Chevy Chase MD - What's so great about it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I really don't care what happened in Chevy Chase 100 years ago. Do you know what happened 100 years ago too? WWI and millions of white people killing each other. Do I care about that too? Nope.

Nothing stops black buyers from moving to Chevy Chase. Nothing. It's not Chevy Chase's fault if there aren't enough minorities to satisfy your quotas. Good luck trying to make a moral dilemma out of some people wanting to live in Chevy Chase. They are living their life the way they want to while you are sitting in a front of a screen ranting.

Ah, yes, if only I could be as rich and as clueless! I'll stay in touch with reality, thanks.

Leaving aside the obvious falsehood of "100 years ago," you would have to be a pretty stupid person to not care about WWI and WWII though, right? And would you look around and say, well, WWI and WWII don't affect us today? That would be an absurd position.

I think the point is that a lot of bad stuff happened in the past but we shouldn’t let it dictate what we do today. There’s a real danger in being so hung up on history that you can’t enjoy the present and focus on the future. It’s fine if you have personal reasons for not wanting to live in Chevy Chase out of acknowledgement of its discriminatory past. But don’t extent that belief to others who don’t view history the way you do. Judging people for wanting to live in Chevy Chase circa 2019 because of what happened 100 years ago when they, and even their parents and grandparents, weren’t even alive, is a childish thing to do.

Okay, snowflake. I have some bad news about our parents and grandparents and the history of Chevy Chase and America, but I’m sorry if your feelings are hurt by the obvious and dominant truth about “what’s so great” about CheChe. I hope you can find a way to go on. Maybe reach out to the black family on your block. Oh there isn’t one? Weird.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I really don't care what happened in Chevy Chase 100 years ago. Do you know what happened 100 years ago too? WWI and millions of white people killing each other. Do I care about that too? Nope.

Nothing stops black buyers from moving to Chevy Chase. Nothing. It's not Chevy Chase's fault if there aren't enough minorities to satisfy your quotas. Good luck trying to make a moral dilemma out of some people wanting to live in Chevy Chase. They are living their life the way they want to while you are sitting in a front of a screen ranting.

Ah, yes, if only I could be as rich and as clueless! I'll stay in touch with reality, thanks.

Leaving aside the obvious falsehood of "100 years ago," you would have to be a pretty stupid person to not care about WWI and WWII though, right? And would you look around and say, well, WWI and WWII don't affect us today? That would be an absurd position.

I think the point is that a lot of bad stuff happened in the past but we shouldn’t let it dictate what we do today. There’s a real danger in being so hung up on history that you can’t enjoy the present and focus on the future. It’s fine if you have personal reasons for not wanting to live in Chevy Chase out of acknowledgement of its discriminatory past. But don’t extent that belief to others who don’t view history the way you do. Judging people for wanting to live in Chevy Chase circa 2019 because of what happened 100 years ago when they, and even their parents and grandparents, weren’t even alive, is a childish thing to do.

Okay, snowflake. I have some bad news about our parents and grandparents and the history of Chevy Chase and America, but I’m sorry if your feelings are hurt by the obvious and dominant truth about “what’s so great” about CheChe. I hope you can find a way to go on. Maybe reach out to the black family on your block. Oh there isn’t one? Weird.

I don’t live in Chevy Chase but you are just being ridiculous here. Let others live where they want to live and you live where you want to live.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I really don't care what happened in Chevy Chase 100 years ago. Do you know what happened 100 years ago too? WWI and millions of white people killing each other. Do I care about that too? Nope.

Nothing stops black buyers from moving to Chevy Chase. Nothing. It's not Chevy Chase's fault if there aren't enough minorities to satisfy your quotas. Good luck trying to make a moral dilemma out of some people wanting to live in Chevy Chase. They are living their life the way they want to while you are sitting in a front of a screen ranting.

Ah, yes, if only I could be as rich and as clueless! I'll stay in touch with reality, thanks.

Leaving aside the obvious falsehood of "100 years ago," you would have to be a pretty stupid person to not care about WWI and WWII though, right? And would you look around and say, well, WWI and WWII don't affect us today? That would be an absurd position.

I think the point is that a lot of bad stuff happened in the past but we shouldn’t let it dictate what we do today. There’s a real danger in being so hung up on history that you can’t enjoy the present and focus on the future. It’s fine if you have personal reasons for not wanting to live in Chevy Chase out of acknowledgement of its discriminatory past. But don’t extent that belief to others who don’t view history the way you do. Judging people for wanting to live in Chevy Chase circa 2019 because of what happened 100 years ago when they, and even their parents and grandparents, weren’t even alive, is a childish thing to do.

Okay, snowflake. I have some bad news about our parents and grandparents and the history of Chevy Chase and America, but I’m sorry if your feelings are hurt by the obvious and dominant truth about “what’s so great” about CheChe. I hope you can find a way to go on. Maybe reach out to the black family on your block. Oh there isn’t one? Weird.

I don’t live in Chevy Chase but you are just being ridiculous here. Let others live where they want to live and you live where you want to live.

