Report: Washington D.C Has The Highest Intensity Of Gentrification In The U.S

Gentrification has ravished America’s largest cities, leaving many low-income and marginalized people on the outskirts unable to afford the high cost of living in their neighborhood. And no one has been hit harder than the country’s capital city, Washington, D.C.

In 2019, the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, a research and advocacy group of 600 community organizations that promote economic and racial justice, released a damning study showing the influx of gentrification has changed the makeup of the nation’s capital and how it has disfranchised the native population. The report showed that roughly 40% of D.C’s lower-income neighborhoods experienced some form of gentrification between 2000 and 2013.

This puts it just behind New York City and Los Angeles for the highest number of gentrifying neighborhoods. Nationally, at least 135,000 African Americans and Hispanics have been forced out of their neighborhoods due to increase of gentrification in their communities.

But the District ranked first in the “intensity of gentrification” based on the percentage of lower-income neighborhoods being reshaped by new residents. It is also the black residents there who have been the hardest hit by the effects of gentrification, with more than 20,000 African Americans moving out of their neighborhoods during that time.

“You feel it and you see it,” said Jesse Van Tol, chief executive of the NCRC. “It’s the visibility and the pace of it.” Van Tol said gentrification has followed a national move back to cities, particularly among affluent workers who had historically left the bigger cities for suburban neighborhoods.

D.C, also known as Chocolate City, has historically been known for its thriving black population that has shaped the local culture of the city. This effect has caused serious effects on the city’s makeup moving toward more predominantly white, affluent newcomers.

“The tens of thousands who have migrated to Washington, D.C., over the last five years live in a city that rolled out the proverbial red carpet for their arrival,” Sabiyha Prince, an activist with the group Empower DC, wrote in an essay accompanying the report. “Infrastructure has been altered, public property has been privatized, the will of voters has been rescinded, minority-owned businesses have been shuttered, and the bodies of people of color have been stopped and frisked to accommodate and enhance the respective presence and comfort of newcomers.”

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Disney+ is Bringing Back ‘The Proud Family’

What’s old is new again! It has been announced that the animated series, The Proud Family is making a return to the new streaming service Disney Plus according to Deadline.

The original series creator/executive producer Bruce W. Smith and executive producer Ralph Farquhar are bringing it back along with co-executive producer and story editor Calvin Brown. The family-sitcom will have a new take and will also see the return of the original cast. The animated show debuted on the Disney Channel in 2001. The latest version will be titled The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder.

“In our minds, the show never really went away, as we still had tons of stories left to tell,” original series creator/executive producer Bruce W. Smith and executive producer Ralph Farquhar said in a statement to Deadline. “It’s the perfect time to bring back this show, and we can’t wait to take fans, old and new alike, on this journey with us.”

The new show will still center on the story of a young woman named Penny Proud and the never-dull happenings of her family, parents Oscar and Trudy, twin siblings and grandma Suga Mama. The show will feature the original cast from The Proud Family reprising their roles: Kyla Pratt as Penny, Tommy Davidson as Oscar, Paula Jai Parker as Trudy, Payton as Suga Mama, Karen Malina White as Dijonay Jones, Soleil Moon Frye as Zoey Howzer and Alisa Reyes as LaCienega Boulevardez. Cedric the Entertainer will also return as Uncle Bobby.

Hug ‘em! #TheProudFamily: Louder and Prouder, an all-new Original Series, is coming soon to #DisneyPlus! And the best part? The original cast is reprising their voice roles. pic.twitter.com/94VbDL2FG9

— Disney+ (@disneyplus) February 27, 2020

“The show’s humor and relatable stories are as relevant with audiences today as ever,” said Agnes Chu, SVP Content at Disney+. “Our audiences have loved rediscovering their favorite episodes of The Proud Family, and we’re excited Bruce, Ralph, Calvin, and the returning cast are creating new stories for their new home on Disney+.”

You can currently watch episodes of the original 2001-05 Disney Channel series, The Proud Family on Disney Plus.

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Shaquille O’Neal and His Mother Lucille Featured In Ad Campaign Together

If you think former basketball player Shaquille O’Neal is going away anytime soon… Think again! The basketball analyst, business man and TV commentator is featured in another commercial that pairs him up with his mother, Lucille O’Neal.

