anacostia in decades.

Bonnie Jo Mount / The Washington Post

Rebecca Renard and Sariane Leigh enjoy a meal together at Uniontown Bar & Grill in Anacostia. Both women are among a group of young black professionals who are trying to improve the Anacostia neighborhood.

Bonnie Jo Mount / The Washington Post

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