Changes

[[File:RaceWashingtonDC.png|thumb|left|Maps of racial and ethnic divisions in US cities, inspired by Bill Rankin's map of Chicago, updated for Census 2010.  Red is White, Blue is Black, Green is Asian, Orange is Hispanic, Yellow is Other, and each dot is 25 residents.]]

[[File:RaceWashingtonDC.png|thumb|left|Maps of racial and ethnic divisions in US cities, inspired by Bill Rankin's map of Chicago, updated for Census 2010.  Red is White, Blue is Black, Green is Asian, Orange is Hispanic, Yellow is Other, and each dot is 25 residents.]]

As of July 1, 2016, the [[U.S. Census Bureau]] estimates that the District's population was 681,170, an 13.2% increase since the 2010 United States Census.<ref name=PopEstUS>{{cite web|url=http://www.census.gov/quickfacts/table/PST045215/11|title=QuickFacts District of Columbia|date=December 20, 2016|publisher=[[U.S. Census Bureau]]|accessdate=December 22, 2016}}</ref> The increase continues a growth trend since 2000, following a half-century of population decline.<ref>{{cite news|last=Morello|first=Carol|title=D.C. population soars past 600,000 for first time in years|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/21/AR2010122102609.html|accessdate=May 1, 2017|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=December 22, 2011|author2=Dan Keating}}</ref> The city was the 24th most populous place in the United States.<ref>{{cite web|title=Population Change for Places With Populations of 50,000 or More in the United States and Puerto Rico: 2000 to 2010|url=http://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2010/cph-t/cph-t-3.html|publisher=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=May 1, 2017|date=September 27, 2011}}</ref> According to data from 2010, commuters from the suburbs increase the District's daytime population to over one million people.<ref>{{cite web|last=Austermuhle|first=Martin|title=D.C.'s Population Grows 79 Percent Every Workday, Outpacing Other Cities|url=http://wamu.org/news/13/05/31/dcs_population_grows_79_percent_every_workday_outpacing_other_cities|publisher=WAMU|accessdate=May 1, 2017|date=May 31, 2013}}</ref>  

As of July 1, 2016, the [[U.S. Census Bureau]] estimates that the District's population was 681,170, an 13.2% increase since the 2010 United States Census.<ref name=PopEstUS>{{cite web|url=http://www.census.gov/quickfacts/table/PST045215/11|title=QuickFacts District of Columbia|date=December 20, 2016|publisher=[[U.S. Census Bureau]]|accessdate=December 22, 2016}}</ref> The increase continues a growth trend since 2000, following a half-century of population decline.<ref>{{cite news|last=Morello|first=Carol|title=D.C. population soars past 600,000 for first time in years|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/21/AR2010122102609.html|accessdate=May 1, 2017|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=December 22, 2011|author2=Dan Keating}}</ref> The city was the 24th most populous place in the United States.<ref>{{cite web|title=Population Change for Places With Populations of 50,000 or More in the United States and Puerto Rico: 2000 to 2010|url=http://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2010/cph-t/cph-t-3.html|publisher=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=May 1, 2017|date=September 27, 2011}}</ref> According to data from 2010, commuters from the suburbs increase the District's daytime population to over one million people.<ref>{{cite web|last=Austermuhle|first=Martin|title=D.C.'s Population Grows 79 Percent Every Workday, Outpacing Other Cities|url=http://wamu.org/news/13/05/31/dcs_population_grows_79_percent_every_workday_outpacing_other_cities|publisher=WAMU|accessdate=May 1, 2017|date=May 31, 2013}}</ref>  

According to 2015 Census Bureau data, the population of Washington, D.C. was 48.3% Black or African American, 44.1% White (36.1% non-Hispanic White), 4.2% Asian, 0.6% American Indian or Alaska Native, and 0.2% Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander. Individuals from two or more races made up 2.7% of the population. Hispanics of any race made up 10.6% of the District's population.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.census.gov/quickfacts/table/PST045215/11001,00 |title=District of Columbia |work=State & County QuickFacts |publisher=U.S. Census Bureau |accessdate=May 1, 2017}}</ref>  African American residents composed about 30% of the District's total population between 1800 and 1940.<ref name="histpop">{{cite web|url=http://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0056/tab23.pdf |title=Historical Census Statistics on Population Totals By Race, 1790 to 1990 |accessdate=May 1, 2017 |date=September 13, 2002 |format=PDF |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] }}</ref> The black population reached a peak of 70% by 1970, but has since steadily declined due to many African Americans moving to the surrounding suburbs. Partly as a result of [[gentrification]], there was a 31.4% increase in the non-Hispanic white population and an 11.5% decrease in the black population between 2000 and 2010.<ref name=demshift>{{cite news|title=Number of black D.C. residents plummets as majority status slips away|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/black-dc-residents-plummet-barely-a-majority/2011/03/24/ABtIgJQB_story.html|accessdate=May 1, 2017|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=March 24, 2011|author=Carol Morello|author2=Dan Keating}}</ref>

