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The Central District is a mostly residential district in Seattle located east of Cherry Hill, west of Madrona and Leschi, south of Capitol Hill, and north of Rainier Valley. Historically, it predominantly was an African American neighborhood, though it has become more diverse in recent years.

Demographics

The neighborhood's population is 22,200. 42.6% of residents are White or Caucasian, 36.4% are Black or African American, 7.8% Asian, 1.2% Native American, 0.5% Pacific Islander, 6.9% Hispanic, and 5.3% mixed race. 15.6% of families and 19.6% of the population are below poverty line.

Two demographic trends are changing the population of the Central District. First, the low-income segment of the African American population is moving southward toward Rainier Valley. Second, upper-middle-class, mostly white residents, who might otherwise have purchased homes on Capitol Hill or First Hill or in Madrona, are moving into the Central District as real estate and rental property become more expensive in those neighborhoods.

Due to this market pressure, housing in the Central District is mixed, with some homes on the verge of condemnation, and others having recently undergone extensive renovation. Many condemned houses are being replaced by multi-unit townhouses and condominiums. Easy access to Interstate 5 and Downtown, as well as ample street parking, also make the Central District attractive.

The African American population of the Central District has also shifted toward the more affluent end of the spectrum in recent years as home values have increased. Some older residents are moving southward into more affordable, but less convenient or more rundown neighborhoods further southeast of the city center.

Despite the gentrification, many locals still refer to the Central District as a predominantly African-American area. One possible reason for this is that despite the decline in the African-American population, blacks still have a large presence in the neighborhood. The neighborhood has the highest concentration of blacks in the state of Washington and is still home to a variety of African-American culture including several gospel churches. The neighborhood has also had a significant Ethiopian population in recent years. Some residents jokingly refer to parts of the Central District as "Little Addis Ababa" (after the capital of Ethiopia) due to the preponderance of Ethiopian restaurants in the area.

During the early 1960s, the neighborhood was a hotbed for the Seattle civil rights movement. In 1963, civil rights protesters took to the streets and protested against racial discrimination. Later, they participated in a sit-in in downtown Seattle. At the same time, the Black Panthers used the neighborhood as a staging area for their movement.

Crime

The Central District has long been known to have a high crime rate. In the 1980s and 90s, the neighborhood struggled with gang violence, most noticeably with the infamous West Coast Crips and Bloods in a similar way to Tacoma's Hilltop Neighborhood. This has declined significantly in recent years, but the Central District remains one of the most crime-ridden residential neighborhoods in Seattle.

Famous former residents

Famous residents of the neighborhood include Jimi Hendrix, Quincy Jones, and Linda Emery, the widow of Bruce Lee. All three previously attended Garfield High School, possibly Seattle's most well known school. Garfield High School is also where Emery and Lee met for the first time. Sir Mix-a-Lot also hails from the Central District and has a number of songs that acknowledge street names and important areas.

Thoroughfares

The Central District's main thoroughfares are Martin Luther King Jr. Way (formerly Empire Way; the street was renamed in late 1983 after a nearly three-year battle) and 23rd Avenue (north- and southbound) and E. Union, E. Cherry, and E. Jefferson Streets and E. Yesler Way (east- and westbound).

Landmarks and Institutions

• Central District Forum for Arts & Ideas
• Ezell's Chicken
• Garfield Community Center
• Garfield High School
• Boys & Girls Club - Rotary Branch @ 19th & Spruce
• Central Area Motivation Program

• Articles lacking sources from September 2007
• Misplaced Pages articles needing copy edit from November 2007
• Neighborhoods in Seattle