This presentation considers how race and class shape urban redevelopment initiatives in the nation’s capital.
Title: “You Can’t Stay Here!: Urban Redevelopment, Race, Class, And the Politics of Place in Washington, D.C.”
Location: 440 Egan Research Center
Time: 4:00-5:15
Who: Michael Fisher, Visiting Assistant Professor of Religion and Society at Wesley Theological Seminary
This presentation considers how race and class shape urban redevelopment initiatives in the nation’s capital. It captures five months of research on the redevelopment of Barry Farm, a historically black neighborhood in Southeast D.C. Fisher will argue that although the discourse on urban redevelopment evades race, that is renders race silent as a category of consideration, urban redevelopment initiatives in D.C., vis-a-vis mixed-income housing development, are race based projects shaped by class interests. Michael Fisher, teaches courses in theological and social ethics, public theology, religion and cities, race and socio-economic inequality, and African-American religious studies. His current research analyzes the social, moral, and religious significance of urban redevelopment in the United States and its effects on poor, black urban residents. Ordained in the United Church of Christ, Michael draws on his knowledge and experience in community organizing and public policy advocacy to build strategic partnerships with religious communities to address important contemporary social issues.
