LANGLEY PARK:YOUTH AND THE NEIGHBORHOOD

William John Hanna with The 1998 Langley Park Project Research Team

INTRODUCTION

The neighborhood of Langley Park is the subject of this monographic report on current conditions and future possibilities. The primary foci are the possibilities for improving the education of young people and enhancing the residents' sense of community.

Langley Park

Langley Park is an unincorporated neighborhood in Prince George's County, Maryland, located approximately seven miles northwest of the White House. Its 20,000 residents, the vast majority of them recent immigrants and their family members, are concentrated within an area that is less than one square mile. It is one of the more densely populated neighborhoods in Washington's metropolitan area.

Most of the immigrants are Latinos with national origins in Central America, primarily El Salvador. Consequently, the language of the home and street is Spanish. Constable (1997) writes that many residents "speak little English, travel mostly by bus and toil unobtrusively near the bottom of the American economy. Their paths cross constantly, but their lives are too fluid to build a community...."

Of course, not all of the residents are Latinos. Scores of countries throughout the world have contributed to the population. On the street, one can hear conversations in French, Khmer, Vietnamese, Yoruba, and other languages, and the English one hears is spoken in a variety of styles.

When the Langley Park neighborhood was first developed, after World War II, is was almost entirely European-American. By the early 1980s, African-Americans were in the majority. Now, it is predominantly immigrant Latino. However, the population continues to change; over the past few years, a new immigrant group, Jamaicans, have been moving in.

Most of Langley Park's current residents entered the United States in the 1980s. A majority of the newcomers appear to have entered the country legally. In addition, several thousand of them are in temporary status as "refugees" from the civil war that raged in El Salvador during the 1980s, and an additional several thousand residents are "undocumented" -- i.e., they are in the country without the necessary legal papers.

The immigrant residents tend not to be well-educated and to have household incomes that are only about two-thirds of the county's average. Suggestive is the fact that approximately half of the neighborhood's school children in K through 3 grades are classified as "limited English proficient," and three-quarters of these schools' children qualify for free or reduced price meals. Consequently, there are many conversations about the needs for better education and more jobs. The residents are also vulnerable to crime; the neighborhood's rate is comparatively high. Thus another prominent subject is the problematic policing; residents do not think they get satisfactory protection or respect.

Langley Park is in part a reflection of America's expanding foreign-born population. In 1970 the U.S. population was 4.8% foreign-born, and the vast majority of the neighborhood's residents were native-born. By 1980 the national figure was 6.2%, and it increased to 7.9% in 1990 and 9.3% in 1996 (Hansen and Faber 1997). The latter percentage amounts to 24.6 million people nationally. The percentage and number of Langley Park's foreign-born population have moved in the same direction although much more dramatically. By 1997, well over half of the current residents of the neighborhood were foreign-born.

Of course, not all predominantly-immigrant neighborhoods are the same. Langley Park is distinctive in several respects. Perhaps of greatest importance, it is in many ways isolated from the larger metropolitan area -- and mainstream America -- due to the barriers of language, physical characteristics, safety (from criminals and police officers), and economic resources. Some of the residents often feel, in the words of Rivera and Erlich (1992), "surrounded and under siege" having a "sense of isolation." The word "ghetto" sometimes comes to mind.

Most residents speak Spanish (and most of them are not fluent in English), their neighborhood is bounded by parkland, jurisdictional boundaries, and a main street, most of them are identifiable as neither European-American nor African-American, they confront serious problems of safety from criminals and sometimes officials, and they face the challenges experienced by members of the working- or under-class. Furthermore, they neither have the small business niche of many Asian-Americans nor the government opportunities available to many African-Americans

Most of the residents come from El Salvador or other Central American countries. These countries are poor and dangerous, and therefore not attractive as alternative places in which to live. Many of the residents would like to move to "better" and safer neighborhoods but do not have the economic and other resources to do so. Some of the residents are undocumented or soon will be; they entered the country during the terrible civil wars of the 1980s and then began families and lives here.

Three Neighborhood Sections

Langley Park has three somewhat different sections. The northern portion of the neighborhood is residential, and it is primarily working class with some middle class residents. Most of the housing is or was single-family. (Some of the houses have been divided or are shared with suite or room rentals.) Within this section is a very rich mixture of national and ethnic backgrounds, including some elderly European-American women who have resided in the area for almost five decades. Among the newcomers are Asians and Latinos. There are, for instance, a number of families from such countries as Cambodia, Vietnam, El Salvador, and Venezuela. The streets of this neighborhood are relatively quiet with little crime and a scattering of late-model cars.

