May 29, 2007
Rock Throwing, Attacks in Columbia Heights Return
It's been since last October that we heard much more about any rock throwing attacks in Columbia Heights. Despite the prevalence of these types of assaults last year, thought to be perpetrated by groups of neighborhood kids, they had seemingly stopped sometime over the winter and not begun anew, until now.
Council member Jim Graham (D-Ward 1) has been circulating a couple of emails to District police officials and neighborhood listserves: one that reports a group of kids throwing rocks at apartment windows and breaking them (it's unclear from the email which street this is), and another that relates a story of a physical assault by some youths on 14th NW.
Councilmember Jim Graham, last Friday, the 25th of May, my partner and I were walking south on 14th Street. When we reached Fairmont and 14th there was a group of kids using plastic milk crates to sit on, on the side of the sidewalk. When we crossed Fairmont and reached the group, one of them screamed, jumped up from the crate he was sitting on and slugged my partner in the groin. There were about 10 kids in group and I would say the ages were from around 10 to 18. They thought this was one of the funniest things they had ever done, from the laughing they were doing.
We weren't sure what to do. We live 2 blocks away and didn't want to do anything to make us a permanent target. I'm sure we were not the only people picked out to harass, maybe we were the only ones to get hit that day, don't know.
We moved onto Clifton St. last November and have noticed nothing but animosity and hatred towards us from the black neighbors that have been living here for a while. We even had rocks thrown at us last fall. I have never, ever in my life lived in an area where people were attacked on the street the way we were for no reason.
There's a lot going on in this letter, to be sure. Assault, racial tension, gentrification, unsupervised children, and if you tend to read the word "partner" and assume we're probably talking about a gay couple, then add a potential hate crime element into the mix. It's disturbing on so many levels: a group of kids that thinks it's OK to attack and intimidate people on the street, and a couple who lumps all black people in their neighborhood together into one big group that they think is out to get them.
This report comes at the same time as another instance of rock-throwing youths in the city, this time in the Capitol Hill neighborhood. The City Paper blog posted a first-person account by one of its writers of being attacked by kids throwing eggs, rocks, and bottles at their neighbors.
We're sure many of our readers live in proximity to these neighborhoods. We'd like to create room for some honest discussion about all of the issues surrounding these incidents -- but please, keep it civil. We'll be moderating the comments.
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As I walked from my place in Columbia Heights to my friend's apartment in Mount Pleasant, I saw a string of graffiti that read various anti-genny messages including "Go Home Rich White People."
My first thought was, "at least the 'rich' part rules me out." Then, "what about rich black people--why do they get a pass?" Finally I wondered, "what are the chances that was written by some rich white kid himself a la Borf?"
The neighborhood I grew up in is blacker than the one I live in now. I don't know where I'm supposed to "go home" to.
ok, i'll bite, i imagine the posts to go something like this...
"Damn Black People"
"Damn Gay People"
"Can't we all just get along"
"Damn White people"
"Mike Licht sounds like..."
... *sigh* at least controversy keeps your ad revenue up guys, get those hits baby...
Well, I hate to add to the string but I guess knowing what is happening can may help to stop things. I was at La Lomita on Friday night, sitting inside with my family, when behind me sitting on the patio, two men were attacked for no reason. The man next to us saw it happen and so did my daughter, both facing the window. A group of six kids walked by, then two doubled back and punched two men in the face. Then they ran. I don't know any more than what we saw... the kids were Black, the men were White, and they may have been Gay. But boy it sucks to be sitting at a favorite neighborhood spot and see something that mean and hateful used for teenage entertainment, no matter what the "reason" for the attack was.
By the way, we called 911 and there was a very fast response by police (more than one car) and by ambulance.
First off, I don't see the reason why this person is basically labelled racist by saying that black neighbors are acting in a certain way toward them. Should he have said "some black neighbors", to therefore limit the generalization? Seems a little ticky-tack to scold the victim for that. He obviously feels hatred coming from a certain set of neighbors. Why can't he say which ones?
Second, this just goes to show that CH has a long way to go. There is a lot of crime that still happens, despite all the new development and influx of residents. Packs of unsupervised kids run around all the time, yelling, throwing trash all around, etc etc. Some say that this is just a matter of time until rising property values (and taxes) force out lower income folks (which one would assume includes the kids that like punching random pedestrians). Maybe it is, but something should still be done about it now. I personally have seen more police presence in the past week or two - hopefully this keeps up.
