(1)-of-of-every-3-(person's-with-out-homes),.there.is.a.condo
or-a.high-priced-apartment,built-over-the-subway-system,-the-average-Black-American-can-not-afford,to-live.
Is-there-are-growing-discontent-in-the-black-community?

Is-there-a-restlessness-in-the-black-neighborhoods?

Was-there-a-discontent-in-South-Africa-that-the-people-
could-no-longer-bear?

Was-there-a-growing-restlessness-in-South-Africa-that
had-reached-its-boiling-point?

I-weep-for-my-city,-my-neighbor-and-my-community,because
nothing-will-ever-be-as-it-was-before.We-have-been
priced-out!

I'm not denying that the DC Public system is in a sad state, but when 1/3 third of the population turns a blind eye to problem, it becomes a infected sore that festers and damages the entire system.

As for the percentages, they should be proportionate. Yes, perhaps the student makeup would not be 36% white, but much more than the paltry 5% it is now.

Also, I don't want to suggest that white students are magical cure for a poor school system. There are plenty of black and Hispanic students and families who value a good education. I'm only suggesting that no public school will succeed with such a large percentage of the local taxpayers and parents showing little to no interest in the success or failures of the system.

If there's a pothole on a neighborhood street in Georgetown or Cleveland Park , the city gets inundated with phone calls. But when hundreds of children fail to get a quality education in local public schools, nobody seems to give a crap.

I agree with Hawke. The people who are financially capable in this City, including and especially the Mayor and his cronies, will not send their own children to a predominantly African American School. The problem isn't who constitute the school body, but rather what resources goes into them. From what I can tell, Conolly was dead on. This is state-sanction segregation.

Nope. Not a one. Over the past 15 years or so, I have know quite a few of my friends (white, black or otherwise) get married and have kids - it seems to have been the time for it in their lives.

Invariably, they've moved once the kids approach school age because, despite being good progessives for the most part, they don't want to send their kids to the atrocious DC school system. I can't really blame them. It seems that anybody with enough money to flee, but not enough money to send their scion to the expensive private schools in DC, would do the same, no matter what color they are.

That's why, for the most part, the only kids in DCPS seem to be from the extreme economic underclass. And in DC, again for the most part, that means poor and black.

1. Regarding the 95% of the DCPS system that is black. How many white people in the District actually have kids of school age, and either aren't super rich or haven't moved to the 'burbs? I know anecdotal evidence doesn't equal data, but I personally don't know ANY.

2. This Connelly woman really doesn't understand the actual economic tapestry of DC, as some others have pointed out. For example, I'm a white guy who's lived here for almost 38 years, since 6 years old, who lives in a very racially mixed neighborhood in Southeast near Potomac Ave. Metro. Again, as pointed out before, there are quite a few other areas throughout the city that are similar.

3. Since the original article's overall subject was, apparently, the low marriage rate in DC, and the author seems to think it's because of a lack of interaction between the races, I'd just like to say: Hey, hot Nubian sisters! A lot of us white guys are quite smitten with you, but never get the time of day. I've got a J-O-B and a house! Interested?

"*It seems I've aggravated a lot of people with my reference to apartheid. I agree it was a poor choice of words, which unfairly exaggerated the social and class issues we have in DC. I've reworded that sentence to more accurately reflect my intention, which was to highlight the fact that there are two distinct class worlds in DC: an affluent group that clusters in the north west and a much poorer community whose work helps enable the higher living standards of the richer residents. It's also a reality that, like in many urban areas, a majority of those who live in DC's poorer areas aren't white. Those areas have worse schools and less access to services. In my mind, the contrast is stark and unjust, and in order to remedy this unfairness, DC residents should be conscious and open about the class politics surrounding them. But I admit that's a very different situation than in South Africa, and the analogy was a bad one."

I still think she's wrong to insinuate that D.C. residents are somehow unaware of the segregation we see in this city. And she keeps harping on how all rich white folks live in NW, without admitting that it's the biggest quadrant and that it has the city's most diverse ward, both in racial and economic terms.

emfmorrison: @katiemconnolly GREAT piece! But many cities in the US have the same issue, & "apartheid" isn't working for me...maybe de facto segregation?

katiemconnolly @emfmorrison understand your point, but didn't feel like "de facto segregation" is stark /harsh enough. just a personal preference I s'pose.

emfmorrison:@katiemconnolly I've lived in South Africa & DC...today's DC should not be compared to the brutality, inhumanity, devastation of apartheid

katiemconnolly @emfmorrison you're right. point taken. was not my intention to diminish that experience
10:32 PM Oct 20th from TweetDeck

Point being, yes she made a gross oversimplification, and owned up to it 3 days ago.

Apartheid based on class? Well, that doesn't make sense apartheid is specifically defined as being based on race. But we'll stick with your argument for the time being.

Yes, certain public policies surely do favor the rich. That being said, it's tough to argue that city policy is to specifically tailored to screw the poor when there are programs for food assistance, affordable housing, public schooling, etc. Sure, these aren't perfect, but they're an indication that a proactive sentiment exists within local and federal government to promote social welfare.

I agree that racism, sexism and classism are insidious and still very much alive in our society. But it's still a far cry between that and claiming that because they exist then we must be living in apartheid.

I can't stress enough that the white South African leadership made it a stated public point to screw the black population. It was their goal. Regardless of the segregation that still exists in D.C., it is simply not possible to say that Mayor Fenty and members of the D.C. Council -- many of whom are black, mind you -- similarly sit around and say, "How can we keep black folks down today?"

Sure, D.C. is segregated, but it not apartheid, period.

In reality, it is classism, not racism, that divides the city. If you have the money to live well in DC, no one will stop you. And I do believe that the DC Council does in fact make laws that adversely affect poor people and give more advantage to the rich.

Racism, sexism and classism are not like plants that need to be watered in order to thrive. They are institutional and insidious, but never accidental.

So, DC is ruled by apartheid based on class, and that is fact. If you'd like to call it something else, be my guest, but the result is the same.

Original: http://www.kwamebrownatlarge.com/Newsroom/newsweek_apartheid_in_dc.html

Kwame: Newsweek Article Wrong about Apartheid in DC

WASHINGTON – Today, At-large Councilmember Kwame R. Brown released a statement in response to an article written by Katie Connolly at Newsweek. The article entitled, “Why So Few DC Residents Are Married” argued that low marriage rates in DC were due in part to “an unwritten form of apartheid.” Specifically, the article stated that “Anyone who's lived in DC is aware of the city's dirty secret: it essentially operates under an unwritten form of apartheid.”

“As an elected official in DC, I’m appalled that a reporter at Newsweek would compare our system of government to apartheid,” said Councilmember Brown. “The article simplified the complex issue of marriage by pitting DC residents against each other and race against race. In fact, District residents are united in our efforts to alleviate poverty, reform our schools and create a city where families thrive. Our only remaining form of oppression comes not from each other but from our lack of full voting representation in Congress. Anyone who’s lived in DC should be aware of that dirty little secret.”