Why Gentrify?!

U Street’s Ben’s Chili Bowl will celebrate its 50th anniversary on August 22. It will also expand into the Shanghai building next door with a 2,700 square foot restaurant that will seat 70 patrons and serve beer and other newer fare, such as salads. A lot is planned for the big anniversary!

The grand opening will coincide with the 50th anniversary celebration of Ben’s this Aug. 22. Ben’s 50th anniversary gala will be held at the historic Lincoln Theatre Aug. 21. Comedian-activist Bill Cosby will serve as Master of Ceremony. “It will just be a celebratory night to celebrate mom and dad and the legacy of Ben’s Chili Bowl,” Nizam Ali said. On Aug. 22, U Street will be closed and there will be musical performances and dancing in the street. On Aug. 24, there also will be a concert at the 9:30 Club. More can be learned about the history and legacy of Ben’s from their book, “Ben’s Chili Bowl: 50 Years of a Washington, D.C. Landmark,” which will be on sale Aug. 18 at area bookstores. The book is on pre-sale now at Barnes and Noble and Amazon.com.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khA5zJYZrYw]

5/23

The Sketches, a local pop-rock band, will perform at the 9:30 Club with Honey Chuck and the Dreamscape Project. Cost is $12. Recognize our city in the above video?

5/24

The Urban Verbs, a new wave band from DC will perform at the 9:30 Club on Saturday with Martin Royle at 6 pm. Cost is $20.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tebluTKKTAQ]

KRS-One, the revered hip-hop legend, will perform at the Black Cat at 9 pm on Saturday with Kokayi.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWa4UpajKTc&feature=related]

5/25

Kuku, a Nigerian acoustic guitarist and singer with a U Street open-mic following, will perform at Bohemian Caverns on Sunday at 7 pm. Cost is $10.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ow-Xz-fOhH4&feature=related]

Karen Paul-Stern wrote an  interesting piece in the WaPo on how gentrification has changed U Street’s Best DC Supermarket, located at 1507 U Street NW.  If you pass by Best DC Supermarket, it isn’t much to behold, but it isn’t shabby like your typical neighborhood small grocer/convenience store.  Paul-Stern wrote about how the food options in the store reflect the changes brought about by gentrification in the neighborhood.  You now have to search to find some Cheez Whiz, white bread, and beef jerky.  But, prominently displayed, you can easily find $44 zinfandel, $10 sourdough bread, a $3 asian pear, and $12 prosciutto.  Paul-Stern expresses reluctance and guilt for shopping at Best DC Supermarket and “supplanting longtime denizens of this historic but troubled section of the city” by causing ownership to cater to her more expensive tastes and not of those who come in with food stamps, but in the end she is able to ease her guilt with a “dazzling dark chocolate bar.”

As always, gentrification raises interesting issues.  Realizing that your better economic status has a major impact on previously floundering neighborhoods can make gentrifiers feel a little guilty, or for some a little entitled or haughty.   I think everyone is in favor of progress, at least I hope.  But, it is easy to forget about the needs of everyone within the neighborhood, including those who have more modest means.  The Whole Foods, fancy boutiques, and swank restaurants seem alien to those who remember when much of DC looked like a disaster, and these things certainly aren’t accommodating of everyone’s budgets, including the so-called middle class.  Admittedly, it is difficult to elevate a city by catering to a beer budget, but perhaps we don’t have to make everything a luxury establishment.  And, other issues such as my intolerance for hanging out in the street, loud music, and litter have a gentrification twist, although I still think that regardless of your socioeconomic status, you should be considerate of others.  Any opinions?

When: Every Saturday at 10:30 am, beginning April 1 through October 31, 2007
Meet: U Street/Cardozo Metro station (Green line, 13th Street exit)
Cost: Cash only! $10
Children 3 and under free
For more information: www.washingtonwalks.com
Phone: 202-484-1565
Email: info@washingtonwalks.com

Take a walk along Washington’s “Black Broadway,” where Duke Ellington grew up and was inspired, where musical greats such as Cab Calloway and Dizzy Gillespie played local clubs into the wee hours of the morning, and where movie palaces mingled with pool halls, restaurants and barber shops.