According to 2015 Census Bureau data, the population of Washington, D.C. was 48.3% Black or African American, 44.1% White (36.1% non-Hispanic White), 4.2% Asian, 0.6% American Indian or Alaska Native, and 0.2% Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander. Individuals from two or more races made up 2.7% of the population. Hispanics of any race made up 10.6% of the District's population.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.census.gov/quickfacts/table/PST045215/11001,00 |title=District of Columbia |work=State & County QuickFacts |publisher=U.S. Census Bureau |accessdate=May 1, 2017}}</ref>  African American residents composed about 30% of the District's total population between 1800 and 1940.<ref name="histpop">{{cite web|url=http://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0056/tab23.pdf |title=Historical Census Statistics on Population Totals By Race, 1790 to 1990 |accessdate=May 1, 2017 |date=September 13, 2002 |format=PDF |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] }}</ref> The black population reached a peak of 70% by 1970, but has since steadily declined due to many African Americans moving to the surrounding suburbs. Partly as a result of [[gentrification]], there was a 31.4% increase in the non-Hispanic white population and an 11.5% decrease in the black population between 2000 and 2010.<ref name=demshift>{{cite news|title=Number of black D.C. residents plummets as majority status slips away|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/black-dc-residents-plummet-barely-a-majority/2011/03/24/ABtIgJQB_story.html|accessdate=May 1, 2017|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=March 24, 2011|author=Carol Morello|author2=Dan Keating}}</ref> Housing patterns within D.C. are highly segregated, with most whites living downtown or west of Rock Creek Park.  In the suburbs, Arlington, Virginia is predominantly white except for four neighborhoods that surround historically-black schools. Montgomery County, Maryland is predominantly white, and Prince Georges County, Maryland is predominantly African-American.

==Government==

==Government==

Article I of the Constitution specifies that [[Congress]] has exclusive legislative jurisdiction over the District of Columbia.<ref>http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/constitution.articlei.html#section8</ref>  In 1973, Congress passed the District of Columbia Self-Government and Governmental Reorganization Act, [[P.L.]] 93-198, which proposed a charter that delegated legislative authority to a locally elected [[mayor]] and [[Council of the District of Columbia|council]]; the charter was approved by local referendum in 1974.<ref>http://government.westlaw.com/linkedslice/default.asp?rs=gvt1.0&vr=2.0&sp=dcc-1000</ref><ref>http://www.narpac.org/ITXICE.HTM</ref> As DC budget documents repeatedly note, the D.C. government has the combined characteristics of a city, county and state.

Article I of the Constitution specifies that [[Congress]] has exclusive legislative jurisdiction over the District of Columbia.<ref>http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/constitution.articlei.html#section8</ref>  In 1973, Congress passed the District of Columbia Self-Government and Governmental Reorganization Act, [[P.L.]] 93-198, which proposed a charter that delegated legislative authority to a locally elected [[mayor]] and [[Council of the District of Columbia|council]]; the charter was approved by local referendum in 1974.<ref>http://government.westlaw.com/linkedslice/default.asp?rs=gvt1.0&vr=2.0&sp=dcc-1000</ref><ref>http://www.narpac.org/ITXICE.HTM</ref> As DC budget documents repeatedly note, the D.C. government has the combined characteristics of a city, county and state.

definition of marriage in the District to include same-sex couples."<ref>[http://www.dcappeals.gov/dccourts/appeals/pdf/10-CV-20_JACKSON_MTD.PDF ''Jackson v. District of Columbia Board of Elections and Ethics''], citing D.C. Code § 46-401 (a) (Supp. 2010); 57 D.C. Reg. 27 (Jan. 1, 2010).</ref>

definition of marriage in the District to include same-sex couples."<ref>[http://www.dcappeals.gov/dccourts/appeals/pdf/10-CV-20_JACKSON_MTD.PDF ''Jackson v. District of Columbia Board of Elections and Ethics''], citing D.C. Code § 46-401 (a) (Supp. 2010); 57 D.C. Reg. 27 (Jan. 1, 2010).</ref>

===Corruption===

===Corruption===

The self-interested, often deceitful conduct of power brokers in D.C. results in its nickname as "the swamp," which also fits the historical climate the region.  In addition, its nickname as the "[[deep state]]" reflects how there is an entrenched [[liberal]] bureaucracy in the D.C. government that serves itself rather than the D.C. residents who pay a separate income tax and a property tax.  