Black kids around here don't like gays. They learn it from their elders. Saying they learn it from their parents assumes they know who their parents are and I'm not going to make that leap. I don't see why these incidents surprise anyone. Ignorant and violent blacks are simply D.C.'s version of southern rednecks, Brooklyn goombahs and Boston southies.
I have no experience with this; the kids in my neighborhood don't fuck with me at all, ever. I have a few things working in my favor:
1. I'm Black
2. I'm big (6'3", 275)
3. I've been living in the same area long enough that the kids who are now teenagers have been seeing me since they were small children.
I think #3 is the long pole in the tent.
I hate to say it, but it's the weather. The temperature rose and sh*t hit the fan. Within the last week alone several of my friends [myself included] have experienced neighborhood kids having "fun". Last wednesday kids in my neighborhood decided to have target practice [using a rifle] with my living room window. And just the night before last, another friend of mine was held at gun point half a block from his house by a young person. All I can say is, call the police, call the police, call the police. They will show up and gradually will increase their presence if they know of trouble areas. Don't assume your neighbor is going to do something, pick up the phone and call someone.
Apparently they are putting in a police "sub-station" in the upper area of Meridian Hill Park, near the east entrance across from Chapin St. But this is one location, three blocks from the main station near 16th and V, in the lower outskirts of CH, and probably won't help much except keep the mostly safe park slightly safer.
Please remind me again why having police on foot/bicycle/segway patrols doesn't help deter crime?
Wouldn't having a cop circle by this block 4x to 10x per day put a dent in these kids' idea of "fun"?
I think it's funny and sad how the government folks who lament crime in the neighborhoods (mayor's office, MPD, etc.) all immediately say that increasing police presence by getting the cops out of their patrol cars doesn't work.
I used to live on Fairmont and University. I had one roommate (rather flamboyantly gay) attacked by a large group of neighborhood yute on our doorstep.
I live around the corner now. The other day a group of four yute were trying to break into the Butler house . . . in broad daylight, whilst throwing rocks at the cars parked in the parking lot of our building. Called police, but they were gone by the time they got there.
Not sure if these were kids from the same group or not.
Until D.C. spends more money on its Parks and Rec facilities to keep them open later at night and until places like the Boys & Girls Club stop trying to sell their properties to the highest bidder you are going to have teenagers with too much time on their hands and that always leads to problems.
I'm not saying that the parents/guardians of these young people shouldn't be held accountable for some of their actions because they cetainly should, but until this city makes its young people a priority we're going to continue to have problems such as the one reported.
Simply because many of the "gentrifiers" don't have kids (single, gay, young, whatever) doesn't mean that the well-being of the children who do live in this city (because really, unlike the gentrifiers, they don't have an option of where to live)shouldn't be a top priority for EVERYONE.
This is an old and very sad topic. I don't have the heart for it.
I've pulled unsupervised children out of a burning house, fixed broken bicycles, helped organize and served at neighborhood cookouts, paid local kids to cut grass and water street trees, patched bullet holes and cleaned "RIP" graffiti at an elementary school, ad hoc babysat, woven daisy-chains for the little girls, and opened my son's kiddie pool to neighborhood kids.
I've also directly intervened in inter-racial and same-race violence, called MPD hundreds of times, cleaned parks and vacant lots of drug residue, and gotten involved with CFS and DCHA and the DCAG.
Pointing fingers only takes the conversation so far. My advice, for better or worse, is to be part of the neighborhood in all facets.
The kids do this because they know they won't ever be punished, by either their parents or the police. When I was mugged in Columbia Heights by three kids who couldn't have been older than 15, the officer who took my report told me (I'm paraphrasing): "Even if we catch them, it won't do anything because they'll be out by tomorrow without any charges filed. If you're younger than 18, you have to pull some serious felonies to get punished in this city." The kids know this, and take advantage of it.
nice points Mark. well said.
Okay, former 13th and Florida resident here and I can say this is classic Clifton Street/Terrace behavior. Their other favorite sport is hucking rocks at those pretty glass vestibule doors and running. You just avoid that block and plan your route accordingly. Otherwise, if you're the wrong color/sexual preference, that's the treatment you can look forward to. This is the same area the Fruit of Islam came to with baseball bats to "pursuade" the dealers to embrace Islam.
