Dc Public Housing Residents example essay topic

1968 Washington Riots INTRODUCTION: Scene 1: # Street U and 13th 36 years have passed since the DC riot. This is the place where thirteen people died and thousands were injured during a three day riot. Nowadays, we cannot find any trace of the riot that occurred at that time. Only the elderly people still have the memory of the day of the riot. # old pedestrian"; at that time I was 22, park police... all this are burnt down...

". The younger generation does not know what happened here. # young people". I read this only in the book... it's 1970 or something... ". We visited an old hot dog and chili restaurant. This restaurant was opened way before this riot took place.

We can learn from the owner what actually happened after the riot. # the owner of that hot dog and chili 1: the business? Q 2: job? Q 3: housing? # the scene: DC riot picture (black and white) The Washington Riots in 1968 were a pivotal point for African-Americans in the District of Columbia. It was a culminating event after years of extreme highs and lows in the Civil Rights Movement. Incredible strides in the struggle to seek racial equality had been achieved. However, the struggle was not over and there was much work to be done.

# File picture Dr. king's death... narrator voice in the file film... The African-American community reached a boiling point with the murder of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on April 4th, 1968. In reaction to his death 100 cities nationwide exploded in rioting. Prior to King's death, many factors contributed to a nation polarized by racial and economic inequality.

Four factors contributed to the polarization of minority and majority communities in the months leading up to the riots. These factors include unequal opportunities for education, housing, and employment and the negative relationships between police and black civilians. Immediately following the riots some of these needs were addressed. However, these four factors continue to create disproportionately resourced minority and majority communities today. Even in this election these factors were not addressed by the both parties. #scene conference: Robert Woodson... ". even republican and democrat the black problem never addressed. ".

The persistence of these inequalities over so many years has led to a society that is built on and structured by the perpetuation of these inequalities. In the following film we will look at the immediate responses by the government and the communities to these factors that contributed to the riots. Then we will address the status of the four contributing factors today in minority communities in Washington, D.C. Finally, we will summarize the status of the nation including the polarization between cultural groups that existed in the 1960's and examples of how this polarization continues today. 1968 THE AFTERMATH OF THE RIOTS: #scene: After the riot...

Soldiers checked the passers by and... Senator Robert Kennedy speech. ". please calm down. ". In Washington D.C. during the months immediately after the riots pockets of violence continued sporadically and was stopped with powerful police retaliation. The city responded to persons affected by the riots by meeting their immediate needs of food, temporary housing, and some employment opportunities.

President Johnson was able to pass the Fair Housing Act seven days after Dr. King's assassination. However, the underlying long-term issues of economic and racial inequality were not addressed. This was made apparent as persons argued and refused to rebuild the damaged communities. Some organizations gave rebuilding grants but others like the Black United Front fought to keep riot affected communities black owned and run in the future. Many of the merchants that had been looted were unsure and afraid to rebuild, fearing more destruction and higher insurance costs.

Discussions and community meetings did occur to discuss the state of the city and brought out underlying frustrations and anger. But much of the actions after the riots increased the perception of a city divided by race. EDUCATION TODAY: Our analysis begins with a poem by Langston Hughes entitled, "Dream Deferred". It reads: What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up Like a raisin in the sun? Or fester like a sore -- And then run?

Does it stink like rotten meat? Or crust and sugar over -- like a syrupy sweet? Maybe it just sags like a heavy load. Or does it explode? Education provides the building blocks of society and empowers children to make their own choices for the future. The quality of education a person receives directly impacts their employment opportunities, income and quality of life.

As the following data proves, it is clear that as an American society, we continue to fail to empower students in minority communities to reach their academic potential. Inequalities in education had a profound impact on the exploding riots in 1968, just as they have an equal impact on the state of DC today. In 1997 the Eisenhower Foundation reported that 40 percent of minority children attend schools in urban areas, where more than half of the students are poor and fail to reach even the "basic" level on national achievement tests. "Basic" in DC means that a child scores at least 67 percent on standardized Reading tests. There is a direct correlation between children in poverty and low levels of academic achievement.

