OBSERVATIONS FROM GLOVER PARK WASHINGTON D.C.

Due to a bit of nudging from a travel mate we decided to stay in a ‘safe’ neighborhood. Generally, this means a predominately white neighborhood with wealth and this area did not prove wrong. These social settings require careful consideration, as the cloak of blackness creates a marker bringing on stares and overly friendly gestures that seem somewhere between overcompensation for discriminatory thoughts/past actions or nosiness as to why we are occupying white spaces in such a leisure manner. In super early hours of the morning I made tea, grabbed a book and sat on the front patio. I watched about 20 white dudes all wearing light blue button down shirts and khakis…actually all the dudes donned this uniform, leave well manicured homes, rush to their fancy cars parked in front of those homes and drive off. One of the duded even came out of the house i was staying at, fearfully replied hello to me and left. I then also watched about 15 black and brown women arrive and replace the Audis and bmws with old hondas and Fords. They then rushed into the same houses and come out with white babies in stroller.

I wonder if it has always looked that way. The dude Charles C. Glover, the namesake of the neighborhood, was a big banking dude, came from Dutch wealth and was pretty chummy with Pres. Roosevelt. In the development of the neighborhood, I wonder if black and brown women caring for white children was baked into the design of if, it’s just left over from slavery.

This caste system is a tough one and it appears that the folks benifiting the most are just completely blind to it. There is nothing inherantly wrong with caring for another’s child, and a job is a job, but there is something cringe worthy given the racial and gender ‘uniform’ of who does that job and who does other jobs.

So I’ll be leaving some offerings, hopefully a reminder to share and ‘see’ and occupy space mindfully.

After writing this I went to go back into the airbnb only to discover the fearful dude rushing out had locked me out. Well I suppose he wanted to feel safe…at my expense.

Welcome to the capital.