Over the last year, my roommate and I have embarked on a crusade to run to the farthest reaches of the metro area. We began with modest adventures of four to five miles. With Forrest Gump-like zeal, we decided to run some more — and more, and more, and more. Last Monday night, we journeyed east through the city and into other parts of Maryland. Our destination was FedEx Field in Landover, nearly 14 miles from campus. Along those many miles, I was reminded of the depth of this city’s poverty and urban decay. While the discouraging sights of that run will remain with me for a long time, there’s hope for a better future.
Sixteenth Street runs north to south between the District’s northernmost corner and the White House. It also cuts a figurative divide between those living in relative comfort and others struggling to stay afloat. Our route to Landover took us down Florida Avenue past Gallaudet University, across the Anacostia River and up Minnesota Avenue in the Northeast sector of the city. I wish I was kidding when I say we saw more liquor stores than food markets. Fast food chains outnumbered library branches and school buildings combined. Park space was overgrown, the equipment outdated and the basketball hoops rusting away. Streets were noticeably darker and abandoned lots multiplied as we progressed deeper into the city. Traffic was thin and signs of vitality were rare.
For the first time in American history, a man with a truly urban background resides in the White House. Barack Obama is well aware of the environment that surrounds him, having sharpened his political teeth on the streets of Chicago. Nonetheless, I question the ability of his major domestic initiative, health care reform, to bring about tangible change in America’s inner cities. Expensive national programs will not reinvigorate communities desperately in need of policies tailored to their specific problems. Federal aid would be better suited for public housing projects, infrastructure improvements and small business development. Don’t underestimate the power of new streetlamps or refurbished playgrounds.
If Obama really wants to make a difference with federal dollars, he should create the modern equivalent of the Civilian Conservation Corps that existed under Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal. The CCC was a work relief program that employed workers to develop and protect public land. The Urban Renewal Corps would reward members of inner cities who work to improve their own community. The immeasurable qualities of self-esteem and neighborhood identity would gain an instant boost through tasks as simple as removing graffiti, collecting trash, planting gardens and clearing vacant lots.
As a former community organizer, Obama understands the importance of the bottom-up dynamic. Dictating health care plans to an uneasy nation is the essence of the top-down model of governance. Obama can return to the grassroots nature of his political upbringing by helping inner cities help themselves, for there’s nothing more influential than personal empowerment.
Michael Stubel is a junior in the School of Public Affairs and the School of Communication and a moderate libertarian columnist for The Eagle. You can reach him at edpage@theeagleonline.com.
