Changing Face of H Street

Post Style reporter DeNeen Brown was online Monday, March 19 at 11 a.m. to discuss her story about how gentrification is changing the H Street corridor.

A transcript follows.

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Washington, D.C.: Your article has touched upon the heart and feelings of issues on H like no other article. Very nice job.

In discussions of gentrification, I always find the expression "respect the past" fascinating. Fascinating, because it always seems they they are being very selective about which past they are talking about.

Is it the late 19th century European immigrant H street?

The pre-'50s middle-class homogenized/assimilated white H street?

The pre-riot black H Steet?

The history of segregated businesses? The history of integrated businesses?

The post-riot H street?

The gangland H?

And where did each era of H street stand in respecting the past of its own period?

So what does it really mean to respect the past?

Will the new H street just be American, without some other continents modifier?

To me it's fascinating, though I believe all that matters is respecting one another right now. today. On H and all over our city.

Again, wonderful article.

DeNeen Brown: Thank you! You raise really good points about which part of the history of H Street will be represented in the present. It is true that H Street has undergone many transformations over the past years. I think Mr. Englert is really interested in several layers of the history of H Street....We did a walking tour of the Freedmen's houses in the alley behind the Atlas, those tiny little houses that have now been renovated. That is a fascinating bit of history about which many people may not know.

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Washington, D.C.: Thanks for the article. You asked, "Do the newcomers shop at Murry's: Your Neighborhood Food Store?" I'm a (rich, white, young) newcomer. I shop at Murray's because it's convenient -- three blocks from my house -- and cheap. But in the 40 or so times I've been there over the last couple of years, I've seen two or three other white people. But it might have something to do with the selection: they're a little short on those exotic, upscale groceries like unsugared cereal and skim milk.

DeNeen Brown: Thank you for your comments. Yes, Murry's may not have some of the "exotic" items of some other specialty shops. I found the customer service there to be especially pleasant. Thank you again for writing in.

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H Street, NE: H Street was once a major commercial district for the city - the original site of Ourisman Chevrolet and the location of the first Sears-Roebuck store in Washington. It had banks, restaurants, arts venues and retail stores that catered to all races despite being a predominantly black neighborhood.

If "there are still 85 boarded-up buildings on H Street NE," would you say there's room for Joe Englert's vision of a cultural destination to develop alongside the types of traditional retail and services that characterized H Street in its glory days?

Does it matter who's leading the revitalization of the neighborhood, if it means that H Street will once again become a place where people can shop and dine in the evenings and on weekends?

DeNeen Brown: That is a really good point. I don't think it matters who is leading the revitalization. And it seems there may be room for all kinds of services on H. What I was particularly impressed with is Englert's philosophy of how to generate interest in a corridor that had been neglected. I think in a couple of years, if that long, H Street will be totally transformed by many different developers.

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Anacostia : The H St. rebirth has been very exciting and I hope Anacostia will soon experience something similar. Do you think there was a the particular project that was a "tipping point" ensuring that the transformation would continue and redevelopment would be viable? Do you think the renewed interest in Martin Luther King Ave. will have a similar result in Anacostia? What impact do you think the streetcar will have?

DeNeen Brown: Those are good questions. It would be interesting to look at the master plan for development in Anacostia, which you probably know is already underway and moving fast. The street car, people told me, seems to be essential to transporting people from the nearest subway stop at Union Station to H Street. There is already a shuttle service that some of the club owners have hired to transport people to the clubs at night. I rode with the driver one night and it was really busy with many people calling for rides to and from the clubs.

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Seattle: Charles Mudede did an interesting piece on the changing demographic of Seattle's Central District (since the '40s the city's "black" neighborhood) in The Stranger last year. He points out that the C.D. was by turns the Jewish, Japanese, then Black neighborhood. It's now undergoing the same pattern of gentrification that you wrote about with H St.

DeNeen Brown: I'd like to ready that piece. I'll try to look it up. Thank you for the information.

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Washington, D.C.: After reading this story, I simply wanted to state that Ms. Rawls should be commended for the way that she handled the racist comments of the white patron at her bar (as a black man, I'm not sure I would have been as level-headed).

I actually laughed out loud when I later read that this woman called the police afterward to report that SHE had been the victim of a racial attack. I hope that this moron reads this story and realizes how pathetic she is...

DeNeen Brown: Yes, Ms. Rawls is very intelligent and was very brave. What she said about the issue not being a simple black-white dispute was important, as it seems that many issues that arise from gentrification can sometimes be issues of class division. As you know, when any kind of change occurs, complicated issues arise. Assumptions get made. People are judged by how they appear on the outside.... I thought the exchange Ms. Rawls relayed was important because I am fascinated by the issue of judgment and discrimination people often make without thinking. That patron may not have known how well Ms. Rawls was educated and from what background she came. The point I wanted to make here with out writing it outright is that despite skin color differences, many people are very much alike on the inside.....