Wow, too bad you weren’t around “100 years ago.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I really don't care what happened in Chevy Chase 100 years ago. Do you know what happened 100 years ago too? WWI and millions of white people killing each other. Do I care about that too? Nope.

Nothing stops black buyers from moving to Chevy Chase. Nothing. It's not Chevy Chase's fault if there aren't enough minorities to satisfy your quotas. Good luck trying to make a moral dilemma out of some people wanting to live in Chevy Chase. They are living their life the way they want to while you are sitting in a front of a screen ranting.

Ah, yes, if only I could be as rich and as clueless! I'll stay in touch with reality, thanks.

Leaving aside the obvious falsehood of "100 years ago," you would have to be a pretty stupid person to not care about WWI and WWII though, right? And would you look around and say, well, WWI and WWII don't affect us today? That would be an absurd position.

I think the point is that a lot of bad stuff happened in the past but we shouldn’t let it dictate what we do today. There’s a real danger in being so hung up on history that you can’t enjoy the present and focus on the future. It’s fine if you have personal reasons for not wanting to live in Chevy Chase out of acknowledgement of its discriminatory past. But don’t extent that belief to others who don’t view history the way you do. Judging people for wanting to live in Chevy Chase circa 2019 because of what happened 100 years ago when they, and even their parents and grandparents, weren’t even alive, is a childish thing to do.

Okay, snowflake. I have some bad news about our parents and grandparents and the history of Chevy Chase and America, but I’m sorry if your feelings are hurt by the obvious and dominant truth about “what’s so great” about CheChe. I hope you can find a way to go on. Maybe reach out to the black family on your block. Oh there isn’t one? Weird.

I don’t live in Chevy Chase but you are just being ridiculous here. Let others live where they want to live and you live where you want to live.

Wow, too bad you weren’t around “100 years ago.”

Neither were you. So what are you trying to say?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I really don't care what happened in Chevy Chase 100 years ago. Do you know what happened 100 years ago too? WWI and millions of white people killing each other. Do I care about that too? Nope.

Nothing stops black buyers from moving to Chevy Chase. Nothing. It's not Chevy Chase's fault if there aren't enough minorities to satisfy your quotas. Good luck trying to make a moral dilemma out of some people wanting to live in Chevy Chase. They are living their life the way they want to while you are sitting in a front of a screen ranting.

Ah, yes, if only I could be as rich and as clueless! I'll stay in touch with reality, thanks.

Leaving aside the obvious falsehood of "100 years ago," you would have to be a pretty stupid person to not care about WWI and WWII though, right? And would you look around and say, well, WWI and WWII don't affect us today? That would be an absurd position.

I think the point is that a lot of bad stuff happened in the past but we shouldn’t let it dictate what we do today. There’s a real danger in being so hung up on history that you can’t enjoy the present and focus on the future. It’s fine if you have personal reasons for not wanting to live in Chevy Chase out of acknowledgement of its discriminatory past. But don’t extent that belief to others who don’t view history the way you do. Judging people for wanting to live in Chevy Chase circa 2019 because of what happened 100 years ago when they, and even their parents and grandparents, weren’t even alive, is a childish thing to do.

Okay, snowflake. I have some bad news about our parents and grandparents and the history of Chevy Chase and America, but I’m sorry if your feelings are hurt by the obvious and dominant truth about “what’s so great” about CheChe. I hope you can find a way to go on. Maybe reach out to the black family on your block. Oh there isn’t one? Weird.

I don’t live in Chevy Chase but you are just being ridiculous here. Let others live where they want to live and you live where you want to live.

Wow, too bad you weren’t around “100 years ago.”

Neither were you. So what are you trying to say?

I assume that's not a serious question but I meant if only people "100 years ago" (I would point out for example that formal racially restricted covenants weren't banned until 1968 and certainly informal practices persisted long after) had your philosophy of "let others live where they want to live and you live where you want to live," this wouldn't be an issue. But in fact we live in the brick and mortar legacy of a very different philosophy. I'm happy for people to live in Chevy Chase. But if they say what they like about it is the "nice houses and good schools" and pretend the racial history is no longer relevant, I'm obligated but also happy to point out that that's absurd. And that absurdity IS relevant and important to everyone, because the falsehood that America has overcome racism is used politically to advance policies that ignore or compound structural racism. Chevy Chase is full of powerful people and potentially powerful children. The stories we tell about ourselves as a community matter, and the truth is important.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People in chevy chase pay to be surrounded by rich white people. They even say so in this thread before their comments get deleted

PP directly above you, and, yeah, exactly. I mean, isn't that what they think is so great about it? That's what all the other stuff is code for, when you get down to it. FWIW, I'm a white woman who grew up in Bethesda, so I know this area well.

Chevy Chase was built for exactly this. It’s not like it just happened that way. The black and poor people who were here were removed and the housing and amenities were uniformly expensive and exclusively for white people. That’s not ancient history.

Do you know of specific black residents in Ch Ch in the past, especially in what’s now the Village? I’m familiar with a past of black residents in currently Chi-Chi areas of DC+MD closer to the River.

