Jugular

Once, during a hurricane, our mom warned my sisters and me to stay aware from windows, or risk being sliced in the jugular.

SHE WAS RIGHT.

Leadership

It's about the movement, not the leader.

$5 to Your Name, and a New Dog Park

In 2010, just how closely are race and class intertwined? Are young minorities as upwardly mobile as young whites? When a neighborhood gentrifies, is it a given it's whiter? By how much?

I've always had the impression that D.C. could be a unique case, given that an ambitious young person -- from any background -- probably, in this economy, has more opportunities for success here than anywhere else. That's why, while reading this Washington Post article this morning, I doubled back at this quote that smoothly equates race with class (The article is about whether Mayor Adrian Fenty favors whiter D.C. wards over blacker -- and poorer -- wards):

Ronald Walters, an expert in urban politics and professor emeritus at the University of Maryland at College Park, said that as the city's population has changed, the mayor has pursued policies that place a premium on certain projects -- dog parks and recreation centers -- that reflect what more-recent residents want but may not be as important to residents of wards with high unemployment or lack of easy access to city services.

"In D.C., you have gentrification, the return of the white population . . . to the point that it has become the effective electorate," said Walters, who points to the city's plan to invest in a $1.5 billion streetcar system as part of a massive gentrification effort. "Look at that kind of investment and the fact that Washington, D.C., has one of the highest poverty rates."

In truth, the correlation between race and wealth remains higher than I ever would have imagined, given the diversity I see in my everyday life. According to the Insight Center for Community Economic Development in Oakland, Calif., the median net worth of a white American woman aged 36 to 49 is $42,600. The median net worth of a nonwhite American woman of that age: $5.

$5.

That's stunning to me.

There are ambitious young minorities in D.C. who can hopefully bring down the disparity, and eventually help raise up entire minority communities. In the meantime, what about the rest of D.C.? I wonder how strongly race and economic status are correlated in the city as a whole. Probably much more so than a Northwest dweller is aware of  :(