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Shaw: As part of the family of people who are part of the new taverns on H Street, I just want to thank you for bringing attention to the story of my friend Quike Morales.

I hope that those who saw your piece feel compelled to visit the area and support his cause to help those who have suffered unjustly at the hands of violence.

DeNeen Brown: Yes, thank you. Quike is a fascinating person and again very brave. He told me he was starting the Music is Bullet-proof campaign to make sure that what happened to him does not happen to any other people who are working on H Street. After his tragedy, he said that he hoped to use his music to help generate non violence and peace around H.

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Washington, D.C.: I enjoyed your story, but was horrified by the story of the chalk-people at the Argonaut. People like that give all white people in this city a bad name. I wish they would go back to wherever they came from before they decided to buy their half-million dollar house in the "ghetto."

For those of us who are white, and who are genuinely interested in being part of thriving, multi-ethnic, multi-income level neighborhoods and those of us who try to be friendly to all of our neighbors both old and new -- people like these make our lives difficult.

Columbia Heights is full of people with that attitude now, and my wife and I left because we didn't feel comfortable there anymore. Hopefully H street will become a thriving, safe neighborhood that everyone can enjoy, regardless of their race or income level. And we promise -- despite much evidence to the contrary in this city -- all white people aren't like that!!

DeNeen Brown: Thank you. Yes, I know. And it is important to avoid generalizations in any incident. Because no one person can represent an entire race. And I am sure that the bartender did not leave that incident thinking that the patrons at that table represented all of any one race. Diversity is very important. There are good and there are bad and some good who happen to act up every now and again....More thoughts but so little time... Thank you again.

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H Street: Ms Brown:

I enjoyed the article, though I am struck by how pervasive the notion of race is in the reporting. I had the same reaction to "Who's H Street is it Anyway?" a year or so ago.

I am a white middle-class man who has lived on the corridor for 8 years now and have seen amazing change in the neighborhood. Yet, much has remained the same. My block continues to be a mix of young/old black/white upper/lower middle class people who get along better an interact more than in any other neighborhood I have lived in. My son has grown up taking some of his first steps on the 1300 block of H Street, and he now knows the block like the back of his hand.

There is definitely racial tension about and I realize that I don't always see how this tension manifests in some segments of the community, but in general I feel a deep sense of belonging to the community and am hopeful that the old and new residents along the corridor can integrate as well as they have on my own particular block.

It is a bit disheartening to see the area portrayed once again as a racial time bomb waiting to go off.

DeNeen Brown: Actually, in my reporting I was searching for how newcomers and old-timers are coming together as the corridor changes. The intent was not to portray anything negative but to get close to the ground and listen to some of the conversations between and among people from all sides. Within the story, there are many different examples of people who comment about how they have overcome any divide.

Thank you for writing in....

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Washington, D.C.: In this article, the impression you get is the typical one of white newcomers coming to change an area were only poor African Americans live, The Post never mentions African-American newcomers or other newcomers who are minorities moving in to the area. On my block west of H street, the first wave of newcomers were white gay men, young African-American single women, and now single white women. I have not seen any new families move in, white or black. The article was interesting but skews the perspective and promotes the black/white divide in America. Recently I see the term "Blacks" used in the Post all the time, what is that supposed to mean, black people, African-American's only, or what? It is like a sub-class of people, The Post uses the term all the time, show some respect at least black people, black folk or unless it is a story that is relevant to the issue of race -- what about just people? Also don't you think Englert themed bars are a bit much, there is only a couple of independent bars left on H Street that he has not had his hand in, so it would have been great if you had mentioned one -- the H Street Martini Lounge (owned by an African American). Also what about the business owners along H Street, many of them are African-American and Asian, and their struggles with this new direction? Overall an interesting article for the Style section.

DeNeen Brown: Yes, you are right there are many affluent African-Americans who have bought in the area. And other minority, or shall we say majority groups or are buying expensive homes. The color of change is not monochromatic. And you raise a good point. And yes, the Martini Lounge is a place that was featured in the photo gallery. The story behind the Lounge is fascinating and perhaps could be the subject of another story.

Thank you.

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Washington, D.C.: Your response to the first submission seems to imply that you support the changes and developments on and around H St. However, from reading your article, I got the impression that the changes occurring on H St. are not an improvement. I understand that the article may have been intended to provide a neutral account of all that is occurring in the area. However, the underlying impression that I got was that perhaps the changes occurring are not for the better.