DP, but you asked. Not ancient history.

https://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/news/article/21014041/upper-northwest-activists-and-the-descendant-of-a-remarkable-black-family-want-to-put-back-missing-pieces-of-dc-history

Also, a little about the racist founder of Chevy Chase:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2018/09/29/racist-history-chevy-chase-home-power-players-like-brett-kavanaugh/?utm_term=.95bfa4acfb55

I'll post what I posted a minute before, because you haven't answered what I asked. I know what you've posted. THIS IS WHAT I'M interested in:
I'm interested in the possibility or specific sources on black residents in what's now 20815, especially in the Village, before Newlands hit the scene. I know of a bunch of similar communities in places like Kent/Palisades, Westbard, near Seven Locks Rd with it's very unfortunate old creek name, etc.

Immediate PP here. This seems to be an instance of moving the goal posts. Why are you specifically asking for evidence of Chevy Chase black residents before Newlands? This was not in your original request. What would evidence of black families before Newlands prove or disprove?

Any anyway, if you read the first link, you'd see that the black family featured, the Harris family, first settled around Broad Branch Rd. around 1850. They lived there for the next 80 years until the National Capital Park and Planning Commission acquired the land, and they were forced to leave under threat of eminent domain.

Sorry, but the moving of the goal posts was by the folks who responded to my query with other information. Someone said that Chevy Chase MD, aka the subject of this thread in the Real Estate forum (location, location, location!) was built upon, a place where "black and poor people who were here were removed and the housing and amenities were uniformly expensive and exclusively for white people. That’s not ancient history." That clearly points to a pre-Newlands black community in Chevy Chase, MD. It might have been inadvertent, but it is absolutely implied there. I asked for further info because I hadn't seen it before and I'm interested in black history in MoCo, particularly in currently monied areas. Given the dearth of information about blacks in Ch Ch, I wouldn't rule out a whitewashing of the historical record.

It does occur to me that the historical black community near Westbard, descendants of those who worked the Loughboro farm in Bethesda, likely had ties to what is now Kenwood and Somerset, both of them in 20815., though those aren't generally treated as what makes Ch Ch 'special'.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I really don't care what happened in Chevy Chase 100 years ago. Do you know what happened 100 years ago too? WWI and millions of white people killing each other. Do I care about that too? Nope.

Nothing stops black buyers from moving to Chevy Chase. Nothing. It's not Chevy Chase's fault if there aren't enough minorities to satisfy your quotas. Good luck trying to make a moral dilemma out of some people wanting to live in Chevy Chase. They are living their life the way they want to while you are sitting in a front of a screen ranting.

Ah, yes, if only I could be as rich and as clueless! I'll stay in touch with reality, thanks.

Leaving aside the obvious falsehood of "100 years ago," you would have to be a pretty stupid person to not care about WWI and WWII though, right? And would you look around and say, well, WWI and WWII don't affect us today? That would be an absurd position.

I think the point is that a lot of bad stuff happened in the past but we shouldn’t let it dictate what we do today. There’s a real danger in being so hung up on history that you can’t enjoy the present and focus on the future. It’s fine if you have personal reasons for not wanting to live in Chevy Chase out of acknowledgement of its discriminatory past. But don’t extent that belief to others who don’t view history the way you do. Judging people for wanting to live in Chevy Chase circa 2019 because of what happened 100 years ago when they, and even their parents and grandparents, weren’t even alive, is a childish thing to do.

Okay, snowflake. I have some bad news about our parents and grandparents and the history of Chevy Chase and America, but I’m sorry if your feelings are hurt by the obvious and dominant truth about “what’s so great” about CheChe. I hope you can find a way to go on. Maybe reach out to the black family on your block. Oh there isn’t one? Weird.

I don’t live in Chevy Chase but you are just being ridiculous here. Let others live where they want to live and you live where you want to live.

Wow, too bad you weren’t around “100 years ago.”

Neither were you. So what are you trying to say?

I assume that's not a serious question but I meant if only people "100 years ago" (I would point out for example that formal racially restricted covenants weren't banned until 1968 and certainly informal practices persisted long after) had your philosophy of "let others live where they want to live and you live where you want to live," this wouldn't be an issue. But in fact we live in the brick and mortar legacy of a very different philosophy. I'm happy for people to live in Chevy Chase. But if they say what they like about it is the "nice houses and good schools" and pretend the racial history is no longer relevant, I'm obligated but also happy to point out that that's absurd. And that absurdity IS relevant and important to everyone, because the falsehood that America has overcome racism is used politically to advance policies that ignore or compound structural racism. Chevy Chase is full of powerful people and potentially powerful children. The stories we tell about ourselves as a community matter, and the truth is important.

