Well, this happened today:

Councilmember Marion Barry (D-Ward 8), master Twitter user that he is, was musing about Lumen8 Anacostia’s potential effect on his part of Washington after the urban renewal enthusiasts at Greater Greater Washington plugged a City Paper analysis of the pop-up arts district at the nexus of Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue and Good Hope Road SE.

“We are continuing to develop and renovate AFFORDABLE housing & quality community amenities WITHOUT DISPLACEMENT,” Barry tweeted back in response.

Barry’s comments caught the attention of Stephen Smith, a Pennsylvania-based writer for Forbes, who sometimes muses under the nom de Twitter MarketUrbanism. On balance, he seemed to agree with Barry’s distaste toward gentrification, but he couldn’t leave well enough alone, throwing in his quick analysis of Barry’s past drug use.

Good for Barry (or perhaps his Twitter ghostwriter) for having the sense to smack down Smith’s unprompted cheek. Twaggin‘, it appears is alive and well. But the hashtag #kmba, surely it stands for “Kiss my black ass,” right?

After some prompting, Barry clarified, kind of:

Sure you were referring to the business school at Northwestern University, Marion. Sure you were. It’s a creative save, but in this case, Smith was probably asking for the first definition of “#kmba.”

Filed Under: forbes, gentrification, lumen8 anacostia, marion barry, stephen smith, twaggin, twitter,