DeNeen Brown: As you say, the article was intended to be a neutral account of some changes occurring in the corridor, to provide a slice of the picture of change...Some long-time residents say that change on H is good. Those who have owned property along H for many years find the revitalization to be promising. One man told me that the people most worried about the change are those who either don't own or do not have enough money to buy.....

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Washington, D.C.: It's too bad you didn't bring the Atlas renovation into the story. That project has really brought new interest into this neighborhood.

DeNeen Brown: Yes, the Atlas could be the subject of another story.

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Capitol Hill North: You seem to focus only on the negative. What about the many jobs being created on H Street? What about the safer streets? It seems like your article was determined to find conflict and anger no matter what while ignoring the many positive changes in the neighborhood. But then you selectively chose what to cover. The most obvious example of race tensions are the street preachers at 8th and H. They preach strident hatred towards whites and gay people. Yet in an article on race you don't even mention them. Why not?

DeNeen Brown: Thank you. The story did not attempt to focus only on the negative, but attempted to portray slices of the change that is occurring on H Street, to attempt to find places where people of different races, classes and backgrounds are interacting. The story you mention about the street preachers is interesting and something I'd like to go back to at a later time.

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H St., NE: I feel that I have to respond to the story from Ms. Rawls. I was actually at the bar that night the incident occurred over two years ago. My boyfriend and I were sitting by the juke box and overheard the entire interaction. The white students were writing on the table but they did not say what Ms. Rawls said they did. As a resident of the area, and to Ms. Brown's point, "Assumptions get made." H St. is a great area and we need to remember that.

DeNeen Brown: Thank you for your comments. Perspective is important in any account of an incident. Thanks for writing in.

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Capitol Hill: Reading yesterday's article made me blind with rage and I hadn't intended to blog on this issue unless someone else did. Now that someone has I wonder why, if Ms. Rawls is so confident, her recitation of the incident at the Argonaut is riddled with mischaracterizations and several outright lies? The only factual parts of that story were that we were indeed writing with chalk on the tables (what else would a bucket of sidewalk chalk on the table be for) and that a confrontation ensued. Contrary to what appeared in the story, the confrontation did not take on any race/class overtones until Ms. Rawls said "Y'all wouldn't act like this in your own neighborhood." We replied, as proud Capitol Hill residents, "this is our neighborhood." To which Ms. Rawls replied, "You are the kind of people that are ruining this neighborhood." We were minding our own business and having fun (maybe a little too much fun) until Ms. Rawls launched into a tirade. I guess this demonstrates one of the story's themes -- that people from different perspectives see things differently -- but I felt compelled to set the record straight and disabuse your readers of the version that appeared in print.

DeNeen Brown: Thank you for your comments.

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Washington D.C.: Good morning. I have been living just off H St. for over two years now and obviously things have changed dramatically in that time alone. I have always respected my neighbors and the neighborhood, but recently I have noticed a rise in reverse racism, if you will. I feel like I'm being given the evil eye every time I walk down H St. Also, on 8th and H there are a group of militant blank panther type people who spend hours every Sunday screaming into a megaphone about how "the White man is the devil." I was wondering if there was any kind of education effort underway to stop this black-white racism that myself and many others are encountering along the H St. corridor? I think that any racism is wrong and should be stopped, but I just feel like no one really cares when white folks get racially abused. I doubt you will tackle my question because most people ignore the issue completely, but I thought I'd give it a shot. Thanks for reading.

DeNeen Brown: Thank you for reading. It is an important topic that needs to be explored, researched and written about.

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Washington, D.C.: I am a black woman who lives on Capitol Hill, what I find unsettling is when white people look at me like why are you still here? My family has lived there for more than 25 years and we are not leaving.

The rudeness of some of the "newcomers" is amazing. They seem to forget that they moved into MY neighborhood, not the other way around...

DeNeen Brown: Thank you for writing in. Yes, some other residents told me about similar encounters much like the one you describe. This is also an important topic that needs to be explored. It is a topic that has been debated for years and answers are often elusive. Race and racial encounters are complicated.

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Washington, D.C.: What I don't understand is what the people who have lived on H Street for all these years want in their neighborhood. The article makes it clear that the crack years were devastating and that the blocks are still filled with boarded up buildings and violent crime. And now some richer, whiter people come in and no one really seems that thrilled with that either. So...what do they want to happen in their neighborhood? Progress, but only if the people bringing it are black?

DeNeen Brown: Many people who have lived along H for a long time are happy with change, that some of the streets are cleaner, that some of the streets are a bit safer, that some attention is being paid to the corridor. That there are new restaurants and coffee houses and gathering places for the community, where many people of all races dine and get along. No one said simply they want the revitalization effort to be led only by "blacks." The issue is not that simple.

Time is up. Thank you again for your many thoughtful questions and thank you again for reading. Have a great day.

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