You are the one arguing that the racial history is still relevant where I suspect for most residents of CC they would disagree. Are people buying in Chevy Chase because of the ugly racial history (which, let me point out, also affected just about all upscale and even not so upscale pre-war areas of DC including areas that now have sizeable African American populations) or are they buying in Chevy Chase because they like the historic charm, older housing, close proximity to DC, good upkeep and services? And, yes, good schools, which do have plenty of AA and other populations of students of color? Perhaps not as diverse as other high schools but they're not lily-white either. And as voting goes, it's a staunchly Democratic area that also has the bonus of having many international households. Is it possible that Chevy Chase has simply been turned into a symbol and convenient scapegoat for people to vent against? I suspect the latter has a role.

Let's just stick to the premise of letting people live where they want to and not being judgmental about it in 2019. By the way I believe the Supreme Court struck down the racially based clauses in 1948 (I knew the daughter of one of the attorneys involved).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I really don't care what happened in Chevy Chase 100 years ago. Do you know what happened 100 years ago too? WWI and millions of white people killing each other. Do I care about that too? Nope.

Nothing stops black buyers from moving to Chevy Chase. Nothing. It's not Chevy Chase's fault if there aren't enough minorities to satisfy your quotas. Good luck trying to make a moral dilemma out of some people wanting to live in Chevy Chase. They are living their life the way they want to while you are sitting in a front of a screen ranting.

Ah, yes, if only I could be as rich and as clueless! I'll stay in touch with reality, thanks.

Leaving aside the obvious falsehood of "100 years ago," you would have to be a pretty stupid person to not care about WWI and WWII though, right? And would you look around and say, well, WWI and WWII don't affect us today? That would be an absurd position.

Racial history isn’t unique to ChCh, it was everywhere and about everything. To focus on one neighborhood is short sighted. We should be teaching our kids about rampant racism. Mentioning ChCh is fine but it’s a lot bigger than a small neighborhood.

I think the point is that a lot of bad stuff happened in the past but we shouldn’t let it dictate what we do today. There’s a real danger in being so hung up on history that you can’t enjoy the present and focus on the future. It’s fine if you have personal reasons for not wanting to live in Chevy Chase out of acknowledgement of its discriminatory past. But don’t extent that belief to others who don’t view history the way you do. Judging people for wanting to live in Chevy Chase circa 2019 because of what happened 100 years ago when they, and even their parents and grandparents, weren’t even alive, is a childish thing to do.

Okay, snowflake. I have some bad news about our parents and grandparents and the history of Chevy Chase and America, but I’m sorry if your feelings are hurt by the obvious and dominant truth about “what’s so great” about CheChe. I hope you can find a way to go on. Maybe reach out to the black family on your block. Oh there isn’t one? Weird.

I don’t live in Chevy Chase but you are just being ridiculous here. Let others live where they want to live and you live where you want to live.

Wow, too bad you weren’t around “100 years ago.”

Neither were you. So what are you trying to say?

I assume that's not a serious question but I meant if only people "100 years ago" (I would point out for example that formal racially restricted covenants weren't banned until 1968 and certainly informal practices persisted long after) had your philosophy of "let others live where they want to live and you live where you want to live," this wouldn't be an issue. But in fact we live in the brick and mortar legacy of a very different philosophy. I'm happy for people to live in Chevy Chase. But if they say what they like about it is the "nice houses and good schools" and pretend the racial history is no longer relevant, I'm obligated but also happy to point out that that's absurd. And that absurdity IS relevant and important to everyone, because the falsehood that America has overcome racism is used politically to advance policies that ignore or compound structural racism. Chevy Chase is full of powerful people and potentially powerful children. The stories we tell about ourselves as a community matter, and the truth is important.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People in chevy chase pay to be surrounded by rich white people. They even say so in this thread before their comments get deleted

PP directly above you, and, yeah, exactly. I mean, isn't that what they think is so great about it? That's what all the other stuff is code for, when you get down to it. FWIW, I'm a white woman who grew up in Bethesda, so I know this area well.

Chevy Chase was built for exactly this. It’s not like it just happened that way. The black and poor people who were here were removed and the housing and amenities were uniformly expensive and exclusively for white people. That’s not ancient history.

Do you know of specific black residents in Ch Ch in the past, especially in what’s now the Village? I’m familiar with a past of black residents in currently Chi-Chi areas of DC+MD closer to the River.

DP, but you asked. Not ancient history.

https://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/news/article/21014041/upper-northwest-activists-and-the-descendant-of-a-remarkable-black-family-want-to-put-back-missing-pieces-of-dc-history

Also, a little about the racist founder of Chevy Chase:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2018/09/29/racist-history-chevy-chase-home-power-players-like-brett-kavanaugh/?utm_term=.95bfa4acfb55

I'll post what I posted a minute before, because you haven't answered what I asked. I know what you've posted. THIS IS WHAT I'M interested in:
I'm interested in the possibility or specific sources on black residents in what's now 20815, especially in the Village, before Newlands hit the scene. I know of a bunch of similar communities in places like Kent/Palisades, Westbard, near Seven Locks Rd with it's very unfortunate old creek name, etc.

Immediate PP here. This seems to be an instance of moving the goal posts. Why are you specifically asking for evidence of Chevy Chase black residents before Newlands? This was not in your original request. What would evidence of black families before Newlands prove or disprove?