The report explained that the poverty level in our nation has increased in the last 30 years and are disproportionately Black and Hispanic. The Urban Institute reported in 1995 that one in four black men were in trouble with the law and only one in five was attending college. It also reported that in 1968, 43 percent of black children were born in poverty and by 1995 the number had increased to 45 percent of black children living in poverty, a staggering number. There are small areas of hope and positive progress but as a whole DC schools are not meeting the needs of their students. During the 2002-2003 school year 62 percent of Washington D.C. students were eligible for free or reduced lunches and 85 percent of the schools are Title 1, which services families living in poverty. DC public school students are 84 percent black, 10 percent Hispanic, and 4 percent white.

The District of Columbia Public School system allocates $12,000 to spend on every student while the national average is only $7,000. It averages one teacher for every 15 students. The District allocates more money per child than the national average and averages small classroom sizes. School districts nationwide and DC in particular continue to push for higher test scores and in doing so sacrifice other educational and social programs. Although test scores are emphasized, money is misallocate d and teachers are not receiving even the basic teaching resources. When DC students' national reading test scores are compared to the rest of the nation they are performing at the bottom of the list.

On the Districts own standardized test, 56 percent of our elementary students performed below grade level and 71 percent of the secondary students performed below grade level. We met Dr. Charlene Drew Jarvis, the president of South Eastern University. Before working at the University, she served for twenty years as a council woman woman of DC City council. # scene Interview Dr. Charlene Drew Jarvis, Ph. D"It's a chain of poverty and... 's schools in high poverty areas in Northeast and Southeast D.C. continue to see a rise in school crime and violence while teachers lack resources. Last year, three incidents of shootings were reported involving high school students in the District. One of the shootings occurred inside the school cafeteria and resulted in a student's death. Violence is a part of most DC students every day lives whether they are committing violent actions or resp on ding to the violent actions of others.

There are many parents, teachers, administrators, and community members who are working to change DC Public Schools. However, the District continues to remain a community economically and racially divided. The current state of the school system will continue to perpetuate this division into the next generation. What will happen to the dreams of these children? HOUSING: Another factor that continues to divide our nations is the state of housing.

The housing situation today in Washington DC has, arguably, become worse since the 1960's. The streets affected by the looting and burning during the riots are still afflicted by violence and poverty. As wealthy residents continue to move in to the District, the property taxes and rent continue to rise. In 2004, there was a 23% increase in rental assistance in DC, and there is 98% occupancy in DC public housing. Currently, there are 40,000 residents awaiting government housing assistance.

In 2003, DC public housing residents reported that they were exploited and harassed by housing authorities. Many minority residents in DC are being forced out of their homes to make room for the city's plans to build luxury apartments for more affluent renters. #scene Interview the old black man. ". ... we can not afford the expensive rental and cost... ". Currently, 20.2% of DC residents are living below poverty level and 31.1% of DC families with children under 18 are living below the poverty level. Nationally, 39% of the homeless are children, and 49% of the homeless are African American.

There continue to be long waiting lists for public housing and assistance, which has resulted in more families seeking homeless shelters or inadequate housing. The largest public housing authorities reported that the waiting time for assistance was 33 months in 1998. To make matters worse one third of families requesting shelters are turned away due to lack of room. In 2000 the Department of Housing and Urban Development reported that nationally African Americans continue to face discrimination when seeking rental property or when buying a home. Clearly, the disproportional amount of homeless and impoverished African Americans in DC has contributed to today's housing crisis, creating further polarization between rich and poor, white and non-white. EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES IN DC: # scene: the picketing at the Lincoln theatre.

