Ashley Emerson Interview, August 24, 2019

INDEXED CLIP TIME: 00:00:05.220 --> 00:02:55.130 SEGMENT SYNOPSIS: Maren Orchard interviews Ashley Emerson on August 24, 2019 during Late Skate at Anacostia Park. In this clip, Ashley Emerson, who works for the mayor's office, discusses African American families and DC parks. SUBJECTS: Late Skate in Anacostia Park; Anacostia Park (Washington, D.C.); Anacostia Park and Community Collaborative; National Park Service -- Anacostia Park; Fort DuPont Park (Washington, D.C.); Fort Dupont Park Summer Concert Series; African American families; Cookouts; Basketball courts

All right, it is August 24, 2019, and we are at Anacostia Park doing the Late Skate event. And this is Ashley Emerson being interviewed by Maren Orchard. Do I have your permission to record this interview?

Yes.

Alright. If you wouldn't mind us starting off by telling you a little bit about yourself.

I'm Ashley Emerson and I am a Ward 7 resident, second generation native Washingtonian, very proud to still be here in the city with my family. I also work in the mayor's office of African American affairs. And our one of our biggest jobs is to preserve the history and culture of African Americans, but also help with economic mobility of African Americans in the city. So I'm really excited to be here.

That's a really important job and do you want to tell me a little bit more about like, what that looks like for you?

Yeah, so one of the ideas we have is partnering with the Humanities Truck with NPS National Park Service to to kind of capture the family moments that families have here. So that's picnics, that's birthday parties. And I'm looking at some right now... this Late Skate and this communing with families and friends is really important. We want to capture that. But also sharing that... so making sure social media or our DC public libraries have that information and how families commune and how families spend their time here in the city.

Yeah, we try to ask people who they're here with. It's very frequently friends and family. Or maybe they're passing by [inaudible]. Would you like to tell me a little bit about, do you have any personal experience with this park?

Oh yes, lots. My family grew up I grew up in the Fort DuPont neighborhood. So the summer concert series there, but here, Anacostia Park, we picnicked, family cookouts, just bringing the kids, some of the kids to play at the playground, and just sit in the grass. I currently walk my dog here on a leash, of course. But just to it's a beautiful space is acres of green space. And that's something we're very fortunate to have here east of the river. And just being in the park, watching the guys play basketball or just reading is important for us to have the space to do that. So I'm really thankful that we have and hope that is preserved in a way that's good for generations.

INDEXED CLIP TIME: 00:02:55.130 --> 00:04:52.160 SEGMENT SYNOPSIS: Maren Orchard interviews Ashley Emerson on August 24, 2019 during Late Skate at Anacostia Park. In this clip, Ashley Emerson, who works for the mayor's office, discusses her office's investment in people. SUBJECTS: African American families; Pathways to the middle class; Schools in Washington, D.C.

Do you feel like your personal experiences in the city and in the park inspired you to do the work that you do now?

Oh, absolutely, absolutely. Sometimes we forget that African Americans still live here. And families are growing here every day generations, new generations are being born. I believe we are 381,000 African American residents of the city. And we want to make sure that continues and that preserved and they're able to stay if they want to stay. So seeing that, and understanding what that looks like, and our parks and our places, where do people eat? Where do people shop? Where do people live? How they live in preserving that, but also helping people get on the pathway to the middle class, as the mayor said. But really just helping people with upward mobility. That's really important and I know that's why I'm here.

Is there some specific that you've seen [inaudible]

Yeah, so mayor has made significant investments in our parks and Department of Parks and Recs, our schools. I just left two ribbon cuttings today with Coolidge and [inaudible] and Ida B. Wells school, middle school and [inaudible] as well. Gosh, our retail, our small business I'm wearing obviously DC which is a marketplace or website for all things small business in the city and for people to get connected to resources to help their businesses grow. So I've seen significant investments, and I know the mayor is committed to preserving and keeping those investments going.

INDEXED CLIP TIME: 00:04:53.150 --> 00:07:34.230 SEGMENT SYNOPSIS: Maren Orchard interviews Ashley Emerson on August 24, 2019 during Late Skate at Anacostia Park. In this clip, Ashley Emerson, who works for the mayor's office, discusses her perspective of being a native Washingtonian. SUBJECTS: African American families; Anacostia Park (Washington, D.C.); Late Skate in Anacostia Park; Fort DuPont Park (Washington, D.C.); Fort Dupont Park Summer Concert Series; Family history; Culture of Washington, D.C.

What keeps you in DC?