Any anyway, if you read the first link, you'd see that the black family featured, the Harris family, first settled around Broad Branch Rd. around 1850. They lived there for the next 80 years until the National Capital Park and Planning Commission acquired the land, and they were forced to leave under threat of eminent domain.

Sorry, but the moving of the goal posts was by the folks who responded to my query with other information. Someone said that Chevy Chase MD, aka the subject of this thread in the Real Estate forum (location, location, location!) was built upon, a place where "black and poor people who were here were removed and the housing and amenities were uniformly expensive and exclusively for white people. That’s not ancient history." That clearly points to a pre-Newlands black community in Chevy Chase, MD. It might have been inadvertent, but it is absolutely implied there. I asked for further info because I hadn't seen it before and I'm interested in black history in MoCo, particularly in currently monied areas. Given the dearth of information about blacks in Ch Ch, I wouldn't rule out a whitewashing of the historical record.

It does occur to me that the historical black community near Westbard, descendants of those who worked the Loughboro farm in Bethesda, likely had ties to what is now Kenwood and Somerset, both of them in 20815., though those aren't generally treated as what makes Ch Ch 'special'.

Best I can tell by a quick search on the internet it was all farmland before development. http://www.chevychasehistory.org/chevychase/about-chevy-chase-0

And this LoC map from 1865 shows perhaps a half-dozen framers or tradespeople living in that area https://www.loc.gov/item/2002620533/. So not so much a well populated area of any sort of people. Much less minority owned and then taken over by others as is being implied.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I really don't care what happened in Chevy Chase 100 years ago. Do you know what happened 100 years ago too? WWI and millions of white people killing each other. Do I care about that too? Nope.

Nothing stops black buyers from moving to Chevy Chase. Nothing. It's not Chevy Chase's fault if there aren't enough minorities to satisfy your quotas. Good luck trying to make a moral dilemma out of some people wanting to live in Chevy Chase. They are living their life the way they want to while you are sitting in a front of a screen ranting.

Ah, yes, if only I could be as rich and as clueless! I'll stay in touch with reality, thanks.

Leaving aside the obvious falsehood of "100 years ago," you would have to be a pretty stupid person to not care about WWI and WWII though, right? And would you look around and say, well, WWI and WWII don't affect us today? That would be an absurd position.

I think the point is that a lot of bad stuff happened in the past but we shouldn’t let it dictate what we do today. There’s a real danger in being so hung up on history that you can’t enjoy the present and focus on the future. It’s fine if you have personal reasons for not wanting to live in Chevy Chase out of acknowledgement of its discriminatory past. But don’t extent that belief to others who don’t view history the way you do. Judging people for wanting to live in Chevy Chase circa 2019 because of what happened 100 years ago when they, and even their parents and grandparents, weren’t even alive, is a childish thing to do.

Okay, snowflake. I have some bad news about our parents and grandparents and the history of Chevy Chase and America, but I’m sorry if your feelings are hurt by the obvious and dominant truth about “what’s so great” about CheChe. I hope you can find a way to go on. Maybe reach out to the black family on your block. Oh there isn’t one? Weird.

I don’t live in Chevy Chase but you are just being ridiculous here. Let others live where they want to live and you live where you want to live.

Wow, too bad you weren’t around “100 years ago.”

Neither were you. So what are you trying to say?

I assume that's not a serious question but I meant if only people "100 years ago" (I would point out for example that formal racially restricted covenants weren't banned until 1968 and certainly informal practices persisted long after) had your philosophy of "let others live where they want to live and you live where you want to live," this wouldn't be an issue. But in fact we live in the brick and mortar legacy of a very different philosophy. I'm happy for people to live in Chevy Chase. But if they say what they like about it is the "nice houses and good schools" and pretend the racial history is no longer relevant, I'm obligated but also happy to point out that that's absurd. And that absurdity IS relevant and important to everyone, because the falsehood that America has overcome racism is used politically to advance policies that ignore or compound structural racism. Chevy Chase is full of powerful people and potentially powerful children. The stories we tell about ourselves as a community matter, and the truth is important.

You are the one arguing that the racial history is still relevant where I suspect for most residents of CC they would disagree. Are people buying in Chevy Chase because of the ugly racial history (which, let me point out, also affected just about all upscale and even not so upscale pre-war areas of DC including areas that now have sizeable African American populations) or are they buying in Chevy Chase because they like the historic charm, older housing, close proximity to DC, good upkeep and services? And, yes, good schools, which do have plenty of AA and other populations of students of color? Perhaps not as diverse as other high schools but they're not lily-white either. And as voting goes, it's a staunchly Democratic area that also has the bonus of having many international households. Is it possible that Chevy Chase has simply been turned into a symbol and convenient scapegoat for people to vent against? I suspect the latter has a role.

Let's just stick to the premise of letting people live where they want to and not being judgmental about it in 2019. By the way I believe the Supreme Court struck down the racially based clauses in 1948 (I knew the daughter of one of the attorneys involved).