And Anthony's hit it on the head. They do it because they can and because there are no consequences. Why do you think dealers use kids under 18 as their runners? Zero repercussions. They are out on the street within minutes of the cops nabbing them, if that ever happens at all. More cops wont fix this, much as I'd like to see every block in town get its own bike cop. Kinda gets expensive after a while.
"There's a lot going on in this letter, to be sure. Assault, racial tension, gentrification, unsupervised children, and if you tend to read the word "partner" and assume we're probably talking about a gay couple, then add a potential hate crime element into the mix."
Would it not be a hate crime if the kids attacked them merely because they're white?
SY, what are "yute"?
last week I had a conversation with my babysitter as I drove her home to her parent's house in Columbia Heights...
she is spiteful about how the new comers to the neighborhood are forcing her friends to move away
it was a long difficult conversation...
the words gentrification came up
but I think neighborhood evolution is more accurate
gwadzilla.blogspot.com
I'm moving back to DC this summer and am seriously thinking about buying a weapon for when I walk around the neighborhood. These kids attack us because they know we won't fight back.
I'm just amazed at the number of people who move into neighborhoods like Columbia Heights and then are shocked- SHOCKED!- at the reception they get from the "black neighbors who have lived there a while."
Don't get me wrong- I'd like to see those kids punished for the assault.
But give me a break. I mean, I tend not to buy condos in neighborhoods I'm not familiar with. That would make me a big giant moron.
So it's hard to sympathize. The author of the letter doesn't seem capable of considering WHY his black neighbors might harbor some animosity towards them.
I'll give you a hint, buddy- some long-term neighbors of theirs were likely forced from their home to make room for your fabulous condo. That's why. How would you feel?
CH_resident, I find your attitude even more disgusting than the letter-writer's. Your sense of entitlement astounds me.
That neighborhood was what it was long before you got there; if you didn't like the neighborhood you should have stayed the hell away from it. You don't get to move in and then complain about the way it was before you arrived.
And the fact that you're not only okay with, but anxious to see people forced from their own neighborhoods so that the crime won't be in your backyard anymore is appalling. Just move to Vienna and complain about, I dunno, the neighbor's tree being too close to your property line.
Oh and Mark, those were very good and useful points you made. Thanks.
What I worry about is the day these kids mess with the wrong person, who ends up seriously hurting them. I know personally, I tell myself that if I am attacked, and it looks like I can retaliate successfully (i.e. me against a couple small kids), then I will do it, but then again, who knows how one will react in the moment. But I can see myself seriously hurting a kid who comes up to me and tried to hurt me for no reason. I refuse to be scared in my own neighborhood.
I'm moving back to DC this summer and am seriously thinking about buying a weapon for when I walk around the neighborhood.
Um, anybody considering carrying a concealed weapons should familiarize themselves with DC's laws. As in, you have to register that can of MACE with the police, carrying a steak knife is a felony, a Master padlock on your person is considered a "brass knuckle", etc.
However, ladies, I'm not aware of anyone being prosecuted for carrying a brick in their purse.
I truly believe that until we get tough on minors in the criminal justice system, that the enforcement aspect of these kinds of crimes is meaningless. The current laws basically lead you to the conclusion that minors can get away with pretty much anything, because they're 'learning' how to live life. What could be more educational than a day in a youth detention facility? Repeeat offenders get months, years, etc. Parents should also be held accountable when children cannot be. Who else, after all, is responsible for teaching their children what is right, and what is wrong. I'm sick of excuses.
I am *SO* glad I'm moving to downtown Silver Spring on June 15. DC can kiss my white gay tax revenue goodbye.
In my entire adult life I have never lived anywhere that wasn't a central city. But the kind of ghetto savagery that rages through DC is like nothing I've ever experienced in my life. And the generalized race hatred that permeates every facet of life in DC is just making me emotionally sick. I feel like this city is making me emotionally hard in ways that New York never did, and it's not worth it.
Not that you care, but let's see if we can shed a little light on the situation…
Now this isn’t an end all be all, as I am sure this is just the tip of the iceberg.
