Change is coming in Washington neighborhoods. It’s driven by natural, cyclical shifts that have remade cities even before the Romans set up camp along the Tiber River. It’s coming quickly; it can’t be stopped Do we adapt? Try to manage the impact? Rebel?
Some prefer to complain and play the victim — to no avail. In this case, I refer to Absalom Jordan, chairman of the Ward 8 education council, a group set up so that parents in that poor, black ward could advocate for their children.
Last week I stated the obvious in my Tuesday column: more white families are sending their children to D.C. Public Schools. Responding to new school buildings and higher teaching standards, they are choosing neighborhood schools rather than moving out of D.C. or sending their kids to pricey privates.
Abigail Smith, the school official who manages transformation, told me the percentage of whites might reach double digits and said: “Communities supporting local schools, whatever the color, is a positive change. Having more kids in our city engage a diverse population is a good thing.”
Sounds pretty reasonable and tame to me. But when the subject of Smith’s comments came up at the Ward 8 meeting last week, covered by the Washington Post’s Bill Turque. Jordan said Smith’s remarks carried “racist overtones” and spoke to “the feeling of entitlement held by whites.”
Huh? Let me get this straight: A white family moves into a neighborhood, pays taxes, sends its kids to the public schools, and this is “entitlement?” I call it bang for the buck, the American way, fair play.
Am I surprised that Ab Jordan, a professional race-based activist, would take the low road? No. He’s still playing by Marion Barry’s rules. When threatened in any way, play the race card. Oppose change. Jordan was one of the “leaders” who lobbied against Toyota’s plan in 2004 to build an automotive training center in Ward 8, then and now home to D.C.’s highest number of unemployed. “Wrong spot!” he declared. Toyota scrapped the plan. Jordan won.
What was lost, of course, was opportunity for those who need it most, just as Jordan’s race baiting about change in the schools could give others a reason to turn against reform. Shame on him.
Change is coming to Anacostia. The city has relocated offices to Good Hope Road. Homeland Security is setting up on Martin Luther King Boulevard. New condominiums and apartments are rising. No doubt some white folks might move in. Memo to Jordan: Anacostia was white until the 1950s.
True, when white students choose public schools, on Capitol Hill in particular, some black families from other neighborhoods might get pushed out. This is difficult and painful and can create conflict. But it’s the inevitable byproduct of change.
DCPS Chancellor Kaya Henderson understands this. Abby Smith is trying to soften the harsh impact.
Rather than whine, Jordan and others could advocate for better schools in Anacostia so their kids could walk to school. But that would require race-baiters to change. Some can’t.
Harry Jaffe’s column appears on Tuesday and Friday. He can be contacted at [email protected].