Here in the shadow of Howard University, African Americans created a strong community that produced leaders for the city and the nation. You’ll see the Lincoln Theatre, a 1922 movie palace, restored to its gilded glory; the Thurgood Marshall Center, a grand historic building that once housed the first full-service African American YMCA; and The African American Civil War Memorial, the only national monument to Black Civil War soldiers.

What you need to know:

• No reservations necessary for regularly scheduled walks.  Large groups should notify Washington Walks in advance.
• Tickets are cash only!
• Your guide will be wearing a Washington Walks badge. Judith, Phyllis, or Sandra lead this tour.
• Each walks lasts approximately two hours.
• Walks are given rain or shine.

Just spreading the news:
Come meet our NEW BAKER: AISHA Wilson Bond lives in Bloomingdale and wins the award as our most local of local producers. Taste her pies and bread puddings from her Great Grandmother and Great Aunt’s recipes…. and her strawberry bread made from local strawberries. Hers are the best bread puddings I have tasted: custardy, light, almost like a souffle– and seasoned with freshly ground spices.

More updates on the 14&U Farmers’ Market below. (more…)

DJ I-Wah’s Sacred Art Saturday event at the Tabaq Bistro on U Street will honor the birthday of Malcolm X.  Jali D (from Busboys and Poets house band) will join Hueman Prophets for some live sets.  The second floor will be turned into a gallery and performance space.  I-Wah, Lance Reynolds, ESCO International, ReWinD and the Ankhitek will handle the sounds, while Adrian Loving of Dissident Display, Charles Jean-Pierre, Monk and Tim Slayton create visuals on site. Entry is free with RSVP to soulcialscience@gmail.com by 3 p.m. Saturday. (WaPo)

There’re a whole lot of concerts going on!

5/16 (tonight)

DeVotchka, the four-piece multi-instrumental that blends Eastern European sounds with rock, will perform at the 9:30 Club with Basia Bulat at 9 pm. Cost is $15.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nj6SO_yKMe8]

Los Campesinos!, the Welsh seven-piece indie pop-rock band, will perform at the Black Cat with the Aquarium and Pash at 9 pm. Cost is $12.

5/17 (Saturday)

Junior League, will bring its bluegrass, country, and folk music to the Black Cat at 9 pm. Cost is $10.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXB_vOB0emI&feature=related]

The Speaks, a local five-member rock band with fame in Asia, will be play at the 9:30 Club with Monako and Dreaming of Eden at 6 pm. Cost is $12.

5/18 (Sunday)

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQw4PevmCws]

Alice Smith, the R&B, soul, jazz, etc. chanteuse with a powerful voice and some DC roots, will perform at the 9:30 Club at 7:30 pm with Res. Cost is $18.

Bishop Allen, the indie rock band from Brooklyn will perform at 8 pm at the Black Cat with the War on Drugs and Deleted Scenes. Cost is $12.

Yo Majesty, a female hip-hop crew known for its electro-rap jams, will perform at DC9 at 9 pm with Innerpartysystem. Cost is $12.

Contrary to popular thought, everyday, law-abiding citizens aren’t EVER snitches. Snitches are actually criminals who rat out fellow criminals in exchange for a lesser sentence or simply just to be a snitch. I attended the Peaceoholics second annual “What’s Snitching, What’s Not?” Forum this evening at the Lincoln Center, which is a lovely edifice. Now for whatever reason, the forum started pretty late (seemed like an hour late), but after the forum’s host, WPGC’s Rane, finally got things started. There were a lot of interesting people present, including Peaceoholics founders Ronald Moten and Jauhar Abraham, Assistant Police Chief Diane Groomes (a.k.a. “Officer Blondie”–seriously!), The Wire’s Anwan Glover (a.k.a. “Big G,” “Slim Charles”), U.S. Attorney Albert Herring, original Crips member Rock Johnson, former Delta Squad detective Lowell Duckett, and some 18-year old boy (I’m sorry, “man”) who is a Peaceoholics member.

