#DontMuteDC - Residents Fire Back
By: Dana Phillips
It's no secret that D.C is known for Go-Go, so when people tried to get the music banned outside a local Metro PCS store, there was bound to be an issue. The hashtag "Don't Mute D.C" started trending when a record and cell phone carrier at the corner of Georgia and Florida Avenue NW (U Street) received an anonymous complaint that the Go-Go being played was disruptive. Mind you not only has the store been around since the late '90s, but they have also been playing D.Cβs Go-Go Music just as long. The once corner in D.C alive with music every day got silenced.
Don't worry though, the power in the people prevailed. Not only did D.C dance it out in the streets, a massive activist drive of countless petitions started to let gentrification know if you are not ok with the existing culture of the neighborhood, don't move in.
People sat right outside of the store and played Go-Go all day long. The petitions and protests aimed to speak the truth; years of culture in the city cant be erased, and especially not because of people who think they deserve privilege when they just moved in.
When will enough be enough? An even better question is how many more changes are going to be made to a city with a culture that has been thriving for decades. Regardless of the answer, D.C is the fastest gentrified city in America, yet the attempts to wipe the city of its sense of community, culture and especially music will never work. People flooded the streets to play the city's songs, and the petitions got endless amounts of support.
The petitions paid off, leading to a Wednesday afternoon tweet by T-Mobile CEO John Legere tweeted that the βmusic will go on,β
