On a breezy Saturday afternoon, the only sounds in the Big Bear Café at 1700 1st Street NW in Bloomingdale are the tapping of laptops and some hushed conversation, with the occasional shout of a finished sandwich or coffee order from the counter. Ceiling fans whirr overhead. Large open windows make it feel like an [...]

Plenty of people have pointed out Bloomingdale's striking gentrification. But last week, neighborhood resident Natalie Hopkinson again analyzed the yoga studio/public housing dynamic in an article for The Root about 'Do the Right Thing.'
The movie, directed by Spike Lee, is now 20 years old. In its pivotal moment, a black man throws a [...]