D.C.’s Blackness Made It a Cultural Capital. Now It’s a Political Target.

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Washington, D.C. has always been the embodiment of Black culture in the U.S. But now the District of Columbia is in danger. These two facts are not unrelated. D.C. is in political chaos because Black people make up the largest group in the nation’s seat of power.

Let’s take a step back to understand why.

Before the D.C. Home Rule Act of 1973, federally-appointed commissioners and members of Congress — never elected by D.C. residents — had shared authority over the District’s local laws. Congressional offices fielded calls from constituents back in their home districts, and from D.C. residents, about potholes, trash pickup, schools and crime. Congress was eager to give locally elected officials more authority over these matters so that they could worry about larger national and international problems.

However, many members in Congress rejected D.C. home rule because they did not want D.C.’s majority Black population to have its own government. Despite this disinterest in giving Black Americans political power, Congress passed the 23rd Amendment and the D.C. Home Rule Act of 1973, starting a new era of self-determination for Chocolate City.

Today, D.C. has 700,000 residents – a population larger than Vermont and Wyoming – but fewer representatives than those respective states. D.C. residents pay more taxes than residents in 19 states and pay more per capita to the federal government than any state in the country. The District of Columbia is the only political and geographical entity in the United States where citizens are subject to taxation and Selective Service registration and denied meaningful representation in Congress.

The fight over the nation’s budget continues to highlight the District’s political vulnerabilities. Omitted language in the most recent continuing resolution threatens to strip $1 billion from the District’s current FY2025 budget.

President Donald Trump’s and Elon Musk’s attacks on the federal workforce – a critical part of the DMV region – have increased joblessness in Washington, D.C. And although the federal courts have forced the Trump administration to reinstate thousands of probationary workers who were illegally fired from their jobs, federal agencies are already formulating plans for massive reductions to their workforce.

Despite the consistent attacks over 150 years, Black people in D.C. continue to define Black and American culture throughout the country. Historian Carter G. Woodson, musician Duke Ellington, abolitionist and statesman Frederick Douglass, activist Mary McLeod Bethune and poet Paul Laurence Dunbar have all called D.C. their home at some point in their lives. Parliament’s 1975 record “Chocolate City” would go on to popularize D.C.’s moniker, a name that has come to define Blackness in the DMV.

Meanwhile, gentrification has intentionally pushed out working-class Black workers, making space for wealthier white individuals to replace them. A 2019 study found that D.C. had the highest “intensity” of gentrification of any city between 2000 and 2013. And many Black people with high-paying jobs, including government jobs, moved to the suburbs to find larger homes and more space. Between 1990 and 2000, Maryland’s Prince George’s County saw an increase in its Black population from 50.7% to 62.7% at the same time that D.C.’s population started to decrease. But despite the steep decline in the number of Black D.C. residents, Black folks still comprise 41% of the population — the largest percentage of any group in the city.

Trump’s and Musk’s attacks on federal workers are an example of their desire to punish D.C. residents — regardless of race — for the city’s unique qualities and political culture. If D.C. was 90% white or 90% registered Republicans, there wouldn’t be a conversation about missing language in the continuing resolution. And Congress would have resolved the question of statehood for the District a long time ago.

D.C. is under attack for the very thing that has come to define its culture and popularity: its Blackness. And history is repeating itself.

Black folks have always been able to take lemons and make lemonade. Black communities have not just defined the culture. Black people are the culture. Black brilliance and power threaten the status quo. But with Black power comes the inevitable “black-lash.”

If the District of Columbia wants to survive and protect vulnerable workers and residents during this time, then I suggest the following for D.C. newcomers:

1. Meaningfully connect and plug in with D.C.’s neighborhoods. Connect with a neighbor or friend who has lost their job, and see if they need a listening ear or helping hand.

2. Talk to U.S. Representatives in the House and U.S. Senators about D.C. statehood.

3. Find ways to join the fight and show your support for the resistance effort.

4. Most importantly, learn more about Black artists, historians, poets, and musicians who have made D.C. the interesting place many call home. Make sure their words and wisdom stay alive.

As P-Funk says, “There’s a lot of Chocolate Cities around … but you’re the capital, CC.” Don’t let Trump and Musk take away the essence of D.C. It’s too soulful, too melodic, too beautiful, too tasty to let anyone come in and destroy what Black folks have built.