As the capital of the United States, Washington, D.C. is often referred to as the "most important city in the world". Founded on July 16, 1790, the City of Washington is historical among Blacks. Originally a separate municipality within the Territory of Columbia until an act of Congress in 1871 effectively merged the City and Territory into a single entity called the District of Columbia. The city is located on the north bank of the Potomac River and is bordered by the states of Virginia to the southwest and Maryland on all the other sides. The District has a resident population of 591,833; but with commuters from the surrounding suburbs, during the workweek its daytime population rises to over a million. The Washington Metropolitan Area has a population of 5.3 million, the nation’s ninth-largest metropolitan area.
In 2006, D.C. residents had a personal income per capita of $55,755, higher than any of the 50 states. The area houses the highest concentration of high-income Blacks in the world. Many work in the Federal Government. Washington has been an area of opportunity for Blacks since its creation. In its early days, and since slavery, Washington, D.C. has had a significant Black population. By 1810, the region’s free Blacks totaled 10 percent of the population. Black residents of the District composed about 30 percent of the population between 1800 and 1940, and by 1970 Washington’s Blacks comprised 70 percent of the population. By the 1980’s, Washington D.C. was America’s Blackest city. "Chocolate City" was surrounded by vanilla suburbs, with Blacks at the levers of power of the city. Way before the rise of Atlanta, D.C. has always been a Mecca for Blacks. D.C.’s Black culture has always been a trendsetter. It was a major stop on the Chittlin Circuit of nightclubs and theaters that featured Black performers catering to Black audiences. The U Street scene was the Black Broadway before Harlem.
Since 1990, the Black share of the D.C.’s population has fallen 11.2 percent, leaving the city under 50 percent Black. Seemingly, with their advancements in positions and tenure, Blacks of means abandoned "Chocolate City" by the droves to suburbs like Prince Georges’ County, Maryland. Adjacent to the District of Columbia to the east and southeast, Prince Georges’ County is, dubiously, a symbol of Black Laborers’ success in America. The Washington suburban area is the richest majority-Black county in America. Over 500,000 Blacks now reside in a county known historically as a hot-bed of racially prejudiced low-income Whites and have made it acres of McMansions with two-car garages housing late-model Benzs, Rolls and BMW’s. Compared to the District of Columbia government, now majority-White, Blacks in Prince Georges’ County control that government top to bottom. Prince George’s County (median 1999 household income $55,256) is home to residents in occupations from doctors and lawyers to hotel owners and restaurateurs. The county is populous enough to have its own Representative to Congress, currently Donna Edwards.
However; the real wealth in the Washington Metropolitan Area is in Montgomery County, Maryland (median household income $71,551) and McLean and Fairfax County, Virginia (median household income $81,050). These suburban areas have legacies of wealth and over the years have alternately been named America’s richest counties. The area’s richest Black resides in the prestigious Virginia countryside about 40 miles from D.C. Billionaire Sheila Crump Johnson is president and managing partner of the WNBA’s Washington Mystics. She co-founded Black Entertainment Television (BET) and is an owner/partner in three professional sports franchises: the Capitals (NHL), Wizards (NBA), and Mystics.
The business of Washington is government and the most-recognizable Black names work in government. The Mayor is the young, bi-racial Adrian Fenty, who was an early "Friend of Barack". Former Mayor Marion Barry is a Councilmember representing the city’s predominately-Black and most economically disadvantaged political Ward. Blacks hold six of 13 seats on the City Council. The city’s Delegate to Congress is Eleanor Holmes Norton. A major network media center, Washington’s Blacks still rely on the 110 year-old African-American newspaper chain and 45-year-old Washington Informer for their informational needs.
