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Revisiting Washington
With Courtland Milloy
Post Metro columnist
Monday, April 8, 2002; 2 p.m. EDT
Courtland Milloy joined The Washington Post in 1975 as a reporter, and in 1983 began writing his column, which primarily deals with issues that affect the lives of African Americans.
Now, after 27 years as a Metro reporter and columnist for The Washington Post, Milloy is retracing his steps, revisiting many of the people he's written about and updating their stories. He will be online Monday, April 8, at 2 p.m. EDT.
Submit your questions and comments before or during the discussion.
Editor's Note: Washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control
over Live Online discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions.
washingtonpost.com:
Courtland Milloy, thanks for joining us today. Your first column, Barry: Power and Pomp This Time detailed the second inauguration of Marion Barry as D.C. mayor. Over the years, Barry has provided you with a lot of material. Are you surprised to see him still in the news, 20 years later?
Courtland Milloy: I wouldn't say surprised; impressed would be more like it. This city is notorious for eating politicians alive. I guess I've written atleast 100 columns about Barry. And something tells me I haven't written the last one. He is quite resilient, you know.
Quince Orchard, Md.:
Bless you, Courtland. Your columns exemplify community reporting and local issues. If it weren't for you, the Post wouldn't know local issues from rugby.
Your column is one of the reasons I subscribe.
Courtland Milloy: I thank you very much, QO.
Rockville, Md.:
So how come you and most of the other “black-oriented” columnists like Raspberry, King and Merida haven’t previously joined these webchats? You folks too old-school to bother with this Internet stuff? Or just afraid that some of your opinions about race would wilt like hothouse flowers during give-and-take with a mostly white cyber-audience?
Courtland Milloy: I was wondering how long it would be before one of you all showed up--I get a lot of emails expressing such views and I prefer talking about such issues face to face. But, as always, thanks for writing.
Washington, D.C.:
Penelope M. remembers a Courtland Milloy as a person who spoke to the Women's Drug Program at Lorton where she was incarcerated in 1993. Your words helped redirect my life from being a crack addict for 13 years, living homeless on the street for the same period - to now working in management at Washington's largest employer. Thank you so much! You have no idea what a hero you were to me that day!
Courtland Milloy: Penelope!!! I remember you! So glad to hear from you too. Look, call me at the Post and I'll take you to lunch. (Sounds like a good column to me!)
Metro Center, District of Columbia:
Mr. Milloy, after half of my life reading The Post, (20 years of the Pittsburgh Press before that) its funny how there have been about 5 stories or articles that I Will Never Forget. One of them dealt with Marion Barry "outing" you as an AA member. As he enters the news yet again with a substance abuse related story, do you say to yourself "Haha! Egg on your face again", or "May my Higher Power help the still suffering addict"? washingtonpost.com:
"Barry's Healing Example" (July 3, 1994)
Courtland Milloy: You have a good memory, and I am pleased to have written one of your "never forgets." As for your two choices, I would not go with either. No holier than thou egg on the face or patronizing higher power bit. I might say something like There but for the grace of God go I, and leave it at that.
Washington D.C. :
I read you column yesterday abouth the "inner city" in locating the people whom you spoke with 25 years ago.What means are you taking to reach these people to see how their lifestyles are today? washingtonpost.com:
"After 25 Years, a Fresh Look at the City's Faces and Places" (April 7, 2002)
Courtland Milloy: Glad you asked; I can use all the help I can get. I would appreciate it if readers would periodically check my website at washingtonpost.com. I'll post the names of people who are hard to find and hope that people can tell me where they are.
Harrisburg, Pa.:
Some argue, in the past few decades, that African-Americans have made gains in many professions and that outward racism has declined signifigantly. Others argue that the past few decades has seen African-American urban centers deteriorate significantly and urban poverty grow. Of course, both views need not be contradictory. What are your comments and observations on the gains and declines of African-Americans as a community over the time you have been writing?
Courtland Milloy: Gains have been made in some cases; ground has been lost in others. The economic gap within the so called black community is now larger than the economic gap between blacks and whites. What I'd like to see is some serious attention paid to improving public schools. I think that is the only way anything meaningful can be done for the so called have nots (black ones as well as white ones).
Washington, D.C.:
There has been a lot of development in the so called inner-city areas and it seems to be aimed at the influx of people coming back into the city , based on their commute time to and from their jobs. Is this a plan to move poor folks to make room for the people that have money and can get these properties renovated. And make them the majority instead of the minority. Just wondering. What's happening?
Courtland Milloy: I have a friend who is a rather shrewd if also somewhat cynical politician in my home state of Louisiana who once told me that the way to deal with inner city poverty is simple: get rid of the poor and claim victory. I've been thinking about calling him to see if he's been giving advice to some of the folks up here.
