“I’m stunned D.C. isn’t burning proper now.”
That was the remark. An informal assertion tossed out prefer it was simply one other scorching take. A couple of people nearly nodded in settlement, utilizing it as shorthand to precise how indignant folks needs to be in regards to the residence of the Trump-Vance administration.
And I get it. I’m indignant too. The considered one other 4 years below a Trump presidency, with JD Vance as VP, is just not solely exhausting; it’s harmful. However when individuals who don’t dwell right here use language like that — calling for hearth and flames, even in a hyperbolic method to state folks needs to be angrier — I can’t assist however really feel a selected type of rage.
As a result of right here’s the factor: D.C. isn’t just the White Home and Capitol Hill. It’s not simply monuments and museums. And statements like that — nonetheless well-meaning or passionate — erase the individuals who truly name this place residence and who’re actively engaged year-round, whatever the president or Congress.
I’ve lived in D.C. since 2011.
I’ve organized right here. I’ve marched right here. I’ve cried and danced and constructed a group right here. I’ve fought towards anti-Black bars like Nellie’s Sports activities Bar — which violently dragged a Black lady down a flight of stairs and nonetheless saved serving drinks like nothing occurred. I helped to guide a 10-week protest in the course of a pandemic as a result of Black folks in D.C. deserve higher.
I’ve organized with BYP100 DC, working with good Black LGBTQ+people on points from police violence to housing injustice to reproductive freedom. Although I’m not a local Washingtonian, I don’t see D.C. by a vacationer’s lens. I see it by the eyes of somebody who’s buried mates, raised bail cash, attended therapeutic circles in basements, and sure, even had enjoyable at locations like Marvin’s.
So no, this metropolis isn’t only a stage for political theater. It’s a dwelling, respiratory, sophisticated place. It’s residence.
Let me be clear: two issues could be true. Sure, we must always completely critique the seats of energy and the hurt they perpetuate. And sure, we must always maintain the White Home, Congress, and the Supreme Courtroom accountable. However we are able to’t fake like that’s all D.C. is. And we particularly can’t fake that calling for the town to “burn” doesn’t impression the individuals who dwell right here — people who find themselves already navigating hurt and actively resisting each single day.
Black folks in D.C. are being pushed out of their houses every day. We’ve watched as gentrification sweeps by neighborhoods like Shaw, Petworth, and Anacostia — turning once-thriving Black communities into sanitized corridors of overpriced condos and canine parks. Washington, D.C., was almost half Black by the mid-Twentieth century, and greater than 71 % by 1970. At the moment, D.C. has one of many highest charges of displacement within the nation. That isn’t simply this metropolis’s story, however a disturbing nationwide development.
Opposite to well-liked perception, even in D.C., Black LGBTQ+ people are always harassed, denied steady housing, and focused for simply making an attempt to outlive. The unhoused inhabitants in D.C. continues to develop, at the same time as luxurious buildings sit half-empty, providing rooftop swimming pools however no compassion.
And police violence? It doesn’t simply occur on TV. It occurs proper right here. From the over-policing of Southeast to the homicide of Black residents in so-called “excessive crime” zones, there may be nothing hypothetical in regards to the hurt. All of this and D.C. nonetheless doesn’t have statehood, so the town is pressured to depend on congressional approval.
When somebody says, “I’m stunned D.C. isn’t burning,” what precisely is the shock? That every little thing hasn’t been burned down but? That the locals—typically ignored till it’s time to debate the president—haven’t determined to torch a beloved photo-op?
However right here’s the true query: is the fireplace being set in a single’s personal metropolis? Until dwelling in some legendary land the place justice flows like water and oppression has vanished, what’s truly taking place at residence? The identical programs inflicting hurt listed here are at work elsewhere, too.
Is organizing taking place regionally? Are metropolis council conferences being attended? Are folks confronting police brutality, evictions, faculty closures, and wage theft the place they dwell? Are native officers being held accountable, or is D.C. merely being pointed to as an summary villain?
As a result of right here in D.C., we’re not ready on you to behave. We’ve been performing.
We’ve been constructing mutual help networks to feed our neighbors. We’ve been preventing displacement by demanding extra money in our metropolis council finances go to housing. We’ve been holding mayors and council members accountable for bloated police budgets and damaged guarantees. We’ve been defending trans youngsters and preventing for reproductive justice. We’ve been preserving tradition and historical past — not for likes, however for legacy.
We do that not as a result of it’s stylish, however as a result of we’ve to. As a result of for us, this metropolis isn’t just a headline. It’s the place we dwell, work, grieve, rejoice, and survive.
So, no — I’m not sorry that D.C. isn’t burning. However that doesn’t imply we’re not preventing.
D.C. is just not a metaphor.. It’s not simply the Capitol dome shining behind your protest selfie. It’s a house. A group. A tradition. A battle.
And when you care about justice — when you actually care — then try to be preventing in every single place.
So as a substitute of calling for destruction, ask higher questions: What am I doing in my very own group? Who’s being harmed the place I dwell — and what am I doing about it? Am I constructing energy with folks, or simply constructing a model?
D.C. doesn’t want pity. We’d like respect. D.C. doesn’t want white saviors. We’d like solidarity. D.C. doesn’t want hearth. We’d like freedom.
Preston Mitchum is the founding father of PDM Consulting, based mostly in Washington, DC. His work focuses on racial justice, gender fairness, LGBTQ+ liberation, and the pursuit of insurance policies that transfer past symbolism to create lasting change.
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