A look at historical, systemic racism in Petworth real estate

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A look at historical, systemic racism in Petworth real estate

Historians Mara Cherkasky and Sarah Jane Shoenfeld, of Prologue DC, along with GIS specialist Brian Kraft, have devoted efforts since 2014 to mapping racially restricted property covenants in DC to illuminate the racism ingrained into DC housing history. Similarly, Tanya Golash-Boza is a sociologist who grew up in Petworth and now studies race and gentrification. Both Cherkasky and Golash-Boza have presented in TedX seminars examining housing segregation in DC and Petworth-area gentrification. Petworth News met with these historians and sociologists to talk more about the history of segregation and racism in our neighborhood.

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We're hyperlocal-only news, but are you kidding me?

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We're hyperlocal-only news, but are you kidding me?

I take it as both pride and necessity to only cover local Petworth area news, avoiding national and citywide news. There’s plenty of news outlets who cover both, and they do amazing work. Petworth News is most definitely not my full time job: it’s a hobby, a way to give to my community, and what I call my “bad habit keeping me up at night” writing articles, sharing tweets, etc. I have a full-time job, a family, other things I do. If I covered more than local, it would take all my time. So, I draw a line. Local new only, and only when I can.

As so many are, I was horrified by George Floyd’s murder. I felt powerless, angry, disgusted, frustrated, depressed.

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