1st let me say, i don't condone any violence or assualts upon anyone and bad behaviour permeates race and class...
FYI, you ask an upwardly mobile black family what it is like to move into that posh gated community and i guarantee you, they will disclose, "racist assaults are alive and well there too..." i.e., this ain't a one way street.
I live in an expensive apt, and have been for several years now...how do you think i feel, when cops harass me for loitering on my own steps, or my white neighbours constantly confuse me for the only other black person that lives in the building (despite the obvious complexion and height difference)
O.K., ready?
Black perspective: Impoverished, disenfranchised, under-educated, poor health care options, criminal environment...nobody has given a rats ass about this city for the past 40 years. My family and friends, who have been stuck here, have now created a home and community, which we love. Three generations of my family have lived and died in this city. Whenever my friends and I go to Gtown or outside of the district (MD/NOVA), we get harassed, pulled over, racially profiled, and encounter bigoted white people. We only know the bigots, because they always make themselves known to us. Now my family and friends are being FORCED OUT, by twenty something latte sipping flip flop wearing whites, who although are not overtly racist to me, are completely oblivious and careless of me and my community (which have been here longer than you will probably stay in this city). These same white people move into my neighbourhood, but don't respect me, speak to me, or look at me when they approach me on the street. They still look down upon us as second class citizens, even now in the sanctuary of my own block. We pass each other in the grocery every week, and the quite obvious "I’m white and not comfortable with you black people" aura is still dripping all over you. I might throw out a "hello" just to see if you respond...you don't. You listen to rap, hip hop, house, jazz, blues, etc... but fake on the diversity front. When another white household moves onto the block, I see you inviting them over, engaging with them...where and when did you think to not engage us with the same neighbourly fashion, or are we not worthy in your eyes? I get it, you two are in "this" together. You have options to you that I can't even fathom, at 28 you are already more wealthy than my entire family, and somehow you still think this is a just and fair society. Gentrification is segregation. You are ignorant
White Perspective: I'm not racist, it is economics. Man, I didn't know d.c. was a denizen of black folks, no wonder I got this property cheap. I know black people, but these aren't like the ones from the upper middle class community I am from, so it is ok to ignore and belittle them. I am hip to their culture, I’ve got the cd collection to prove it. I didn't own slaves, nor do I believe there is a fallout from the segregated history of this country, and I am completely not interested in their issues, after all I have trees to save. Black people are scary. Now that this is MY HOME, I am going to make some changes to the community to suit myself, fuck the looooong history of the demographics, shops, churches, restaurants, barbers, establishments, etc,... that were here before me. If they can't afford to be my neighbours fuck em. These people have every opportunity in the world to be more like me...THEY CHOOSE NOT TO BE, fuck em. In fact sometimes, it pisses me off that they scold the opportunity to be more like me. Gentrification is not a bad word. Racism is dead. You are ignorant.
Mix the above in a stew of heat, humidity, and general DC bullshit...simmer and what do you get...
Also, a caveat: If you move into a God forsaken ghetto, don't be surprised when ghetto shit happens to you...and before we get the Gay Brigade involved, you should know that D.C. has one of the largest populations gay blacks (at least that i have ever encountered from my jaunts around the world)...heck, Gay Black Pride is being held here all next week or something...
Finally, it should be noted, that these are apparently kids, not all Blacks in general. Believe it or not, most blacks have the where with all and maturity to not behave in such behavior.....oh, you got it, their black parents are telling them to haze the white folk. Brilliant.
Oblivious, should that same argument be made for white people hating black people who move into their neighborhood and "bring property values down"?
Kids are shit and scum, no matter what color their skin is.
I'd recommend getting a big fucking dog, it works pretty well for me.
I second the "big fucking dog" security method, with the addendum of a nice BFD that barks loud (Great Dane) but doesn't eat the neighbors (Pit Bull).
JM!
Now you're talking.
Buy a goddamn knife people. A big ass one.
You win. I'm leaving. Last fall one of my roommates was beaten savagely in front of the boys and girls club and on Saturday my sister's boyfriend was beaten and robbed at 12th and U. In between we've had rocks thrown at us, bottles thrown at us, our female friends have been jawed at and groped. In the last year, there have been promises of more police presence and action from the Boys and Girls Club but nothing happens. The same 50 or so thugs rule the streets with fear and violence.
