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Today is Saturday, November 18th. My name is Daiki Tsumagari. Do I have your permission to record this interview? Yes, can he record you? No. And can you please tell me your name?

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My name is Raford M. Q. Seymour III. My name is... What's your name? What is yours?

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No, what is your name? Mau. Mau. Can you tell me if you live in Petworth? Are you from D.C.?

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I am a native Washingtonian. I actually live in the next neighborhood over, Manor Park. I grew up there and I currently stay about four blocks from my parents' home who still live there. I grew up in this neighborhood. My elementary school is down the street. It was called St. Gabriel Elementary School. Now it's a charter school. And in your experience, how has Petworth changed over time? Petworth has changed a lot. Growing up, it was just a different mix. Majority black, now it's become more diverse. A lot of the restaurants that are on this street didn't exist growing up. Of note, there's like one carryout that we used to go to after school. But I think it's changing for-changing for the better. I really enjoy the things that it offers and the different activities that I can bring my son to. Do you think that there's been anything lost as a result of these changes? Anything gained?

00:01:58.480 - 00:03:27.480

I think that there have been some things lost. I think this neighborhood had like a, you know, like a culture. I think that's kind of deteriorated over time. I wish there had been more of like an assimilation of the new culture and the previous culture. Uh, yeah. Are there any places in Petworth that specifically you think about when you think about this community? Me personally, it had to be my elementary school. It was a Catholic elementary school. Majority black. Went there from kindergarten to eighth grade. So, it was really sad to see it change to a charter school. The school across called Clark, I think now it's called Powell. So you know, those things that hold true to memory, they've changed drastically. One of the benefits that I do like is the high school, Roosevelt High School. When I was growing up it was kind of run down. We used to have track practice there. I really like the fact that they renovated it. It brings like a source of pride to it. (To his son, sitting on his lap: How you doing?) Do you have, like, a favorite memory of your time here?

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My favorite memory is the track and field at Roosevelt. I ran track since the fifth grade. My two younger sisters ran track since kindergarten. We were on the track team called the DC Red Wings. So, I spent like my summers, fall, springs there. I made a lot of lifelong friends there. It's just something I'll always take with me. I'm hoping that one day he can run. You can run track and we'll run together, right? (Child: Yeah). Five years from now, what do you envision or what do you hope for for Petworth? Five years from now, I am hoping for the area to continue being more diverse, but I hope it, like, holds on to the culture that I grew up with. I hope they can do a better job of assimilating the two. I really like the development that's going on. I just hope that it could be more affordable for those people, for the residents who've been here for a while. Fortunately, me and my wife and son, we were able to still stay in this neighborhood. But so many of my friends and their families have been displaced just due to the higher cost of living. It's just been really expensive. Is there anything you'd like to add? Any observations about the event?

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I have to say, like, I really appreciate the event today. I think it's great, you know, bringing in people from the community. I wish that they could have like highlighted more of like the historical, like more historical references about this neighborhood. I think it'll be good for people to know, to familiarize themselves with what happened before, you know, they came here, before all this development came. Alright, thank you for sharing your story today. No problem, thank you.