A family’s legacy is important and is at the core of a new campaign by printing company Epson. The global technology leader has launched an ad campaign that features Lucille and Shaquille, which shows and highlights the bond between a mother and her son as they reminisce childhood memories through their old photos.

“Our family enjoys so many great experiences together. My mom has always offered endless love and has made sure to regularly collect our childhood photos,” said Shaquille O’Neal in a press release. “But even the most organized mother needs a little help saving the most important memories. The Epson FastFoto makes it easy to capture and share these memories.”

The new “Preserve What’s Priceless” campaign will be shown and featured across a variety of digital and social media platforms. Even making Lucille O’Neal an Honorary “Chief Memory Officer” and ambassador for Epson’s line of FastFoto products.

“Family has always come first for me and I will forever cherish the memories we have together,” said Lucille O’Neal. “When Shaquille first mentioned the Epson FastFoto, I knew right away that this was a product that I could stand behind. Partnering with Epson allows me to show others how easy it is to preserve their memories.”

The campaign showcases the ease and benefits of preserving, enhancing, organizing, and sharing irreplaceable family memories using Epson’s FastFoto® FF-680W High-Speed Photo and Document Scanning System.

“The bond between Shaquille and Lucille echoes the closeness shared by so many families and friends, making them both ideal ambassadors for Epson’s ‘Preserve What’s Priceless’ campaign,” said Dan Murphy, head of international marketing communications, Epson America, Inc. “Special moments occur every day and grow over time to create a family’s legacy. Moreover, reliving the special moments through an old photo is something we can all relate to, and we hope the campaign encourages everyone to preserve their own memories. As Lucille shares in our new campaign, easily and quickly converting your most-prized photographs to digital with FastFoto truly ‘Preserves What’s Priceless’.”

Check this link to find out more about the Epson FastFoto Scanning solutions.

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Trump Campaign To Open Offices In 15 Black Communities

Despite the lack of concern for the Black community, we have to give the Trump campaign credit for trying to gain support from us. President Donald Trump is planning on opening offices in 15 Black communities according to National Public Radio.

President Trump’s re-election campaign has announced this week that it plans on opening 15 community centers in critical battleground states next month to gain support among Black people heading into the 2020 election. “We see the numbers coming up in the polls and the demand on the ground when we do these types of events, so it’s really important that we take this next step and really bring those voters into the party,” Katrina Pierson, a senior Trump campaign adviser tells NPR.

The Trump campaign sees an opportunity to show Black voters that Democrats have taken black voters for granted. According to The Hill, a Trump campaign official said their internal polling sees a rise in the support of President Trump, particularly in the cities where they plan on placing the first wave of community centers. The official states that Trump’s black support in those cities range between 15 to 30 percent.

“The Democratic Party has taken advantage of the black vote for a long time,” the campaign official told The Hill. “They’ve been able to get a high percentage of the vote. We’re able to communicate directly with a lot of these voters and they’re seeing the promises made in the past have not come true. A lot of the people who have promised them things have failed to live up to those promises.”

The plan is to gear the conversation towards criminal justice reform, investments in urban opportunity zones and historically black colleges and also the low unemployment rate for black people as evidence of Trump’s commitment to policies that benefit Black people.

“Last time it was ‘What the hell do you have to lose?’” said Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, who is married to the president’s daughter Ivanka and acts as an advisor. “Now you show them what they’ve gained from President Trump and what more they can gain if they get four more years of President Trump.”

“Republicans haven’t even gone in to deliver their message. Now we have a Republican who is actually going to the community to deliver the message and ask for the vote,” said senior campaign adviser Katrina Pierson tells NBC News. “It’s the same concept as being asleep for so long to the truth and now you are awake.”

The first wave of offices will be opened in Tallahassee, Jacksonville, Orlando, Tampa and Miami, Fla.; Atlanta; Detroit; Columbus and Cleveland, Ohio; Philadelphia; Pittsburgh; Charlotte, Raleigh, and Greensboro, N.C.; and Milwaukee.

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Ayanna Pressley's Pitch for Elizabeth Warren

ORANGEBURG, S.C.—It’s hard to ascertain how much endorsements help a political candidate and the data that measures it often show it has little effect on voters—especially with independents. The best way to rally support behind candidates is usually local, grassroots politicking and years of familiarity.

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