But's ok right? Because I'm white, I should have stayed in NoVa. I should live in Woodley. I shouldn't show my face around here. Guess what, had I decided to stay in NoVa or lived in Woodley many people on this forum (Rich Black Kid) would have derided me as racist, fearful and cowering among "my own."
I've spent the last 5 years working on behalf of the African-American community in voter empowerment projects across the southeast. I've gone door to door in some of the poorest neighborhoods in the country. In pre-Katrina New Orleans, in Columbia, SC, in Memphis. I've knocked on doors when there were no doors. I've tried my best to help my fellow Americans gain political power. I've spent a lot of time in AME church basements, black barber shops and on the street corner. No matter what the neighborhood, city or state, I've never felt as unsafe as I do walking down my own street after dark.
But none of that matters. I'm white. I should shut up. Take the beatings or get out, right Rick Black Kid?
In the 2 years I have lived in DC (Shaw) I have experianced reverse discrimination 3 times by an African America - one lady even called me "the white devil" because I asked her politely to move her car from blocking my car in. I was parked in my legal spot from the alley, she was parking IN the alley. The one that scares me the most is when there was a serious car crash and a group of African Americans ran over to the cars all excited about it - not one person calling 911 - yelling "cracker down", and "whitey hurt". After I got off the phone with 911 I said to the adults in the group how appaulled I was and promptly told to shut the f up.
Bottom line, DC is dangerous for white people. Living here has made me reverse my point of view - I now see things more like my grand-parents, meaning maybe segragation is better. I'm leaving as soon as I can (need to do some work to get house on the market).
Oblivious: first off, if you read my post instead of being "oblivious" yourself, you would see that I said that people moving out due to property values is something that some would say MIGHT happen, but police need to do something about the crime problem NOW. I'm simply saying that the attitude needs to be on fixing the current crime problem, not adopting a "wait and see" attitude.
Second, I for one am not looking for a homogenous community with nothing but white people. Hence I moved into the city. But I do not expect to come to a neighborhood and be attacked. No one wants that, nor should anyone "expect" that.
I am a twenty-something white male who moved to Shaw about two years ago from the west coast to go to graduate school in Washington (i.e., I'm the kind of person who I think Rich Black Kid and oblivious are taking about).
Why did I move to DC and in particular to Shaw? It's simple, really: it's an area of the city where I could afford to rent an apartment while still being fairly close to my school. I wanted to live and go to school in close proximity so I didn't have to deal with long commutes and feeling like a permanent stranger in one or both communities (I would be out of place either at home or school). Frankly, there are not very many places in this city where I could afford to rent an apartment, feel safe in my neighborhood, and be close to school. Shaw was one of those places.
I get very frustrated when people who have lived in the neighborhood for longer than I have tell me that I am not allowed to voice opinions about the neighborhood or in any way change the feel of the neighborhood because I'm not from here (and for that matter because in all likelihood, I won't stay here after I graduate in a few more years). I am every bit as much of a resident of this community as a person who has lived here their whole life. I am not more valuable to the community than that person, but neither am I less valuable. I believe that I contribute in a positive way to the area--I patronize area businesses (some that have been here for decades and some that have been here for weeks). I say hello to people walking down the street (and get a lot of people looking at me like I'm crazy--I guess greeting people is a west coast thing, but that's another blog...).
Over and over again, people like me are decried as "newcomers" by people who have lived here for a long time. It's seen as a terrible insult by the people who use the term, but I have a hard time seeing why. Yes, I am a newcomer, but if I'm willing to contribute my energy, talents, any money to the neighborhood, why is my contribution any less valuable than a person who has lived here for thirty years? If I have ideas about how to make my neighborhood a better place, even if it will change some aspect of the neighborhood, why should my position be rejected out of hand? "Newcomers" can bring new ideas and new solutions to problems that exist in the neighborhood.
Neighborhoods change. It happens everywhere. In Los Angeles, where I lived before moving here, areas of the city that have been known as black areas of the city have lately become home to many Latinos. A lot of the same tensions that I find here also exist there, even though the groups involved are different.