DP: Because they are wealthy and white and it doesn't affect them! How are you this naive? There are MANY conservatives who live in CC; calling it "staunchly Democratic" is a stretch.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I really don't care what happened in Chevy Chase 100 years ago. Do you know what happened 100 years ago too? WWI and millions of white people killing each other. Do I care about that too? Nope.

Nothing stops black buyers from moving to Chevy Chase. Nothing. It's not Chevy Chase's fault if there aren't enough minorities to satisfy your quotas. Good luck trying to make a moral dilemma out of some people wanting to live in Chevy Chase. They are living their life the way they want to while you are sitting in a front of a screen ranting.

Ah, yes, if only I could be as rich and as clueless! I'll stay in touch with reality, thanks.

Leaving aside the obvious falsehood of "100 years ago," you would have to be a pretty stupid person to not care about WWI and WWII though, right? And would you look around and say, well, WWI and WWII don't affect us today? That would be an absurd position.

Racial history isn’t unique to ChCh, it was everywhere and about everything. To focus on one neighborhood is short sighted. We should be teaching our kids about rampant racism. Mentioning ChCh is fine but it’s a lot bigger than a small neighborhood.

I think the point is that a lot of bad stuff happened in the past but we shouldn’t let it dictate what we do today. There’s a real danger in being so hung up on history that you can’t enjoy the present and focus on the future. It’s fine if you have personal reasons for not wanting to live in Chevy Chase out of acknowledgement of its discriminatory past. But don’t extent that belief to others who don’t view history the way you do. Judging people for wanting to live in Chevy Chase circa 2019 because of what happened 100 years ago when they, and even their parents and grandparents, weren’t even alive, is a childish thing to do.

Okay, snowflake. I have some bad news about our parents and grandparents and the history of Chevy Chase and America, but I’m sorry if your feelings are hurt by the obvious and dominant truth about “what’s so great” about CheChe. I hope you can find a way to go on. Maybe reach out to the black family on your block. Oh there isn’t one? Weird.

I don’t live in Chevy Chase but you are just being ridiculous here. Let others live where they want to live and you live where you want to live.

Wow, too bad you weren’t around “100 years ago.”

Neither were you. So what are you trying to say?

I assume that's not a serious question but I meant if only people "100 years ago" (I would point out for example that formal racially restricted covenants weren't banned until 1968 and certainly informal practices persisted long after) had your philosophy of "let others live where they want to live and you live where you want to live," this wouldn't be an issue. But in fact we live in the brick and mortar legacy of a very different philosophy. I'm happy for people to live in Chevy Chase. But if they say what they like about it is the "nice houses and good schools" and pretend the racial history is no longer relevant, I'm obligated but also happy to point out that that's absurd. And that absurdity IS relevant and important to everyone, because the falsehood that America has overcome racism is used politically to advance policies that ignore or compound structural racism. Chevy Chase is full of powerful people and potentially powerful children. The stories we tell about ourselves as a community matter, and the truth is important.

So all the neighborhoods that had restrictive covenants in the distant past are bad? Better tell all the people living in the middle of DC. Or does that not fit your narrative? Just focusing on a wealthy neighborhood? http://www.mappingsegregationdc.org/#maps

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People in chevy chase pay to be surrounded by rich white people. They even say so in this thread before their comments get deleted

PP directly above you, and, yeah, exactly. I mean, isn't that what they think is so great about it? That's what all the other stuff is code for, when you get down to it. FWIW, I'm a white woman who grew up in Bethesda, so I know this area well.

Chevy Chase was built for exactly this. It’s not like it just happened that way. The black and poor people who were here were removed and the housing and amenities were uniformly expensive and exclusively for white people. That’s not ancient history.

Do you know of specific black residents in Ch Ch in the past, especially in what’s now the Village? I’m familiar with a past of black residents in currently Chi-Chi areas of DC+MD closer to the River.

DP, but you asked. Not ancient history.

https://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/news/article/21014041/upper-northwest-activists-and-the-descendant-of-a-remarkable-black-family-want-to-put-back-missing-pieces-of-dc-history

Also, a little about the racist founder of Chevy Chase:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2018/09/29/racist-history-chevy-chase-home-power-players-like-brett-kavanaugh/?utm_term=.95bfa4acfb55

I'll post what I posted a minute before, because you haven't answered what I asked. I know what you've posted. THIS IS WHAT I'M interested in:
I'm interested in the possibility or specific sources on black residents in what's now 20815, especially in the Village, before Newlands hit the scene. I know of a bunch of similar communities in places like Kent/Palisades, Westbard, near Seven Locks Rd with it's very unfortunate old creek name, etc.

Immediate PP here. This seems to be an instance of moving the goal posts. Why are you specifically asking for evidence of Chevy Chase black residents before Newlands? This was not in your original request. What would evidence of black families before Newlands prove or disprove?

Any anyway, if you read the first link, you'd see that the black family featured, the Harris family, first settled around Broad Branch Rd. around 1850. They lived there for the next 80 years until the National Capital Park and Planning Commission acquired the land, and they were forced to leave under threat of eminent domain.

