First and foremost my kid's father's family lived on Atlantic Street SE. After this mother's day I couldn't help remembering my time living at their family home. My oldest slept through gun fire. A family friend's son got shot in the leg and came into their home one night. Weeks later I heard his mother crying with so much pain in her heart after her son was killed coming back to the neighborhood. Picture below isn't the exact building but very similar to what I remember the buildings looked like.
https://youtu.be/JAstlYYF_Xs << video footage of me and oldest while living there.
I was a covenant house youth. So was their dad before we met. If you don't know Covenant House of Washington was run by Vincent Gray at the time I was there. We never met or talked. I became their poster child though for getting more funds so they could open a childcare center. Living at the shelter was okay at first but being pregnant had it's challenges. I'll share my run away story for another blog post.
“I almost had my second baby in ward 8. I can't recall all the details but I do remember taking a cab to have my baby in Providence Hospital. It was where my primary physician was at.”
My kids had a very positive time at their first daycare. The aftercare later on not so much.
They don't remember a thing but I have really fond memories there. They originally where at a small high rise (pictured below) but I think the place got flooded. I know the high rise was torn down and the daycare owners had a second center. The folks there were really great with my kids. Even one of the Covenant House youth I knew started working there and was watching my kiddos. We were close but have since lost contact.
This is an image off of google maps of the childcare center my kids attended up until they started school.
Final thoughts about how I view ward 8
I also stayed in several other areas temporarily through my kids' father's friends and family. He said I was a difficult person so that is why we left after a while. I know being homeschooled most of my life made my social skills awkward. Buena Vista and Skyland where other parts of ward 8 I lived for a little while. I remember the long ass bus rides I took to get from the shelter to the covenant house office at Southern Ave. I have a lot of memories at that metro station. Even when I left the shelter and transitional housing in ward 8 to live in ward 7 I still went all the way to Southern Ave Metro station to my kid's daycare. I can't remember if I did a lot of research for one closer but I was just so satisfied with Kids Are Us, I just stayed until it was time for school. Really it was when my youngest wasn't going to get speech therapy anymore at the center. But that is another story.
Recently I was on a virtual meeting and folks on there were talking badly about a Safeway I always went to as a child, the one at Hechinger Mall. It is funny I got a little defensive/protective/territorial and was like stop saying mean things about that Safeway. I was just in there. I don't think it is that bad. It isn't the greatest in the freshest of foods I would admit. I shop at the Safeway at Petworth more because that is closest to where I live currently. I say all this because I remember talking somewhat badly living in ward 7 and one of the students there got protective about it as well. Don't talk bad about where I live, to some extent is what I remember. It is interesting when you realize your own attachments are naturally always closest to your hearts. I still try hard to be realistic about the situation but I also have to realize to be extra sensitive because once again home is where the heart is at.
After living in DC since 3 or 4 years old. I have had my share of experiences with all the wards in the city. I wanted to bring up my time in ward 8 because I know folks are very territorial about why would I care about issues in ward 8. This is my way of showing I am familiar with ward 8. It isn't a place I never stepped in. Now I think about it I recall the first time I stepped in ward 8. To visit a friend I knew through an afterschool program I attended. He was also adopted and lived off Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. His family's house had so many dolls. He went to Ballou High school. We were close friends I even gave my oldest son his name as a middle name. He has since moved to Texas. His life as been rough. That is all I will say about it for his privacy.
I also worked as a contractor for several years at the Anacostia Community Museum. I have a lot to say about my time there. Also will save that for another time. Living and working in ward 8 showed me that ward 8 will always have it's challenges and experiences there really aren't the same anywhere else in the city. It is like a whole new world. Sadly it isn't always looking so bright and shinny. I wish it was. I wish folks in ward 8 could live happier lives. Safer lives. I still believe more police isn't it or invasive developments. I remember having a conversation with a ward 7 resident as she proclaimed, we deserve nice things. Since I grew up in ward 6 and I am very familiar with what H street use to look like. Along with my knowledge of the DC Comprehensive Plan. It is as if I knew to much and I honestly see why ignorance is bliss. Because when you know for every new development means a ways and a means to destroy poor families and communities. I remember entering that Whole Foods Market that replaced the Murry's on H St. and being so mad at everyone in there. I was in there for a friend trying to look for something specifically hard to find. So it felt like we had no choice. I wish poor people could have nice things but it also means they will inevitably be pushed out because of it. This is where all this is headed too. The divine plan that our former mayor started and all others still think is best for the city. Because at the end of the day if a middle class black professional/family moves in. It is racial equity in everybody's eyes and it gets rid of all the problems that poor people have and in middle class eyes more affordable is more worth it for them. That is why I just say, I want free housing. #SoutheastLove #FreeHousing #SafeandCleanHousing #FreeFruitsandVeggies
Another thing I did in ward 8, I was also one of 6 artists in the 5th Annual East of the River Exhibition at the Honfleur Gallery.
Comentários