Comments on: Slum Historique

By: Christopher Wingert

Christopher Wingert — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 14:49:00 +0000

I don’t think you can pull the word “slum” out of this phrase. Let’s keep in mind that the original phrase and the re-paint is “slum historique.” I feel that “slum historique” carries with it some idea of the past and how that past has shaped the neighborhood. No one can argue that Shaw is a changing neighborhood. But if the neighborhood changes while maintaining a self-awareness of it’s past, then hopefully we won’t end up with a boring, generic run of streets with new and sterile condo buildings that all look alike. “Historique” brings with it connotations of the role Shaw played in the DC riots, it has the strength of Howard University and the idea of community.

By: Jambone

Jambone — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 18:38:00 +0000

With all due respect, this and related posts about life in Shaw smack of smug self-righteousness. I’ll grant that Shaw has a serious crime problem, but it is not a ’slum’ by any stretch; to label it as such devalues the term and offends people who actually live in slums – people for whom sidestepping discarded condoms and a handful of bums are but afterthoughts.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 20:41:00 +0000

I appreciate the desire to call something what it is. But there is also something to be said for addressing the problem. We may all recognize that gentrification isnt the answer but that doesnt mean that anyone should have to live in neighborhoods overwhelmed with poverty and violence. Often it seems like the same people who criticize gentrification also enjoy the griddy character, and the cheap rent, that poverty provides. There is a difference between choosing to accept whatever percentage points living in Shaw takes off your life expectancy and having little hope of a higher life expectancy – not before or after PH Hoffman developments shows up.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 19:29:00 +0000

Ben – keep up the good fight. What a shame it would be to stroll through your hood in ten years only to see PN Hoffman developments and Logan Tavern’s new “The Shaw” outpost.