Sorry, but the moving of the goal posts was by the folks who responded to my query with other information. Someone said that Chevy Chase MD, aka the subject of this thread in the Real Estate forum (location, location, location!) was built upon, a place where "black and poor people who were here were removed and the housing and amenities were uniformly expensive and exclusively for white people. That’s not ancient history." That clearly points to a pre-Newlands black community in Chevy Chase, MD. It might have been inadvertent, but it is absolutely implied there. I asked for further info because I hadn't seen it before and I'm interested in black history in MoCo, particularly in currently monied areas. Given the dearth of information about blacks in Ch Ch, I wouldn't rule out a whitewashing of the historical record.

It does occur to me that the historical black community near Westbard, descendants of those who worked the Loughboro farm in Bethesda, likely had ties to what is now Kenwood and Somerset, both of them in 20815., though those aren't generally treated as what makes Ch Ch 'special'.

Best I can tell by a quick search on the internet it was all farmland before development. http://www.chevychasehistory.org/chevychase/about-chevy-chase-0

And this LoC map from 1865 shows perhaps a half-dozen framers or tradespeople living in that area https://www.loc.gov/item/2002620533/. So not so much a well populated area of any sort of people. Much less minority owned and then taken over by others as is being implied.

what is your point, before that it was British land, before that Indian. Nice things transition when not held by strong hands. Fact of life

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I really don't care what happened in Chevy Chase 100 years ago. Do you know what happened 100 years ago too? WWI and millions of white people killing each other. Do I care about that too? Nope.

Nothing stops black buyers from moving to Chevy Chase. Nothing. It's not Chevy Chase's fault if there aren't enough minorities to satisfy your quotas. Good luck trying to make a moral dilemma out of some people wanting to live in Chevy Chase. They are living their life the way they want to while you are sitting in a front of a screen ranting.

Ah, yes, if only I could be as rich and as clueless! I'll stay in touch with reality, thanks.

Leaving aside the obvious falsehood of "100 years ago," you would have to be a pretty stupid person to not care about WWI and WWII though, right? And would you look around and say, well, WWI and WWII don't affect us today? That would be an absurd position.

Racial history isn’t unique to ChCh, it was everywhere and about everything. To focus on one neighborhood is short sighted. We should be teaching our kids about rampant racism. Mentioning ChCh is fine but it’s a lot bigger than a small neighborhood.

I think the point is that a lot of bad stuff happened in the past but we shouldn’t let it dictate what we do today. There’s a real danger in being so hung up on history that you can’t enjoy the present and focus on the future. It’s fine if you have personal reasons for not wanting to live in Chevy Chase out of acknowledgement of its discriminatory past. But don’t extent that belief to others who don’t view history the way you do. Judging people for wanting to live in Chevy Chase circa 2019 because of what happened 100 years ago when they, and even their parents and grandparents, weren’t even alive, is a childish thing to do.

Okay, snowflake. I have some bad news about our parents and grandparents and the history of Chevy Chase and America, but I’m sorry if your feelings are hurt by the obvious and dominant truth about “what’s so great” about CheChe. I hope you can find a way to go on. Maybe reach out to the black family on your block. Oh there isn’t one? Weird.

I don’t live in Chevy Chase but you are just being ridiculous here. Let others live where they want to live and you live where you want to live.

Wow, too bad you weren’t around “100 years ago.”

Neither were you. So what are you trying to say?

I assume that's not a serious question but I meant if only people "100 years ago" (I would point out for example that formal racially restricted covenants weren't banned until 1968 and certainly informal practices persisted long after) had your philosophy of "let others live where they want to live and you live where you want to live," this wouldn't be an issue. But in fact we live in the brick and mortar legacy of a very different philosophy. I'm happy for people to live in Chevy Chase. But if they say what they like about it is the "nice houses and good schools" and pretend the racial history is no longer relevant, I'm obligated but also happy to point out that that's absurd. And that absurdity IS relevant and important to everyone, because the falsehood that America has overcome racism is used politically to advance policies that ignore or compound structural racism. Chevy Chase is full of powerful people and potentially powerful children. The stories we tell about ourselves as a community matter, and the truth is important.

So all the neighborhoods that had restrictive covenants in the distant past are bad? Better tell all the people living in the middle of DC. Or does that not fit your narrative? Just focusing on a wealthy neighborhood? http://www.mappingsegregationdc.org/#maps

That's a ridiculous mischaracterization of what I said and clearly made in bad faith. Why bother to type something like that? Who are you trying to persuade? The whole point is that the history of where we live and why matters, being truthful about it is important, and ignoring it or pretending it's no longer relevant is harmful. Obviously, that's not exclusive to a particular neighborhood. We're focused on Chevy Chase in this thread.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People in chevy chase pay to be surrounded by rich white people. They even say so in this thread before their comments get deleted

PP directly above you, and, yeah, exactly. I mean, isn't that what they think is so great about it? That's what all the other stuff is code for, when you get down to it. FWIW, I'm a white woman who grew up in Bethesda, so I know this area well.