Education and housing directly impact a person's employment choices. The DC unemployment rate is 6.8% according to the 2000 census, and 5.5% of the population receive public assistance. Due to the fact that 22% of District residents over the age of 25 do not have high school diplomas and nationally that since 1975 the real value of minimum wage has decreased by 25%, it is clearly an uphill battle to make ends meet in DC and across the nation. Undoubtedly, with the disproportionate number of African American's living below poverty, issues of education, housing and employment are not independent or free of racism. It is clear that there is a structural problem in DC and the United States limiting African Americans social and economic mobility. #scene interview... Dr. Jarvis". ... disparity between job market and skills.

". According to the National Coalition for the Homeless, "in order to afford rent for a two bedroom home at the nationally weighted Fair Market Rent, a worker would have to earn 3 times the federal minimum wage". With so many institutional obstacles for African Americans, hope for resource equity is dims. The dreams of Martin Luther King are still the dreams of African Americans today. Although there is a veil of multiculturalism in the US today, there is not an even playing field for minorities. POLICE INTERACTION: During the 1960's the relationship between African-Americans in inner-city communities in DC and the police was negative.

There were many reports of black males taken into local precincts and beaten. Today, the relationship between minorities and the police have improved but negative feelings continue to invade our inner-city communities especially with children. # scene: Interview with the policeman " I think interaction is improving good... ". The Washington police department has developed several community relationship building programs that work in conjunction with the school system to build relationships and decrease fear between the two groups. The police school programs allow children to interact and understand police officers as positive persons and mentors in their communities as well. Police departments need to continue to create programs to build positive relationships within our inner-city communities.

SUMMATION: On February 29, 1968, the Kerner Commission, responding to American race relations, released their report. They found that, "Our nation is moving toward two societies, one black, one white separate and unequal". This report came out just months before the Washington DC riots, acting as an omen that something would soon erupt. The injustices Martin Luther King fought to rectify in the 1960's, remain injustices today. The discrimination and resource inequity experienced by minorities continues to be American society's greatest flaw. There is a desperate need to create an even playing field in the areas of education, housing and employment.

Dr. King dreamed of a day when people's wealth and education are not determined by the color of their skin. Almost forty years later, King's insight into equality and justice still resonate: "To be born a Negro in an American city, for most of us, means to be 'under' the main stratum of our society -- to be underemployed, or unemployed, or underpaid; to be undereducated and ill housed; to face illness and perhaps death, under cared for; to face a life of little hope, entrapped by both color and need (King before US Senate, 12/15/66)". Although we have made some progress in race relations in the US since the 1960's, King's vision for equality stretches beyond positive race relations-minorities deserve and demand the same privileges afforded to White Americans. #Scene: Dr. Jarvis. ". from the slavery... the attention to Blacks slowly changed... ' The nation continues to polarize and marginalize its poor and minorities. The evidence is in the violence on the streets of northeast and southeast DC, the poor living conditions, the incredibly high poverty rate, and the unacceptable educational system, which are all correlated to the unfair socio-economic structure of society.

Nationally, the life expectancy of an African American child is lower than a child living in Bangladesh, and only higher than a child living in Haiti. It is King's dream to remove such structural violence. Amar tya Sen also explains the need for removal of structural violence and social injustice: "Development requires the removal of major sources of un freedom: poverty as well as tyranny, poor economic opportunities as well as systematic social deprivation, neglect of public facilities as well as intolerance... Despite unprecedented increases in overall opulence, the contemporary world denies elementary freedoms to vast numbers-perhaps even the majority-of people (Farmer, 8)". # scene: 1963 March at the national mall (file picture B / W) "announce narration Please join the march and please come to Dc".

The struggle to achieve equality in United States has been a long battle. The dreams of Martin Luther King and all of those involved in the civil rights movement are still our dreams today. As we continue to believe in Dr. King's ideals, we must work to no longer defer the dream of freedom and justice for all. #scene Dr. King's dream speech and the Joan baez song 'we shall over come' and overlapping the picture of civil right movement march in 60's.