The Black Informant | African American Commentary, News and Community Building

(washingtonpost.com) A majority of black and Hispanic households in metropolitan Washington now own their houses instead of renting, according to new data released today by the U.S. Census Bureau.

The new numbers, reflecting changes from 2000 to 2005, underscore the Washington region’s affluence and strong economy. During the half-decade of soaring housing prices, whites, blacks, Asians and Hispanics were all more likely to own their homes in the region than nationally.

Some of the most dramatic shifts are taking place in the District, where African Americans are no longer a majority among homeowners.

In 2000, 54 percent of D.C. homeowners were black, and 41 percent were white. But a decline of 6,000 black homeowners since then, and a surge of 7,000 additional white homeowners, brought the two groups to virtual parity in the 2005 survey. The decline in black homeowners in the District was offset by growth in the suburbs. (more…)

Yesterday morning, I sent an e-mail to a reporter for the BBC who did a piece entitled “American Dream Eludes to Poorest”. While there are pieces of his article where he and I are in agreement, a portion of it is nothing more than a slam-piece against President Bush and the never-ending effects of slavery. While I can believe that slavery does play a minor role in Blacks families with a record of trans-generational poverty, this is no where near the top reasons for poverty in the Black community. Another thing this reporter does that is totally subjective is that he used a his recent visit to Savannah, Georgia (a city with a long history of poverty) as a basis of his assesments.  I get very tired when I see news like the excerpt above being squashed or left out of discussions about Black achievment (especially during a Bush presidency). Here is a link to his article if you care to read it. One of these days I may post my e-mail response to him.