D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser wants residents to say what the city means to them on a website she's created and on social media. (Courtesy of the D.C. government)
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser wants residents to say what the city means to them on a website she's created and on social media. (Courtesy of the D.C. government)

Itโ€™s a new year and D.C, Mayor Muriel Bowser wants to help instill in residents some old-fashioned District pride.

The mayor has put out a call for those residing in the nationโ€™s capital to give their story about what the District of Columbia means personally to each individual.

โ€œToday, our city is 700,000 Washingtonians strong,โ€ Bowser notes on a new website, www.dc2me.com, dedicated to receiving responses from various platforms using the hashtag DC2Me.

โ€œThatโ€™s 700,000 reasons to love D.C., and 700,000 dreams for the future of our city. Letโ€™s bring them together,โ€ Bowser said.

The site goes on to note, โ€œwhat would you do if you were not afraid to fail? Thatโ€™s the question we will ask ourselves for the next four years. Thatโ€™s how weโ€™ll challenge ourselves to think big โ€” to go big or go home.โ€

The mayor promises to build at least 6,000 units of affordable housing and to continue to make homelessness rare, brief and nonrecurring.

โ€œWe will continue to make historic investments in public education because public schools are still the great equalizer in our society,โ€ Bower writes.

Using the #dc2me, Corey Holman wrote that it means, โ€œliving in a D.C. that walks the walk when it comes to transparency and accountability, especially when it comes to D.C. Police Department conduct.โ€

Another District resident, Richard Livingstone, tweeted, โ€œafter learning I was on the way to the convention center for Mayor Bowserโ€™s inauguration, [an] Uber driver turned down [the] music and gave me an earful. An earful of wonderful ideas and support for another four years.โ€

Twitter user Kimberly D of Ward 7 wrote, โ€œ#DC2ME means more east of the river love,โ€ while Jim Slattery and others retweeted, โ€œ#DC2ME is a city that steps up when others step down.โ€

Sylvie Bello of Ward 2 wrote: โ€œ#DC2ME means stronger African immigrant communities, DC language access, and Cameroon policies.โ€

Organizations such as the ACLU of DC and the Mayorโ€™s Office of Community Affairs and emicfilms also chimed in.

โ€œItโ€™s hard to ignore the vibrant murals painted on the side of busy streets or tucked away between alleys. Itโ€™s a part of D.C. that makes certain corners memorable and filled with life,โ€ wrote officials at emicfilms.

Finally, Bowser noted that, โ€œTogether, weโ€™re going to ensure that Washington, D.C., continues to be a city that works for all Washingtonians.โ€

To participate, go to www.dc2me.com or use the hashtag #DC2ME on social media platforms.

Stacy M. Brown is a senior writer for The Washington Informer and the senior national correspondent for the Black Press of America. Stacy has more than 25 years of journalism experience and has authored...

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