D.C. is More Than Just a Place for Politics

As their fellowship comes to an end, the Millennial Public Policy Fellows are using their final DM posts to reflect on their 11-month journey through D.C.’s think tank and public policy landscape. 

In the first piece I wrote during my time at New America, I talked about Chicago. It was what seemed obvious, because at heart, Chicago is what truly matters to me. It’s where my family is from. It’s home to the activist community that shaped me into the person I am today. It’s the most beautiful, raw, and proud place I’ve ever known.

But I didn’t write about any of that. Instead, I wrote about the problems endemic to Chicago: the racism, segregation, and economic disadvantage most prominently shown through it’s public school system. I wrote about my desire for a more progressive school system that elevated the achievement of all students, not just a select advantaged few. I explained that no amount of time spent outside my city could dull my desire to demand and work towards justice for the community that gave me so much.

Chicago is constantly at the forefront of my conversations. Perhaps the best illustration of how much I talk about my city is the whiteboard behind my desk, where a colleague drew a tally for “Number of days since Emma mentioned Chicago.”

It’s been stuck at zero for months now.

When I talk to other young people in D.C., a lot of them have similar experiences. They love their homes, and they want to work in policy or activism there, but D.C. seemed like the right first step. There’s so much you can learn from being in the hub of the political world, and at least for me, D.C. was sold as the gold standard for a politically-motivated recent graduate.

While this means that D.C. is a nerd paradise for anyone interested in politics, it also means that a lot of young people here are transient, expecting to be in D.C. for only a few years before moving back home or on to other adventures. And while we’re here, it’s hard to feel at home.

There are a few issues with this, some of which have personal implications and some of which have implications for the D.C. community as a whole. On the personal side, D.C. can feel lonely, and it is difficult to make friends knowing that you probably won’t be in the same place next year. There are  also broader personal considerations – should you change the billing address on your credit card? Get a D.C. phone number? Register to vote here (and by doing so, give up your representation in the Senate from your home state)? All these considerations make it difficult to feel rooted.

And with that difficulty, we arrive at the implications for the larger D.C. community. I focus on criminal justice research, and in the first few months here, as I went to event after event on criminal justice policy, I noticed something odd. Not one person at any of these events mentioned D.C., which is particularly egregious given how strongly D.C. is impacted by criminal justice policy changes, especially its predominantly Black and Latinx population, who are subject to high rates of arrest, harsh sentencing, and terrible local prison and jail conditions.

Those drawn to this city because of the political industry way too often forget that just as they should advocate for national change, they also need to invest themselves in what’s happening where they live.

Although this lack of interest in how national policies affect D.C. on a local level was most obvious to me in the criminal justice field, I’ve also seen it across the board in the research areas covered by think tanks, the events put on throughout the city, and the conversations I’ve had with friends and colleagues. The lack of roots in D.C. means that young people often just aren’t aware of what’s happening between the front door of their apartment and the building they work in.

D.C. may not my home, and it may not be home to so many of the other young people in this city. But that’s not an excuse not to care. If living in D.C. and working for a think tank has taught me anything, it’s that there are a plethora of opportunities to get involved with the local community, if only you take the time to look. There’s also so many ways to consider D.C. residents within the implications of any given policy area that you focus on, and apply your work consciously to the place you live.

My love for D.C. may not be as fierce as my love for Chicago, but D.C. is a beautiful, raw, and proud place too. We owe this city, and the people who call it home, our respect.