Oh my God, my family, my family. My grandmother came here from the Annapolis area of Bristol, Maryland, in the 50s. And she had 8 children. She birthed 4 here. And so the last, the last daughter was the last child, was my mom. And so I'm a second generation Washingtonian, and all of my family is here. Between DC and Prince George's county, we're all in the city. So I travel for school. I lived in Chicago for a little while, but I always came back home because family is really important... values... just living in a city where you grew up, and being able to experience it in a way as an adult versus a child. But family, definitely keeps me here.

That's something I was really aware of, I just moved here a year ago.

You came from where?

I'm from Indiana. And that's one thing. I do a lot of like local history but that's something I'm really aware of, like you talk about a personal experience [inaudible] I'm just wondering like what that means to you?

You know, I think about that all the time. Being a native, it's, it's special, right? And it's special not because it's just being a native, but it's the tradition, the experience that you had with your friends. I, my friends I still have here. We went to all the same schools. So we have the same similar experiences. And then what the new friends that we have or the people that he or she gets to share that with them and say Hey, did you know Anacostia Park is doing Late Skate or, you know, Fort DuPont Park they do the the summer concert series. Come out with us. And people loved it. And just sharing that with people, that historical knowledge, but also just the cultural piece of what DC is and how we have so much rich history. I always think we were the first free from Emancipation and just people don't always realize. Or chocolate city and know those things that other cities don't have. And we are the first so I'm really proud. I'm a proud Washingtonian. Proud to be here. And I'm gonna raise my family here.

INDEXED CLIP TIME: 00:04:53.150 --> 00:07:34.230 SEGMENT SYNOPSIS: Maren Orchard interviews Ashley Emerson on August 24, 2019 during Late Skate at Anacostia Park. In this clip, Ashley Emerson, who works for the mayor's office, discusses DC in its national context. SUBJECTS: African American families; Culture of Washington, D.C.; Heritage of Washington, D.C.

Can you talk just a little bit more about like the importance of that local feel, you kind of in the national context, like being the first and like it being the nation's capital, but you have all of these like really deep local roots.

I mean it's exactly that. Forbes listed DC and Atlanta as one of the... as the number one city for African Americans, and I believe that we were neck and neck with Atlanta, but we were the first, let that be known. We were the first. But all of the I call it spillage. So we were the first but also Prince George's County is the first African American, wealthy African American County, the wealthiest African American county for and it still has that, that legacy. And I know that we helped create that. And people around here wherever you go, there's some cultural significance. There's some remembrance and honoring of the past. But also people looking to bring for like their future traditions and things like that. So you know, the parks are one place. Some of the stores, the corner stores. Some of the shops you go to just to pick up local items. And just saying, and really seeing some of our local faces preserved.

Like at the wharf, the crab. I call it the Crab Shack. But the place you did crabs, and it's still there, the Fisherman's Wharf and beautiful new buildings and the restaurants but that old, old history and culture still there, and they connected us. And I think that's what's important. How do we bridge the to the new, the old, the existing? How do we live in concert together? That's important.

INDEXED CLIP TIME: 00:04:53.150 --> 00:07:34.230 SEGMENT SYNOPSIS: Maren Orchard interviews Ashley Emerson on August 24, 2019 during Late Skate at Anacostia Park. In this clip, Ashley Emerson, who works for the mayor's office, discusses mixing the old with the new in DC. SUBJECTS: Culture of Washington, D.C.; Heritage of Washington, D.C.; Building community

Something I'm curious about is a little bit about how you deal with that tension, because I imagine there's some people that really resist the new and the way so that kind of pushes out old. Is there a way that you see, I think your examples really, are there other ways that that tension, kind of?

Yeah. So we we've seen some. Recently, you know, the Shaw area the "Don't Mute D.C." movement where it came out of. And I think the best thing we can do is is reach out and say... Hey, we know that this is maybe a challenge or an issue. How can we bridge this? And how can we learn how to communicate with each other? So we're actually partnering with WBC to do a series of communicating across cultures. And we're kicking it off in Shaw September 4th. But just to bring the existing residents and the new residents together and talk about what that exchange looks like. Hey, I don't like you parking in front of my house. You know, okay, maybe we could change that. Or would you like to come over for dinner because I cooked this, this mean chicken, you know, something, and just inviting people in to talk to each other and experience each other and how let go of the barriers. And I think we have a role in that and to help facilitate and to figure out what each needs and how we can disper this together. I think that's super important.

Thank you so much [inaudible]

I just want to thank you all, because we we've seen this truck out. And there's so much to talk about. There's so such a rich history and culture that we have to preserve and you all are helping us do that one resident at a time. So thank you.

We're happy to do it and we're so happy for [inaudible] and that you're willing to share your story.

Oh, absolutely.

Thank you.

Thank you.