Washington Was an Icon of Black Political Power. Then Came Gentrification.

Dominic Moulden landed in the historic Shaw neighborhood on his very first day in Washington. He can readily recall the exact date: June 1, 1986. On that day, he discovered a city, and a neighborhood, that just felt easy compared with his native Baltimore. This was, after all, the neighborhood that was home to famed, historically Black Howard University — “The Mecca.” It was the neighborhood that nurtured a litany of Black excellence, from Duke Ellington to Langston Hughes to Carter G. Woodson, the “Father of Black History.” To him, it was a...