Seven years ago, The New York Times reported that, for the first time in history, black residents no longer comprised the majority population of our nation’s capital. Within the last month, civil rights lawyer Aristotle Theresa filed the lawsuit against the district on behalf native D.C. residents for the discrimination of age, source of income, race, family, religion, and matriculation in their agenda to “attract the Creative Class.”
According to the lawsuit, over the last 12 years “planning agencies have used land-use policy as a primary tool to implement this agenda.” Rather than implementing city-wide initiatives that cater to the needs of current residents, “these land-use policies leverage amenities to attract the targeted [anti-black] demographic group.”
More specifically, “new attractions such as the Wharf, a $2.5 billion mix of luxury housing, hotels and fine dining along the Southwest Waterfront” are being added in locations that are better suited for family units and affordable housing, wrote The Washington Post. In the pursuit to attract the creative class, the D.C. zoning commission, housing authority office of planning and office of the deputy mayor for planning and economic development are being sought after for damages and displacement that are expected to exceed $1 billion.
The City has no comment at the time. Their response is reportedly due to be filed by June 25.