Chevy Chase was built for exactly this. It’s not like it just happened that way. The black and poor people who were here were removed and the housing and amenities were uniformly expensive and exclusively for white people. That’s not ancient history.

Do you know of specific black residents in Ch Ch in the past, especially in what’s now the Village? I’m familiar with a past of black residents in currently Chi-Chi areas of DC+MD closer to the River.

DP, but you asked. Not ancient history.

https://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/news/article/21014041/upper-northwest-activists-and-the-descendant-of-a-remarkable-black-family-want-to-put-back-missing-pieces-of-dc-history

Also, a little about the racist founder of Chevy Chase:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2018/09/29/racist-history-chevy-chase-home-power-players-like-brett-kavanaugh/?utm_term=.95bfa4acfb55

I'll post what I posted a minute before, because you haven't answered what I asked. I know what you've posted. THIS IS WHAT I'M interested in:
I'm interested in the possibility or specific sources on black residents in what's now 20815, especially in the Village, before Newlands hit the scene. I know of a bunch of similar communities in places like Kent/Palisades, Westbard, near Seven Locks Rd with it's very unfortunate old creek name, etc.

Not near the Village, but Hawkins Lane off Jones Bridge Road was a small historically black community just like Scotland and Tobytown.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I really don't care what happened in Chevy Chase 100 years ago. Do you know what happened 100 years ago too? WWI and millions of white people killing each other. Do I care about that too? Nope.

Nothing stops black buyers from moving to Chevy Chase. Nothing. It's not Chevy Chase's fault if there aren't enough minorities to satisfy your quotas. Good luck trying to make a moral dilemma out of some people wanting to live in Chevy Chase. They are living their life the way they want to while you are sitting in a front of a screen ranting.

Ah, yes, if only I could be as rich and as clueless! I'll stay in touch with reality, thanks.

Leaving aside the obvious falsehood of "100 years ago," you would have to be a pretty stupid person to not care about WWI and WWII though, right? And would you look around and say, well, WWI and WWII don't affect us today? That would be an absurd position.

Racial history isn’t unique to ChCh, it was everywhere and about everything. To focus on one neighborhood is short sighted. We should be teaching our kids about rampant racism. Mentioning ChCh is fine but it’s a lot bigger than a small neighborhood.

I think the point is that a lot of bad stuff happened in the past but we shouldn’t let it dictate what we do today. There’s a real danger in being so hung up on history that you can’t enjoy the present and focus on the future. It’s fine if you have personal reasons for not wanting to live in Chevy Chase out of acknowledgement of its discriminatory past. But don’t extent that belief to others who don’t view history the way you do. Judging people for wanting to live in Chevy Chase circa 2019 because of what happened 100 years ago when they, and even their parents and grandparents, weren’t even alive, is a childish thing to do.

Okay, snowflake. I have some bad news about our parents and grandparents and the history of Chevy Chase and America, but I’m sorry if your feelings are hurt by the obvious and dominant truth about “what’s so great” about CheChe. I hope you can find a way to go on. Maybe reach out to the black family on your block. Oh there isn’t one? Weird.

I don’t live in Chevy Chase but you are just being ridiculous here. Let others live where they want to live and you live where you want to live.

Wow, too bad you weren’t around “100 years ago.”

Neither were you. So what are you trying to say?

I assume that's not a serious question but I meant if only people "100 years ago" (I would point out for example that formal racially restricted covenants weren't banned until 1968 and certainly informal practices persisted long after) had your philosophy of "let others live where they want to live and you live where you want to live," this wouldn't be an issue. But in fact we live in the brick and mortar legacy of a very different philosophy. I'm happy for people to live in Chevy Chase. But if they say what they like about it is the "nice houses and good schools" and pretend the racial history is no longer relevant, I'm obligated but also happy to point out that that's absurd. And that absurdity IS relevant and important to everyone, because the falsehood that America has overcome racism is used politically to advance policies that ignore or compound structural racism. Chevy Chase is full of powerful people and potentially powerful children. The stories we tell about ourselves as a community matter, and the truth is important.

So all the neighborhoods that had restrictive covenants in the distant past are bad? Better tell all the people living in the middle of DC. Or does that not fit your narrative? Just focusing on a wealthy neighborhood? http://www.mappingsegregationdc.org/#maps

That's a ridiculous mischaracterization of what I said and clearly made in bad faith. Why bother to type something like that? Who are you trying to persuade? The whole point is that the history of where we live and why matters, being truthful about it is important, and ignoring it or pretending it's no longer relevant is harmful. Obviously, that's not exclusive to a particular neighborhood. We're focused on Chevy Chase in this thread.

So what exactly do you want people do? Not buy in Chevy Chase? I don't know what you mean about being truthful? Is there a not so pretty racial history? Sure. And that's said for pretty much the entire country too. Not a single square inch of America (or anywhere in the world) is without some sorry story attached to it in one form or another.

At the end of the day, there's some kind of truth associated with Chevy Chase and it does matter - but to you, not to everyone. And that's all that really matters here.