Rockville, Md.:
Dear Mr. Milloy,
Just want to say thank you for years of wonderful reporting. I may not always agree with you, but your columns have almost always been thought-provoking and taught me to look at issues in a different light or in a way I would not have before. Here's to another 25 years of the same.
A Fan
Courtland Milloy: Thank you; I appreciate your kind words very much.
Alexandria:
No real question, but wow, what a hunk when you started out! Hope you use that picture to illustrate your no doubt forthcoming memoirs.
Courtland Milloy: I was actually thinking about going to one of those glamour photo studios, but you just talked me out of it. Thanks!
Baltimore, Md.:
Congratulations on reaching a hard-earned, well-deserved milestone!
Your columns ably demonstrate the axiom that the more things change, the more they stay the same. Your first column, for instance, dealt with Marion Barry and concluded with the sentence, "If Barry can look like he's doing good, people will be satisfied." Nearly two decades later, Barry's still very much in the public eye. In light of your original column about him, how would you objectively rate Barry all these years later as a force in the District? And, notwithstanding his current round of troubles, will he remain in the public arena for at least a couple of more decades?
Courtland Milloy: Its hard for me to "objectively" rate anything at this point, Barry probably least of all. Like all of us, he's done things that we like to call "good" and some things that we call "bad." But in the District, I think the role of Congress has been much greater than Barry's--although the out of towners get much less scrutiny. As for Barry's future, I don't think we've heard the last of him.
Washington D.C.:
I remember Marion Barry when he worked formed Pride Inc. My previous husband received his first job working in the mailroom and when that program was taken away from the brother of D.C. streets, they turned to the D.C. government and when the city did not receive revenue the brothers we turned away this was at the time of Ronald Reagan, and Marion Barry did the best he could for his people. not like some brothers and sisters who get there and forget where they came from. I think these folks need to leave Barry alone and allow him to live his life with interferences. What can we do as citizens to keep "Mr.Clean off our "Moses" alone?
Courtland Milloy: I wouldn't worry about trying to keep people off of Barry's case; that is his speciality: turning attacks to his benefit. I would vote, attend community meetings and work to improve the local schools---thats how we make a difference. Also, that was a good point about Pride, Inc. A lot of people were helped by the organization that Barry founded.
Largo, Maryland:
I read with interes the story about your interview which helped you land you job at this post. What advice would you give someone that has an interest in breaking into the business as a "late-bloomer", 40-ish? (A fellow man of color.)
Thanks for the good work over the years!
Courtland Milloy: I'd give you the same advice that I would to someone half your age (and trust me, 40ish is still young): Write. Write. Write. Letters to the editor. Outlook. Close to Home. Freelance with local magazines. Do anything to get published, and before you know it--you'll be "in business!"
washingtonpost.com:
Courtland Milloy's Web site
Somewhere, USA:
Five years ago in a column about the Marcus Garvey school incident you wrote:
"Let's focus on this: A grand jury is hearing testimony about an alleged assault and illegal weapons possession during an altercation in which (Mary) Anigbo allegedly hollered in a flash of anger, '"Get your white ass out of here.'
Well, I think I know how she feels."
Mary Anigbo ended up being convicted in a court of law. Do you still feel that what she allegedly said was fair and reflects your opinion?
washingtonpost.com:
"An Incident Undeserving of Its Fame" (Dec. 18, 1996)
Courtland Milloy: What a memory! Im amazed at what clings to the minds of the readers, and thank you for taking time to write. That column was not about fairness; i was about being angry. And I was really teed off. Here you had all of these black women being murdered and turning up missing, and all of the energies of the mainstream press were being directed in support of a white female reporter who'd been cursed at by this black female school principal. I still feel that things that ought to bother us as a community don't while we go overboard about things that don't--a hurt dog, for instance generates far more sympathy than a murdered child.
Arlington, VA:
How long have you been doing the column? The text says 20 years, the headline says 25. I'm a bit confused. Either way, I love it and I hope to be reading it for the next 20 or 25 years.
Courtland Milloy: Thanks. I came to the Post in 1975, and began the column in 1983. Sorry about the confusion, and I hope to just be alive 20, 25 years from now!
Alexandria:
In your column about Barry in 1994, you said that if alcohol and drug abuse could be stopped, homelessness would be abated, the prisons and hospitals would almost empty out, and so on. A lot of poverty could be overcome too, obviously. How can the larger community encourage people to take responsibility for their own choices, and help them make better ones - like don't get pregnant before you're married, leave the drugs and alcohol behind, and so on.
Courtland Milloy: I still believe that alcohol and drug abuse at the root of a lot of social problems. But I also believe that at the root of a lot alcohol and drug abuse are some serious mental health and education issues. A lot of people are self medicating themselves with on street drugs because they cant afford Prozac and all of that other prescription stuff. Health insurance and jobs would go a long way to curbing drug abuse (sounds circular I know) I think former Baltimore Mayor Kurt S was on to something to when he said lets think about taking the profits out of the illegal drug trade.
