美国国家公共电台 NPR When A Historically Black University's Neighborhood Turns White

 

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

The real estate market here in the nation's capital appears as strong as ever. And high demand for housing means neighborhoods are changing. People with money are moving into low-income areas. And predominantly African-American areas have become whiter. It's the kind of change we're exploring this summer as part of the NPR Cities Project.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN #1: I was a part of the community.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: You need to move out.

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN #2: Fix up these property.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #2: Taxes are going to go up.

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN #3: I may not afford the rent.

MARTIN: Howard University is a historically black institution right in the center of Washington, D.C. And it is right in the middle of all this change. Brakkton Booker of member station WAMU is a Howard graduate. And he has these reflections.

BRAKKTON BOOKER, BYLINE¹: Man, I really enjoyed my time at Howard University. I met my wife there. And back in 2000, I saw Jay-Z perform at homecoming.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "I JUST WANNA LOVE U (GIVE IT 2 ME)")

JAY-Z: (Singing) When the Remy's in the system, ain't no tellin'...

BOOKER: But you know what else happened? One night, me and 10 of my friends were walking near our dorm when two dudes popped out of the shadows with guns and robbed all of us. Another time, at an off-campus party, someone from the neighborhood pulled a knife and stabbed a student. The neighborhood then felt much rougher than it does today.

(SOUNDBITE OF COFFEE MACHINE WHIRRING)

BOOKER: Instead of liquor stores and run-down properties, now, you'll find bike shares and coffee shops, like this one, where I meet Jocelyn Lederman. She's white, a realtor and in her early 30s.

JOCELYN LEDERMAN: I had a lot of cab drivers asking me if I was single and that I shouldn't live over here. (Laughter) I was like, oh, thank you for your opinion. I don't care.

BOOKER: Lederman bought her condo by Howard in 2010.

LEDERMAN: I'd loved it. Didn't really know anything about the neighborhood. But that's kind of where I could afford to buy.

BOOKER: And she's come to love the university atmosphere.

LEDERMAN: I know it's fall when I hear the drum line.

(SOUNDBITE OF MARCHING BAND)

BOOKER: That's Howard's Showtime Marching Band here on campus last fall. But unlike the band, the neighborhood and university have not always been in lockstep. Just ask Maybelle Bennett.

MAYBELLE BENNETT: How you doing?

BOOKER: She's been Howard's point person for community outreach for 26 years.

BENNETT: The relationships with the community have been relatively² schizophrenic.

BOOKER: Back when the area was predominantly black and working-class, residents viewed Howard as insular³. And the school heard complaints in the '80s and '90s about upkeep of its off-campus properties.

BENNETT: Howard needs to clean up its own backyard. Howard needs to fix...

BOOKER: But when the university fixed⁴ things up, another point of tension surfaced. Howard was accused of gentrifying the neighborhood.

BENNETT: And it was damned⁵ if we do and damned if we don't because of the rise in value and because of the rise in tax bills.

(SOUNDBITE OF CONSTRUCTION)

BOOKER: Here on Hobart Place, property values are going up. Rowhouses pop with fresh paint, some colors so vivid they belong in a bag of Skittles. And the change hurts some longtime residents, says Darren Jones, head of the Pleasant Plains Civic⁶ Association.

DARREN JONES: Some of my elderly neighbors are talking about not being able to pay their taxes anymore.

BOOKER: New condos start in the $700,000 range, 10 times what Jones paid for his home in 1993. Jones grew up here. And he's worried his adult son won't be able to stay, even in his family's old house around the corner.

JONES: Taxes are going to go up because they're going to say your house is worth what the house is worth next door.

BOOKER: Jones is thrilled newcomers see the beauty in his neighborhood. But he wishes prices weren't forcing neighbors out.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

BOOKER: Back on Howard's campus, community outreach director Maybelle Bennett says the university is trying to help the neighborhood and itself. Howard has financial troubles, including $750 million in overdue⁷ repairs to its campus - so one solution, capitalize on the hot real estate market. The University and a developer are working on a brand new condo building with more than 300 units. Bennett knows this likely means more white people moving to this part of Washington.

BENNETT: It is going to continue to bring in people who do not necessarily look like us. And we are going to continue to have to find respectful ways of working with them so that we can stay alive.

BOOKER: The university and the community have always talked about ways to be more neighborly. But those talks are changing.

BENNETT: These are people who have not been there a long time and who are not the same culture, you know, who may be frightened when they see groups of African-American men walking up and down the streets together. And...

BOOKER: When I was here at Howard, walking in a large group was a way to stay safe, though it didn't help me back in the day. Now Bennett worries some newer residents may see that same group as a threat. At Howard University in Washington, I'm Brakkton Booker for the NPR Cities Project.

1 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

2 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

3 insular   

adj.岛屿的，心胸狭窄的

参考例句：

• A continental climate is different from an insular one.大陆性气候不同于岛屿气候。
• Having lived in one place all his life,his views are insular.他一辈子住在一个地方，所以思想狭隘。

4 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

5 damned   

a.该死的;打入地狱的

参考例句：

• The play was damned by the reviewers. 这部戏被评论家们批评得一无是处。
• She damned herself with one stupid remark. 她被自己的一句蠢话毁了。

6 civic   

adj.城市的，都市的，市民的，公民的

参考例句：

• I feel it is my civic duty to vote.我认为投票选举是我作为公民的义务。
• The civic leaders helped to forward the project.市政府领导者协助促进工程的进展。

7 overdue   

adj.过期的，到期未付的；早该有的，迟到的

参考例句：

• The plane is overdue and has been delayed by the bad weather.飞机晚点了，被坏天气耽搁了。
• The landlady is angry because the rent is overdue.女房东生气了，因为房租过期未付。