Muriel Bowser

Go-Go Becomes Official Music of DC

DC Mayor Muriel Bowser
NBCWashington

D.C.’s mayor signed a bill Wednesday making go-go the official music of Washington.

For years, the District has observed Chuck Brown, celebrating the Godfather of Go-Go, who helped create the sound in D.C.

“Today, we’re going to let the world know that go-go is D.C.,” Mayor Muriel Bowser said.

The bill signing comes almost a year after the “Don’t Mute D.C.” movement began.

Washingtonians rallied in protest in early April after a Metro PCS store in Shaw was asked to silence the go-go it had been playing from speakers at the corner of 7th Street and Florida Avenue NW for almost 25 years after new neighbors complained about the noise.

The hashtag #DontMuteDC spread quickly, prompting a massive rally of protesters at the intersection of 14th and U streets April 9.

The response from locals prompted the company's CEO to intervene, saying "the music should not stop in D.C." and asking the dealer that operated the Shaw Metro PCS to work with neighbors to compromise on the volume of the music.

Then in May, the Moechella demonstration at 14th and U sent a message of unity and identity, as native Washingtonians celebrated the spirit of go-go music and peacefully protested the effects of gentrification on historically black neighborhoods of D.C. Organizers said more than 3,000 Washingtonians attended.

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