I believe that if we tell people that all neighborhoods must forever stay the way they are, we will ultimately end up hurting everyone. Few people would argue that most of Washington (and most other American cities) are de facto segregated. In Washington, white people live in northwest and black people live in southeast, or at least that's the common perception. The only way we'll ever change that is if white people move into historically black neighborhoods and black people move into historically white neighborhoods with none of the "it has to stay this way" attitude.
In Washington, white people who live in northwest and do not want black people to move in are shunned as racists, yet oftentimes, black people who live in other parts of the city and don't want white people to move in are given a free pass. I do not see why a distinction should be made.
Shaw is an area that has a racial make up (and largely, a socioeconomic make up) that is fairly reflective of Washington as a whole. It is a great opportunity to show other areas of the city that people from a variety of backgrounds can live together in harmony. That means that white people would have to accept that Shaw will never be Loudoun county with box stores and chain restaurants, and black people would have to accept that opening up restaurants or stores that are owned by or patronized by white people does not make their contribution to the neighborhood any less valuable. If it's not possible to live together with some give and take, it makes me very pessimistic about the future of race relations in this country.
Why not volunteer as a tutor in your neighborhood. It's good for the kids, and your investment in the human capital and potential of the neighborhood will make you part of the local social system. You won't be some stranger who lives in the old Williams place, you will be Natasha's tutor. And nobody is gonna treat little Natasha's tutor bad; they know she and her family will not stand for it.
RBK - Wow! Your post read more like poetry than anything else; textured, vibrant, and real.
Bravo, I look forward to hearing from you again.
Oblivious: Exactly how are blacks being forced from their homes? Please, be specific.
As usual, monkeyerotica brings sense and actual information to the issue. It's shocking how some people here are willing to ignore the simple fact that the safety and welfare of law-abiding citizens is being threatened by unsupervised teenagers.
This is indeed classic Clifton Street/Terrace behavior, with some of the kids graduating from their little juvenile pseudo-gangs up to more real crap connected to the Euclid drug mart and other venues of higher education. But this assault crap barely rates above quality of life issues, and the cops could make those blocks safe in three weeks, if they would just patrol seriously. This isn't an organized economic situation where the crime would move elsewhere.
And lest the above silly commenters insist on painting this as some sort of old/new or gentrifier/non-gentrifier battle, let me point out that, as is all too often the case, the behavior of the delinquints has the largest effect on other kids in the neighborhood, who have to try to grow up straight in a nasty culture where those who succeed are pegged as failures. It's the same problem that you see constantly in failing schools--20% of the children prevent the other 80% from learning, and in the end, the decent teenagers (a group including, no doubt, certain of the current delinquints) that bear the brunt of the culture. So why not clean up the block and establish rule of law, even if you can't create respect for it?
By the way, the notion that the Boy & Girls Club can somehow solve this is silly. All those kids already use the club, and the kids nonetheless are what they are. You can't solve their problems with municipal program, but in this limited case, you just might be able to end the silly crimes going on in this area.
I'm probably oversimplifying, but I really do think that this limited problem (in the area right around Clifton St.) can be solved. It's probably like thirty teenagers, at most, causing all this trouble, if that. Whether it's worth dedicating the resources is, I suppose a close question, but all the comments here suggest that it's worth the effort.
I can understand why communities that are forced to change by incoming white people of a higher economic class are frustrated by the changes. However, the territoriality is absurd. Just because you weren't born in DC (or in Shaw, or wherever) doesn't mean you should forbidden from moving there.
Um, Clifton, read much? From where in my post do you derive that i would think you racist or anything for living where you want to live and or speaking up about issues affecting you? If you care to re-read my post, it clearly states what some of the sentiments are behind the disconnect of WHITES and BLACKS in the city.
I never once suggested that someone move or not move...except in the instance where they move into a Ghetto...now if you chose to move into a ghetto (even i, as a black male would not move into a ghetto) and ghetto shit happens to you, don't be surprised. But please, i encourage you to re-read my post before you attempt to reply and falsely characterize me more.
If anything, i suggested we take time out and try to appreciate this issue from all sides exposing the ignorance on both sides...are you game, or are you going to bark some more up the wrong tree?
And i know i am dealing with an idiot in you, because i said i don't condone violence, assaults, or the beatings of anyone...don't get salty at me, because i sound reasonable to you and you don't know how to get along in your community.
Basically, like i said, your response is not in comport with the language of my post. Sorry, better luck next time.