It was an interactive forum, with audience members encouraged to ask questions at two microphones at the front. Valencia Mohammed, the mother of a slain man, spoke first thanking the Peaceoholics, police, and prosecutors for finally getting her son’s assailant brought to justice. It was kind of surreal because I remember reading her story in the Post when I first arrived in DC. She felt it important to attend because it took on of the witnesses to the murder of her son Imtiaz Mohammed to speak up in order for the murderer to be arrested.

I was very impressed with the Concerned Parents of Petworth. There were at least two men (talk about role models!) who spoke passionately about their love for the youth in their neighborhood and that they are willing to speak out about criminal behavior, no matter the risk. There were representatives of other groups in DC that work with young people. These people spoke about the importance of family and community in a very powerful way.

It was interesting to listen to the panelists. I take my hat (gotta put one on first) off to Ronald Moten and the Peaceoholics who really do waaaayyyy more than I realized. These guys are no joke. When they aren’t doing mediations between rival groups, they are speaking with criminals and high-level police and prosecutors. These guys do important work, and I am planning on donating to them so they can keep doing great things. I was initally scared to be in the same building as former Crips member Rock Johnson, just in case some revenge gunfire from former gang members or the Bloods broke out, but apparently, I’m just paranoid and have watched too much television. It was interesting to see “Officer Blondie,” as Assistant Police Chief Diane Groomes is actually known by in law enforcement circles. And, who could forget The Wire’s Anwan Glover a.k.a. “Big G” a.k.a. “Slim Charles.” Once this guy got started, he kept talking! But, he echoed the sentiments of everyone on the panel, encouraging everyone to do the right thing and speak up.

Good stuff. I hope all the teens in the audience, as well as the grown people, take everything to heart, and see how we all have a stake in making DC a safer place for everyone.

THIS EVENT IS FREE TO THE PUBLIC BUT RSVPs ARE REQUIRED…

Molly Smith, Artistic Director — Arena Stage

Warmly invites you to join us for a special preview of the first season of ARENA RESTAGED a two year, multi-venue festival of American Voices Directed by Anita Maynard-Losh co-hosted by the Lincoln Theatre

Friday, May 30, 2008
The Lincoln Theatre
1215 U Street, NW Washington, DC 20009

7:00pm House Opens
7:30pm Performance
8:30pm Taste of U Street reception with featured artists

Arena Stage will once again make history in the 2008/09 season by launching a massive two-year festival celebrating the rich mosaic of our nation’s voice leading up to the opening of Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater. Come enjoy this
unique opportunity to sample what we have in store for you next year! Experience performances by Grammy Award Winner Maureen McGovern, political satirist Josh
Kornbluth, and Broadway veteran Matt Bogart. More artists are being added every day!

Following the show, join us for a Taste of U Street! Several local restaurants will show off their culinary creations just for you. This is a great opportunity to sample the Arena Stage productions for next season, taste the offerings of local restaurants and explore the beautiful, historic Lincoln Theatre.

Tickets are FREE! but space is limited. To ensure your place, please reserve seats by calling Arena Stage Sales Office at (202) 488-3300.

Valet parking will be provided and is $14 and the Lincoln Theatre is right across the street from the U Street/African American Civil War Memorial/Cardozo Station.

I didn’t have the opportunity to check out the 14&U Farmers’ Market on its opening day of its new season here at the corner of the Reeves Center and U Street (why can’t they stay open until at least 2 pm?… sheesh!).  But, funny blogger, Herb of DC did, and he has some great pics and amusing commentary.  Who knew the farmers’ market could be so political?  Check out Herb’s post!

Looks like they have some good stuff, why oh why was I at the Columbia Heights’ Giant, then?   I don’t quite get this rhubarb and strawberry pie thing that I keep hearing about.