And yet Williams remains something of an enigma to many black community leaders east of the Anacostia River who are increasingly worried that their part of town might be left behind as Williams's vision of an economic rebirth in the District continues to unfold, drawing whites back into the city. Many of them do credit Williams for establishing several economic development goals for their part of town, lobbying against a proposed prison there and implementing an anti-crime plan. They even liked Williams's idea to relocate UDC, because Anacostia is where the mayor wanted to move the Northwest Washington school. But community leaders look around their neighborhoods and don't see much change. And although race is a hot topic in their community, they don't hear much about it from One Judiciary Square.
Race is . . .
You can't just turn the administration of this city over to young white boys and expect people to say all is fine and dandy. There is a distance between the administrators and people they are supposed to be serving. It's show-me time. Howard Croft, an official with the D.C. Center for Community Change, said Williams should be praised for restoring the integrity and image of D.C. government but must do more to convince people in underdeveloped neighborhoods that he cares about them. He has to move beyond the talk and come up with programs that will benefit all people.