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|Washington: Nation's largest Ethiopian community carves niche |
|By Brian Westley, Associated Press |
|WASHINGTON — Inside Dukem, one of the city's best-known Ethiopian restaurants, the bustle on the street seems far removed as |
|burning incense mingles with the aroma of spicy stews. |
|On a small stage, performers in sequined white gowns thump on drums and sing traditional music from the East African nation. |
|Patrons sitting nearby use their fingers — no forks here — to tear into spongy pancakes and scoop up exotic cuisine such as |
|awaze tibs, which is lamb marinated with jalapeno, tomato and garlic. |
|A new ethnic identity is taking root in a once-decaying neighborhood not far from the White House, where 10 Ethiopian |
|restaurants are clustered together and dingy storefronts are now splashed with bright hues of blues, yellows and reds. |
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| IF YOU GO ... |
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|[pic]Little Ethiopia: Ninth Street between U and T streets NW, Washington. Nearest Metro stop: U Street on the Green Line. |
|Information about effort to formally rename the area at . |
|[pic]Dukem Restaurant: 1114-1118 U St., NW; or (202) 667-8735. Entrees, $10.95 and up. |
|[pic]Sodere Restaurant: 1930 Ninth St., NW, or (202) 234-2425. Entrees, $7.95 and up. |
|[pic]Other local Ethiopian restaurants: Roha, Madjet, U Turn, Etete, Queen Makeda, Abiti, Axum, Salome. |
|[pic]Ethiopian Embassy: or (202) 364-1200. |
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|"You feel like you're in your own country when you come here," said Tefera Zewdie, the owner of Dukem, who left Ethiopia as a |
|teenager 20 years ago. |
|The Washington region has the world's biggest Ethiopian community outside of Africa, according to the Ethiopian Embassy. The |
|2000 Census reports 15,000 Ethiopians have settled in the Washington area. But the embassy and those who study African |
|immigration argue that number is far too low, saying the actual number is closer to 200,000. |
|Now this growing ethnic group wants to be recognized in the city by naming a street "Little Ethiopia." |
|But the location — near U Street — faces resistance from some in the community who want to preserve the area's historic |
|significance. Before riots erupted in the 1960s, the area was known as America's "Black Broadway" because of its thriving |
|black-owned jazz clubs, shops and theaters. |
|"They're trying to erase us," said longtime city resident Ora E. Drummer. "This community was built by African-Americans. I |
|would never go to Ethiopia and name it 'Duke Ellington Way,'" she said. Ellington, an influential jazz musician, was a native of|
|Washington and is closely linked with the neighborhood's history. |
|Kinuthia Macharia, a sociology professor at American University, said he believes the special ethnic designation is more about |
|the potential economic benefit for business owners, rather than an attempt by Ethiopians to elbow out other cultures. |
|"If you go to San Francisco or New York, people tell you about Chinatown," Macharia said. "In addition to eating, you visit |
|businesses," giving them more exposure and raising their profile. |
|There is already a Little Ethiopia in Los Angeles on Fairfax Avenue between Olympic and Pico boulevards. The area has many |
|Ethiopian businesses and restaurants. |
|A formal designation in Washington would be welcomed by Senedu Zewdie, Tefera's sister. Last spring, she decided to open her own|
|restaurant, Sodere, a few blocks away from Dukem. On a recent weekday afternoon the restaurant was nearly empty — but she says |
|the crowds pick up on weekends. |
|Designating the area Little Ethiopia, she said, would make it more of a destination for tourists who might otherwise ignore that|
|section of Washington. |
|Opponents include community activist Deairich "Dee" Hunter, who claims the campaign is the work of a "small group of people who |
|are obsessed" with the idea. But several thousand people have signed a petition circulated in support of the name change, said |
|Tamrat Medhin, who is leading the effort to hang signs that say Little Ethiopia, or something similar, on Ninth Street between U|
|and T streets. |
|"The Ethiopian community came in and moved in when people were afraid to come to the neighborhood," said Medhin, who chairs the |
|Ethiopian-American Constituency Foundation. His idea has the support of District of Columbia Councilman Jim Graham, who |
|represents the neighborhood. |
|Graham said he favors the idea of Little Ethiopia because of the immigrants' significant contributions. Besides restaurants, |
|Ethiopians also have opened churches, hair salons and a community services center. |
|"Anything we do that underscores the multicultural nature of where we live ... is fine with me," said Graham, who spent about a |
|month in Africa last year to learn more about the people he represents. |
|Many Ethiopians began arriving in the United States after a military coup in the 1970s, said Hermela Kebede, the leader of |
|Washington's Ethiopian Community Center, which assists newcomers by helping them find housing and offering English classes. |
|She said the presence of the embassy is a big reason Ethiopians initially decided to settle in Washington. Now, the community |
|has grown so large it has its own Ethiopian Yellow Pages. |
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|Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or |
|redistributed. |
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