By contrast, the southern residential portion of the neighborhood has a mixture of working and underclass residents. Some of the apartments are beautifully maintained and decorated inside, whereas others seem to be temporary sleeping spaces for several families or a group of up to ten workmen. Most residents are Latino, and a smaller minority is composed of African-Americans, Africans, and others. This is the area of relatively high crime, especially involving drug sales. Several apartment house units are used for prostitution.

The commercial section of Langley Park is at the southeastern edge, along and near University Boulevard. It includes units of such major regional and national stores as CVS Pharmacy and Toys R Us, as well as smaller multi-unit establishments such as Americana Grocery (a Latino store) and Pho 75 (a Vietnamese pho-soup restaurant).

Strengths, Weaknesses, Actions

Langley Park has many appealing strengths. Its young residents are hard-working and ambitious, the neighborhood is surrounded on one side by a beautiful park with a stream and on the other side by a major thoroughfare with hundreds of stores and other businesses, and it is connected to the rest of the metropolitan area by good roads and bus routes.

The people of Langley Park also face a number of challenges, including functionally inadequate education, a lack of community solidarity, and problematic security. The neighborhood is located in a county that neither has great wealth nor has priorities that are favorable to needed change.

In the core pages of the 1998 report, we explore a set of issues related to the possibilities for neighborhood change. These include improving public educational outcomes by means of non-denominational after-school church support and more effective English-language training, developing after-school recreational programs to provide supervised activities and educational mentoring, enhancing safe opportunities for walking and bicycling to facilitate mobility and contribute to community interaction, creating a pedestrian mainstreet within the neighborhood to support a richer sociocultural community life, and creating a mechanism to improve local business development and therefore increase the jobs open to local residents.

Of course, there are other issues yet to be addressed. Among these are the following: there is no effective neighborhood organization, county and state political support is weak, and the so-called system of "community policing" has not significantly engaged neighborhood residents.

The authors of this report hope that ideas will be followed by actions. Indeed, we are pleased to report that some positive actions have already taken place. Several churches have agreed to support a non-denominational after-school program, a soccer program has been launched for 100 neighborhood school children, and a program for obtaining bicycles for young people will soon be in place. As the Langley Park Project moves forward, we are committed to a future of positive action.

CONCLUSION: ACTION LANGLEY PARK

Changes

The Governor of the State of Maryland and/or the Prince George's County Executive could provide the needed leadership that would help to make the possibilities into actualities. Of course, these leaders have not yet done so. The reason is that political leaders make political decisions, and political decisions are largely based upon linkage to political support. Unfortunately, the residents of Langley Park are not yet politically active; the neighborhood's voting turnout is light, and the residents' voices are rarely heard in decisionmaking chambers. There is even light participation in neighborhood meetings, and nascent neighborhood associations have not gained strength. The only gatherings of significance numbers of residents are the Sunday Catholic services organized by St. Camillus Church and held in the gymnasium of the Langley Park - McCormick Elementary School. These services remain apolitical.

Local Political Passivity

Were the residents of Langley Park active and influential, some of the change possibilities we have explored would soon be in place. What, then, is the reason for the apparent passivity? There are a number of factors that appear to contribute to the situation.

One factor is transience. The movement of residents in and out of the neighborhood impairs the development of a sense of community; if a person doesn't see a residential situation as long-term, she or he isn't likely to invest in the neighborhood. Of course, there are residents who have lived in Langley Park for decades. At a recent neighborhood meeting held to share the ideas presented in this report, one of the residents present moved to Langley Park in 1951. However, a majority of the residents are relative newcomers (arriving in the late 1980s or in the 1990s), and most of these newcomers plan either to move to a "better" neighborhood in the United States or to return to their country of origin. Such plans do not always materialize, but they do limit one's local commitment.

A second factor is fear of officials. Many of the residents of Langley Park fear government and politicians as well as crime and criminals. They learned this fear through bitter experiences in their home countries and perhaps some bitter experiences in the United States. The fear of officialdom was clearly manifested during the 1990 census activities in the neighborhood. According to informal reports, many residents did not open their doors to census-takers or respond to mailings. The census is a government activity, and governments can be harmful in many ways. That is especially the case for immigrants who do not feel that their residency is secure; deportation is the constant concern of many documented and undocumented immigrants.

There is ambiguous attitude towards the police: more police officers are able to improve the protection of residents from criminal activity, but police officers and other enforcement personnel (e.g., working with the INS) are able to prevent desired activities as well as to harass or arrest people not engaged in criminal activities. Police harassment and even brutality are not unknown within the county. A Law Enforcement News report on Manchester, Connecticut, carries this quotation, relevant to Langley Park, from a community police officer: "These people do not feel comfortable enough to call and have the 'government' act."

