Tent City Protest at 7th & R Streets NW

On July 10, 2010 ONE DC and Take Back The Land set up a tent city at 7th and R Streets NW to protest the unfulfilled promises made by Mayor Fenty regarding the public property there, otherwise known as Parcel 42. The tent city got a fair amount of media attention at the start, but interest waned as the protest failed to move the Fenty Administration to action, beyond posting the sign in the picture of course. The sign, which reads, “Another Project from the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development,” sounds like Mayor Fenty is taking credit for the tent city. In a way, that’s accurate. If Fenty had followed through on the Memorandum of Understanding that he signed in 2007, then a tent city on that lot wouldn’t have been necessary.

The Grassroots Media Project’s radio production class gathered audio at tent city near the end of July. Interviews were conducted by Candace Wolfe, Navid Nasr, Crystal Elekwachi and Riley Abbott. The final piece was edited together by Riley Abbot.

A Brief Audio Archive of the Tent City Protest Tent City Protest at 7th & R Streets NW

Additionally, Eric Sheptock’s blog posts on the subject give you the perspective of a tent city resident. It’s also interesting to compare coverage by the City Paper, which focuses on whether or not the activists would achieve their goals, with coverage in the Afro American, which is more concerned with how affordable housing is defined by the city and why their definition is problematic.