Peter Tatian: Definitely the Ethiopian presence is a big one here. Folks can see that in the number of Ethiopian restaurants that there are around town, and their presence is clearly felt in Washington, DC. They've added to the cultural diversity; they own a number of businesses and retail establishments in certain neighborhoods. They bring a certain vibrancy. They celebrate their culture, their language, their traditions here as well. So they're part of the fabric of a very diverse Washington community.
African Americans are growing up with the history and legacy of their experience in the United States, which goes back to slavery, and their ancestors having been brought here as slaves. Through the emancipation, but then the difficulties following the emancipation of bringing African Americans more fully into American society through voting rights, through civil rights, which has been a constant struggle, and I think we all recognize that.
There were many neighborhoods in Washington, DC, in fact, where African Americans were not allowed to own property, and that was something that existed for a long time, until it was struck down by the Supreme Court. And that had an effect on the city, because some of the neighborhoods that became the African-American centers, became that way partly because those were neighborhoods where African Americans could own property. So I think for the more recent African immigrants, they don't come with that kind of historical baggage. And some of them are well-educated. The immigrant communities who come here that may not be reflected necessarily in the work they're doing here now, but nevertheless, at least in their home country, they did have that higher level of education. For many African Americans in DC, unfortunately, DC has suffered for a number of years with very poor public schools, in many neighborhoods, particularly in poor African-American neighborhoods, and that's something the city is still trying to address. So that's another part of the story that's, I think, different for the native-born African-American community versus maybe the immigrant African community.
And I think it's the same with the folks from different cultures and backgrounds who mix in cities like Washington—there's always complications in the relationships that develop, and we see that today with some of the new people who are moving to the city now, and we see it in what's happened in the past. So again, I think folks come with different cultural understandings about what a community is, and what makes a good community. People have different expectations about what others in society should be doing, and what they should be doing, and those relationships. So I think that sometimes that's led to friction and tension between groups. But I think there are always new people coming, and there are always people leaving, and identities are shifting. And I think we need to be open to that.
