From Feb. 18-23, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and the Office of Cable Television, Film, Music and Entertainment (OCTFME) are hosting events to celebrate the fourth anniversary of Go-Go becoming the official music of the nation’s capital. However, the District’s “Keep the Beat Week” is about more than music, it’s about cultural sustainability.
Almost five years ago, in spring 2019, residents took to the streets to advocate for keeping the sound of go-go alive. A neighborhood dispute over public music at the corners of 7th Street NW and Florida Avenue NW, almost prevented a longtime business from playing go-go over a speaker. With go-go as a staple sound heard for years on that block, many District residents and activists took to the streets to protest the attempts to mute the music.
The protests, however, were about more than music. Many activists took to the streets speaking out against gentrification, the closing of go-go venues and other beloved D.C. establishments, a lack of affordable housing, and economic disparities facing Black and white residents.
With so many challenges facing Black Washingtonians, taking away go-go was the last straw in the fight for cultural sustainability and overall justice.
The following February, Bowser signed the “Go-Go Official Music of the District of Columbia Designation Act of 2020,” making the genre the official sound of the nation’s capital.
To this day, Black D.C. residents face disparities. According to the D.C. Fiscal Policy Institute” “In D.C., white households have 81 times the wealth of Black households and 22 times the wealth of Latinx households.”
Further what was once considered “Chocolate City,” with more Black residents than white, is no longer the case. According to Census.gov, white Washingtonians account for 46.2% of the population, while Black Washingtonians account for 45%.
Statistics prove the very real need to keep D.C.’s Black culture alive and thriving in order to combat erasure.
As we celebrate Keep the Beat Week, it is still important to discuss more than music, but ways we can work toward a more equitable District, and continue D.C.’s strong Black history, values, traditions and legacy.