The
petition to fence off the heavily used portion of Shepherd Parkway along Martin
Luther King Avenue (see my October 16 post) may be an expression of scapegoating and despair,
but it is having a positive effect: those
already working to build hope and pride in the park are coming together, their passion
and resolve renewed.
For years,
local clergy and church volunteers have provided ministry, food, clothing, and other
services to needy park users. The Park Service, Congress Heights Community Association,
and others have held family-friendly events in the park, and conscientious park
users make it their business to pick up the litter.
And of
course, the Committee to Restore Shepherd Parkway has removed hundreds of
thousands of pounds of trash from the wooded areas of the park, including those
adjacent to the picnic area. Park users have been friendly and appreciative towards
our volunteers. Ellen Williams, our most loyal volunteer, got involved in 2015
after we invited her and others sitting in the park to join a clean-up.
In the photo above, more than 50 people gathered on October 17 for a financial empowerment workshop with real estate entrepreneur Jay Morrison. The park has also been the sight of Black Lives Matter protests and Art All Night.
None of
these positive activities were even mentioned in the petition.
On October
27, ANC 8C Commissioners Karen Lucas and Sharece Crawford convened a meeting at
the RISE Center to bring together those working to attack the root causes the joblessness,
addiction, and violence seen in the park. Many had never met and were unaware
of the others’ efforts.
All were
united in their embrace of those who some call “the people in the park” as our
brothers and sisters, each with their own story, neighbors with as much claim
to this space as us.
Commissioner
Lucas drew applause then she broke it down: “The park will not close, because
the park is not dangerous. Trees and grass are not dangerous. Tables and benches
are not dangerous. Some dangerous things happen there, as they do throughout
our community. Some people chose to fixate on the park, but it it’s really about
our people.”
Those in attendance
were also roused by the incisive, truth-telling words of Aiyi’nah Ford,
Executive Director of the Future Foundation. Founded in 2012, the Foundation works
to “empower and activate “future adults” (13-21 years of age) and their
families with trauma-informed social justice advocacy, community
organizing and resource development skills to improve their future.”
Ford spoke
of GLBTQ youth seeking refuge in the park after being put out of their homes
because of their sexual orientation or gender expression.
The Rev. Dr.
Nicole Johnson-Douglass of the Deliverance Temple A.M.E. Zion Church described
how she leads Sunday worship
services in the park every Sunday; afterwards they discuss the challenges residents
are facing and help connect them with services. Contrary to the claims of some,
those who enter the park with a humility and respect for those there, are
welcomed, she said.
Travis Dread-Hughes
of the DC Department of Behavioral Health promoted the department’s Access HelpLine
as a humane alternative
to calling the police. One of the most comprehensive services of its kind in
the United States, DC residents can call 888-793-4357, 24-hours a day,
seven-day-a-week to speak with mental health professionals who can refer them to
immediate help or ongoing care.
National
Capital Parks-East Deputy Superintendent Ann Honious, a veteran of previous community
discussions about Shepherd Parkway, spoke about the Rapid Ethnographic
Assessment Program (REAP) being carried out by Howard University students in the
park. “Instead of rushing in and doing something that looks nice but might turn
out not to be what the community needs and wants, we are doing to take a long
hard look at what this place means to people.”
This comes
as a disappointment for those impatient for long-overdue physical improvements,
but it’s hard to argue with the need for changes to be sensitive to the uniqueness
of Congress Heights.
Captain
Green of the Park Police Anacostia Station, a Ward 8 native, spoke eloquently about
his commitment to respecting the civil liberties and dignity of the citizens. He
alluded to “broke windows policing,” in which people of color are stopped by
police and often criminally charged for minor “quality of life offenses” and
concluded “That’s not going to happen on my watch.” Echoing Mr. Dread-Hughes, he argued that involving
police should be a community’s last resort, not the first.
He acknowledged
the problem of understaffing- four officers on duty at any given time, covering
4,000 acres of federal parkland from the Baltimore-Washington Parkway to Piscataway
Park. Still, he said his department is committed to maintaining a presence at
Shepherd Parkway. “Just because you don’t
see our cruisers parked there all day, or our officers marking arrests in the
park, doesn’t mean we aren’t working it make it safer.”
The
meeting could have continued all night, but when the building’s closing time
arrived, all departed energized, promising to increase dialogue and coordination.
Perhaps the
most important take-way was articulated by Aiyi’nah Ford, who referenced the Rev.
Jesse Jackson: The tools to heal and build up our communities already exist
within our communities. We need not, and cannot, wait for a government agency
to rescue us.
P.S.
As noted
in previous posts, the area under discussion comprises less than one percent
Shepherd Parkway’s 197 acres and really needs a name of its own. The idea of
naming it for Marion Barry -who toward the end of his life lived a few blocks
away- seems be gaining momentum.