Third, security is a concern. Langley Park is in many ways typical of other working and under-class immigrant neighborhoods in that the rates of crime are relatively high. Crack cocaine and other drugs are relatively easy to purchase along 14th Avenue or in some of the apartment-grounds areas hidden from public view. Of course, the money associated with drug-sales catalyzes other criminal activity. The rate of robbery is relatively high, in part because most residents have cash rather than bank accounts. There are some gangs in Langley Park, although they have not yet become a serious threat. Nevertheless, drug-sales, robberies, and gangs engender fears on the part of residents. Consequently, nighttime activities such as neighborhood meetings must face this hurdle.

Time is a fourth factor. Going to a neighborhood meeting to plan change or even to a police station to report a crime takes valuable time away from one's work and/or family. Members of the working class are least likely to be able to afford such time. We know many adult residents of Langley Park who work long, hard days (often on several jobs) and come home to care for their otherwise unsupervised children. To attend a meeting or go to a government office is a luxury they cannot afford. Additionally, they may be too tired to go out after work.

The lack of community space is our final factor. There are few places within the neighborhood that provide opportunities for social interaction and community formation. The neighborhood's elementary school staff does not encourage PTA or other community activities; the building called the "community center" is primarily a location for senior citizens and park administrators rather than an active center for a community; and the Boys and Girls Club mainly caters to young out-of-neighborhood African-Americans. The outdoor spaces for social interaction are few, and they are not designed for such activity. There is no central plaza or other public gathering place, and outdoor groups are sometimes broken up by police action seeking to prevent unwanted behavior.

The lack of inviting community space is the reason for one of the proposals in this report. It is in line with a trend in the Washington suburbs. A recent article in The Washington Post documents the trend, stating in part: "...towns centers such as Shirlington's are popping up. Even among neighborhood activists who are fighting growth, town centers -- those cheery community gathering places for eating, shopping and entertainment -- are the exception that win support" (Fehr 1998). The relevance to a neighborhood such as Langley Park is made explicit: "...the concept is generally a winner because town centers highlight walking, face-to-face contact with neighbors and locally oriented stores...". A planner quoted by Fehr is on the mark: "Town centers offer each community a vibrant heart."

Our proposed roundabout at Merrimac Drive and 14th Avenue and a pedestrian mainstreet along 14th Avenue would begin to address the need. It has also been proposed to create a "town center" at the northeast corner of New Hampshire Avenue and University Boulevard, in unused parking space; however, the property owner has not yet favorably responded to this possibility. Perhaps the concern is criminal activity; however, a sense of community will almost certainly help in the fight against crime. The exact location of a centerplace for Langley Park, of course, is less important that its creation and the contribution it will make to the development of a community.

The Need for Activism

Information may be a first step. To this end, the Editor-in-Chief of the regional Latino newspaper, La Naci¤n, has increased his publication's focus on Langley Park, and the Langley Park Project's Barrio de Langley Park continues to be published several times a year. The present report and its prior sister publications have also contributed to the visibility of Langley Park and its neighbors within Maryland's International Corridor.

A supportive step can come from the individuals and organizations in a position to contribute a better environment for community action. Such organizations as the Takoma-Langley Crossroads Development Authority, the Maryland International Corridor Community Development Corporation, CASA de Maryland, the Langley Park Project, and the various governmental units can make contributions.

Perhaps a key governmental unit with a potential to contribute is the police. Currently, local police practice tends to emphasize responding and arresting, and patrolling in vehicles; there is little community policing in the conventional sense of the term. Real community policing, "a collaboration between the police and the community" (Skolnick and Bayley 1988) emphasizing partnership and prevention, would help to create the needed environment.

The most important step must be local activism. In the early 1980s and again in the mid-1990s, associations of residents existed within the neighborhood. However, the factors working against activism prevailed, and some of the older leadership has moved away. The result is described by a Buck Lodge Middle School student (Cerpas 1998):

Today, there are positive business changes in the area. We have a new McDonald's and a new Taco Bell, and soon we will have a new international grocery store. These companies can be a great asset to our area, and I hope they will help us. But we need more than that.

What we really need is people working together as members of a community. Without the efforts of people who live here, there will be no community. So come on: help your neighborhood. Let's make the community of Langley Park rise again.

The chances for positive changes in Langley Park benefitting its residents depend, as Cerpas states, upon "people working together as members of a community." Outsiders who are friends of Langley Park can be of help, but the driving force must be the residents themselves. This driving force must be led by a local organization of people committed to an improved quality of life for all of the neighborhood's residents. We hope that this report contributes to the needed effort. And to quote Cerpas once more, "Let's make the community of Langley Park rise again."

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