Eight wards make up the District of Columbia. Of these, Wards 5, 7, and 8 are considered the most underserved. Compared to their wealthier neighbors from Wards 2 and 3, residents of Ward 5, 7, and 8 tend to have lower median household incomes and struggle with greater barriers to access to public and social services.
We continue our deep dive into D.C.\’s most underserved communities by taking a closer look at Ward 7, located in the easternmost corner of the city. We\’ll take a historical and modern-day view of the ward, discuss various racial and socioeconomic disparities affecting this neighborhood, and highlight the current advocacy work being done to address the serious concerns over healthcare, education, affordable housing, and additional social measures.
Ward 7 Demographics: Historic and Current Perspectives
Dubbed \”the greenest ward in Washington\” by the D.C. Historic Preservation Office, Ward 7 lies east of the Anacostia River and is home to several Civil War fort sites, including Fort Davis Park and Fort Chaplin Park. Green spaces include Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens, Watts Branch Park, Anacostia River Park, and Kingman Island.
Like other wards in the city, Ward 7 has a rich and diverse cultural history. One school in Ward 7, John Philip Sousa Junior High School, was involved in the historic Brown v. Board of Education, the monumental Supreme Court case which deemed racial segregation of schoolchildren as unconstitutional. Following the desegregation of D.C.\’s public schools, Ward 7 began its shift to a predominantly black community.
According to the most up-to-date demographic figures from DC Health Matters, Ward 7 has a population of 80,669 people (out of 717,717 total D.C. residents). The ward is predominantly Black/African-American, with over 90% of residents (74,008 people) identifying with this race/ethnicity. Just over 3% of Ward 7 residents are White/Caucasian, with remaining residents identifying as Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islanders, Asians, American Indians/Alaskan Natives, or another race. Out of D.C.\’s eight total wards, Ward 7 has the second greatest number of children living within its 29 neighborhoods.
The median household income in Ward 7 is $42,201. As we\’ve seen in Ward 5, there are frank disparities in household incomes when stratifying by race or ethnicity. The median income for Black/African-American households here is less than one-third that of the median household income for white families living in Ward 7. Ward 7 is also home to some of the city\’s poorest community members, with nearly a quarter of all Ward 7 families (23.26% or 4,447) living below the poverty line, almost double the number of families living below the poverty line in the whole of the city. Of these impoverished Ward 7 families, 3,260 of them have children.
Historically, Ward 7 has been plagued by employment issues. While it hit a historic low of 8.6% in May 2018, the current unemployment rate in Ward 7 is currently a sobering 16%, no doubt due in part to the traumatic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Access to healthy food and healthcare is problematic, too. Only two full-service grocery stores are located within the ward, and according to the American Geological Society, fully 75% of food deserts in D.C. are found within Ward 7 and 8. Meanwhile, there is only one hospital located east of the Anacostia River.
Overall, Ward 7 continues to struggle in terms of public safety, crime, medical treatment, economic investment, housing, poverty, and unemployment, and the long-term consequences and dire economic impact of the pandemic are posed to affect these neighborhoods more severely than in other areas of the capital.
What\’s Being Done? A Look at Advocacy Action in Ward 7
Awareness over the grim socioeconomic disparities in Ward 7 is increasing, and many local and state advocacy groups are hard at work trying to make meaningful change for the residents living in this area of the city.
According to the Ward 7 Heritage Guide, there are a number of ongoing quality-of-life measures being championed right now in the ward, including school renovations, new libraries, community gardens, state-of-the-art recreation centers, ecological and environmental projects, and an increased interest in an outlet for community art. Given the lack of hospital access, there has also been a proliferation of clinics within the ward over the past several years; Ward 7 got its first urgent care clinic in 2019.
And as recently as October 2020, the District opened several Families First Success Centers in Ward 7, with the explicit intent of connecting families to employment and education assistance, food security, mental health services, child care, and healthcare.
Conclusion
Ward 7 is home to some of the poorest families and neighborhoods in the greater Washington D.C. area. Supporting and empowering the people living here will require a concerted effort from elected officials and policymakers, citizens, and public and private organizations. To get involved, interested readers are encouraged to reach out to local and national advocacy groups as well as Ward 7 community stakeholders, such as the Anacostia Community Outreach Center, the Ward 7 Education Council, and the Ward 7 Business Partnership.