The self-interested, often deceitful conduct of power brokers in D.C. results in its nickname as "the swamp," which also fits the historical climate the region.  In addition, its nickname as the "[[deep state]]" reflects how there is an entrenched [[liberal]] bureaucracy in the D.C. government that serves itself rather than the D.C. residents who pay a separate D.C. income tax and a property tax.  

Most people who work in policy-making positions in the D.C. government are married to (or have a relationship with) someone who holds a different policy-making position.  These relationships have a binding effect that prevents policy-makers from acting independently based on [[logic]], values, or the interests of D.C. residents, and their policy decisions or recommendations are often self-serving.<ref>https://mota.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/mota/page_content/attachments/Copy%20of%20PBI%2003.31.17.pdf</ref>  Washington DC imposes a residency requirement on many of its employees, because of the wide-spread desire of residents to move to the suburbs if they can afford to do so.<ref>https://dchr.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/dchr/publication/attachments/chap_3_residency_trans_222_1.pdf</ref>

Most people who work in policy-making positions in the D.C. government are married to (or have a relationship with) someone who holds a different policy-making position.  These relationships have a binding effect that prevents policy-makers from acting independently based on [[logic]], values, or the interests of D.C. residents, and their policy decisions or recommendations are often self-serving.<ref>https://mota.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/mota/page_content/attachments/Copy%20of%20PBI%2003.31.17.pdf</ref>  Washington D.C. imposes a residency requirement on many of its employees, because of the wide-spread desire of residents to move to the suburbs if they can afford to do so.<ref>https://dchr.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/dchr/publication/attachments/chap_3_residency_trans_222_1.pdf</ref>

The 2010 election was hotly contested and resulted in a number of convictions.  Incumbent mayor [[Adrian Fenty]] lost the Democratic primary to [[Vincent C. Gray]].  However, his primary effort was assisted by a minor candidate [[Sulaimon Brown]], who Gray paid to stay in the primary race and appointed to a position in his administration.  When this became public, Gray fired Brown and the resulting investigation led to campaign staff being convicted. On Tuesday, July 10, 2010, Jeanne Clarke Harris, plead guilty to laundering campaign contributions from city contractor [[Jeffery E. Thompson]] through friends into the Gray campaign.  The effort involved $653,000 in improperly reported donations. U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr said that the 2010 mayor's race was "compromised by backroom deals, secret payments and a flood of unreported cash."<ref name=wp711>{{cite news|title=Gray's victory called tainted|author=Mike DeBonis and Nikita Stewart|date=July 11, 2012|page=A1}}</ref> Harris said that Thompson sought to hide his campaign contributions to Gray to avoid angering the Fenty administration that had awarded large contract to Thompson's firms.<ref name=wp711/>  Howard Brooks and Thomas W. Gore have previously plead guilty to charges surrounding the forwarding of Gray campaign cash to Brown.<ref name=wp711/>

The 2010 election was hotly contested and resulted in a number of convictions.  Incumbent mayor [[Adrian Fenty]] lost the Democratic primary to [[Vincent C. Gray]].  However, his primary effort was assisted by a minor candidate [[Sulaimon Brown]], who Gray paid to stay in the primary race and appointed to a position in his administration.  When this became public, Gray fired Brown and the resulting investigation led to campaign staff being convicted. On Tuesday, July 10, 2010, Jeanne Clarke Harris, plead guilty to laundering campaign contributions from city contractor [[Jeffery E. Thompson]] through friends into the Gray campaign.  The effort involved $653,000 in improperly reported donations. U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr said that the 2010 mayor's race was "compromised by backroom deals, secret payments and a flood of unreported cash."<ref name=wp711>{{cite news|title=Gray's victory called tainted|author=Mike DeBonis and Nikita Stewart|date=July 11, 2012|page=A1}}</ref> Harris said that Thompson sought to hide his campaign contributions to Gray to avoid angering the Fenty administration that had awarded large contract to Thompson's firms.<ref name=wp711/>  Howard Brooks and Thomas W. Gore have previously plead guilty to charges surrounding the forwarding of Gray campaign cash to Brown.<ref name=wp711/>