Baltimore, MD:
I recently left D.C. in order to get married to a Baltimore girl. However, I had lived in the District for the last 8 years. I became very active in the local political life after leaving my home state of Alabama. I tried to help the city both socially and politically by be a ANC Commissioner and party offical but barriers were always there for one reason or the next. While I loved and still love the city, the love that I have for it is one reason that I had to leave. There just seemed to be so many ills and not enough support for correcting them. Do you see hope for the city's healing? If so what is it?
Courtland Milloy: If you liken the city to some living organism, you can say that it is always healing and always getting sick at the same time. This is very complex place. But I would venture to say that there has been as much if not more advancement among poor residents in Washington than any place in America. Of course, when a poor person stops being poor and moves into another economic class, who notices? Other poor people--who take their spot and hope that something good will happen to them next. PS: good luck on the marriage!
Alexandria, VA:
Congratulations, on your 25+ years with the post!!! My question, has there been one particular story that has stood out in your mind more than others...a favorite column, maybe?
Courtland Milloy: Thank you very much. And yes there is. But at the risk of creating undo frustration, I would like for you to read about it when I revisit the subject on April 21. (Hint: its about that kid who stole the two Gabon vipers from the National Zoo.)
Spencerville, Maryland:
Thanks for all the good stuff! Speaking from the standpoint of regret: If giving the opportunity to comment on an issue, for which you remained silent at the time in the past, what would it be? Or, is there a comment that sticks out in your mind that you would like to have back? Thanks for being honest.
Courtland Milloy: Thanks for the compliment. I'm sure there have been times when I didn't comment on something, but I can't remember just now what the circumstances where. And I've made so many mistakes in print during the past two decades that I wouldn't know where to begin. But you've just given me an idea for a column: all the times I should have spoken up, and here's what I would have said!!
Washington, DC:
Hello Courtland,
I'm Brandon Green's Mom. He just turned 17 last week. I must say, if the number of calls we received trying to track us down as a result of your article is any indication of your readership, you should be sitting pretty for as long as you'd like at the Post. Anyway, he sent you a message last night. Thanks for all of the insight you have shared with the "greater" Washington about who the real Washingtonians are in this city, and what makes our lives here so interesting and touching. You've been "keeping it real" long before these young folks ever coined the phrase! washingtonpost.com:
"A 7-Year-Old's Plea for Sanity" (Jan. 3, 1993)
Courtland Milloy: Hi Brandon Green's mom!! Its so great to hear from you; your son will be featured in an update very soon. See, this is the kind of thing that makes me love this job. You put the word out that you're looking for a kid that you haven't talked to in 10 years, since he was seven years old! And the calls go out and the next thing you know, I'm talking to him and his mom.
Washington, D.C.:
I've noticed that you take some, if not most, of the pictures that run with your column yourself. Any particular reason why, when the Post has such a huge staff of photographers?
Courtland Milloy: Glad you noticed. The Post photographers are much better than I am, but the paper work takes too long and if something more pressing than my column comes up they cancel on me. Nothing I hate worst than having a bunch of kids waiting for their picture to be taken so they can be in the next days paper and not have a photog show up because some high government official is holding a press conference. So I decided to take them myself.
Washington, D.C.:
Living as a crack addict for over 13 years, I was wondering if you could give me some guidance on writing 'the story' of being a woman on the streets, getting stabbed, shot, raped, etc? I'd really like to do this. P. Morgan
Courtland Milloy: Call me at the Post, and we can talk about it.
Maryland:
Regarding your inaugural column, it's fascinating to watch Marion Barry still making news 20 years later. I live many miles outside the Beltway and I find that many people here only know Barry from the infamous FBI video. If I mention his racial divisiveness or his cronyism, I get blank stares. It's a shame that more people don't have a fuller picture of the District's best-known politician.
Courtland Milloy: Maybe he'll write a book.
Washington, D.C.:
Mr. Milloy:
Last week the City Paper wrote a story about city council member David Catania. It seems to me that he would be an excellent candidate for mayor, and would do a great job serving all the residents of the city.
However, it seems that the underlying prejudices of the majority black city would never elect a gay white Republican, no matter how good he would be for black and white alike.
What do you think?
Courtland Milloy: Not true. Lots of white people get elected in D.C. and nobody gives a hoot if they are straight or gay. I think what the city is looking for, what Marion Barry recognized the city was looking for as well, are politicans who are more caring and compassionate.
washingtonpost.com:
Thanks for joining us today, Courtland Milloy. We look forward to sharing in your reminiscing throughout the coming weeks.
Courtland Milloy: Hey, my pleasure. And just let me leave you all with my email: milloyc@washpost.com. Have a nice day.
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