Amid rising juvenile arrests, a “blooming” arts nonprofit gives D.C. youth a voice

Note: This article was originally written in Oct 2023 as a graduate school assignment.

Community members are expressing growing discomfort around rising crime rates in D.C., particularly ones police say are conducted by young people. 

But while the city seeks solutions, Columbia Heights non-profit Bloombars prides itself on being a sanctuary where youth can experience healing through art.  

Baba Ras D., 58, is a local author, speaker, performer, and behavioral modification specialist who hosts “The Harambee Experience” at Bloombars. In his monthly shows, he drums and sings animatedly about “passing the peace” before an audience of hopping toddlers and entranced babies.

Few might guess that Ras D’s skills as a children’s performer are informed by his experience as a corrections officer, but he insists that the overlap between his previous and current roles is rooted in trust.

“I built the capacity of trust with those who had lost their balance,” Baba Ras D said about his interactions with inmates. Ras D believes that “very few people” have the intention “to be trustworthy, to be trusted, because they have already been betrayed.” 

According to the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), 363 juveniles were arrested in D.C. for violent crimes in the first six months of 2023, a stark contrast to 2022 data showing 326 juveniles arrests over the course of the year. 

“You have to ask yourself in societies that are all gone astray: what do you think is the agenda of the leaders of those societies? And how are they involved in being a problem solver?” Ras D said.

In September, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser imposed a curfew under which anyone below the age of 17 out past 11 p.m. is to be taken by police to the Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services (DYRS) and reunited with a parent or guardian. The curfew is to be enforced only within the wards that MPD has determined to be of particular concern in regard to juvenile criminal conduct. 

That month, Bloombars was finally registered as a 501c3 since its opening in 2008, which, in the words of Director of Advancement Noni Ford, marks a new era of “blooming.” Ford, 28, is currently exploring the ways in which the volunteer-run nonprofit can connect to youth being impacted by the effects of gentrification. 

“It's almost like a [systemic] problem at this point,” Ford said about the rising juvenile crime. “The more kids that we can pull out of that autopilot… the better.” 

Ford is certain that the process of building a more robust range of programming for youth is only just beginning. The venue just hosted its first open mic for teenagers in partnership with the Duke Ellington School of the Arts on September 30. 

Like Ford, Ras D also sees the rise in juvenile crime as a systemic issue rooted in feelings of powerlessness and distrust in leadership. 

Still, Bloombars provides hope.

“When you have a systemic situation as someone's breaking down, and no one feels they're being nurtured -- their dreams, their thoughts, their ideas, their hopes and desires, you're gonna find this hopelessness going about,” Ras D said. “[Bloombars] is a place for us to bring our children to celebrate learning through movement and song, celebrate diversity, celebrate the spirit of one common unity and utilize creativity as an alternative to violence.”