HuffPost, June 7, 2019: D.C. bill would make Go-Go the ‘official music’ of the gentrifying district
A city council member in Washington, D.C., has introduced legislation that would make go-go music the District of Columbia’s “official” music, as community members continue ongoing efforts to protect the gentrifying city’s black culture.
The new legislation comes months after a clash over the presence of go-go music at a famed D.C. intersection ignited a series of rallies and protests to protect the city’s indigenous music.
Go-go, which combines elements of funk, soul and other styles, has long been a staple of D.C.’s history.
A March study by the National Community Reinvestment Coalition identified D.C. as having the highest percentage of gentrifying neighborhoods in the U.S., with an estimation that 20,000 black residents were displaced between 2000 and 2013.
