HCWDC Funded Documentary to Air on WETA, Monday September 16

"The Bayou: DC's Killer Joint" documents the history of an iconic DC night club and music venue!

On Monday, September 16, the memory of one of DC's most storied music venues will be resurrected on the small screen! Tune in to WETA at 10pm EDT to watch this Council-funded documentary! 

Check out the full documentary description on the producers' website, or read the Washington post review!

WETA programming schedule. 

U Street Businesses Old and New Honored

Video of the Discussion is Available on HCTV

Last week, on May 18th, the Humanities Council organized its first Washington, DC Great Streets event. The program honors historic businesses along Washington's storied commercial corridors and newcomers adding their own unique contributions. The inaugural event was called Celebrating U Street, and Nizam Ali of Ben's Chili Bowl, Richard Lee of Lee's Flower and Card Shop, and Suman Sorg of Sorg Architects comprised the panel of honorees. The group discussed the changes that have taken place along the U Street corridor in recent years, and reflected on old memories. The discussion was moderated by author Blair E. Ruble, whose recent book, Washington's U Street: a Biography, explores the impact of change and population movement with an approachable, biographical style.

Dr. Ruble confessed that his impetus for writing the book came from grating discussions with people from outside the Washington area who persistently referred to the capital as “not a real city.” Ruble's historical research and interviews with longtime residents clearly disprove this myth, and his work is replicable for most of Washington's neighborhoods, many of which rival the greater U Street area in the depth and richness of their collective memory and culture. 

Both Lee and Ali recalled a U Street that was very much a village in a small southern town. The families who owned businesses in the area were often interconnected, and they interacted with the public on a very personal level. The Industrial Bank, like Ben's and Lee's has been a fixture in the community for many years. Nizam's mother, a teller at the bank, met her husband in the area before they founded their now-iconic restaurant, and Richard Lee fondly recalled Ms. Ali allowing him to come to the front of the line as a small boy making deposits for his parents' shop. While the area has seen much change, both good and bad, Lee believes that the new residents' interest in attending community events has kept some of the close-knit character of the neighborhood intact. Sorg believes that the area would benefit from urban improvements that would encourage more foot traffic and more individual interactions between neighbors. Her firm is also responsible for many of the architectural preservation projects in the area.

The discussion and presentation of awards can be viewed on HCTV, the Humanities Council's Youtube Channel. The well-preserved culture of DC's neighborhoods, coupled with its residents long-term collective memory seem to suggest that the Humanities Council will have no trouble continuing the Washington, DC Great Streets program along other major commercial corridors across the city. Does your neighborhood have an eclectic mix of businesses, both new and old, along its great streets? Mt. Pleasant, MLK, Georgia Ave, M Street, 12th Street NE, Minnesota Ave. Let us know where we should hold the next discussion!

Post Article Examines New Stone Carving on the Mall

For Stone Carvers, Their Profession is Their Tradition

During the late 1980s, the Humanities Council funded a documentary film project on the dedicated craftsmen who carved the hundreds of gargoyles, statues, and architectural embellishments adorning the National Cathedral. The film called The Stone Carvers was produced by Marjorie Hunt and Paul Wagner, and is available at a number of local libraries. Because stone carving is such a high-skill profession, requiring years to master, the expertise is usually passed down from parent to child. This was certainly the case for many of the carvers featured in Hunt and Wagner's documentary, but, according to a recent Washington Post article it holds true for the craftsmen steadily chipping away at the new Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial scheduled to open this Summer.

According to writer Brett Zonger, at least one of the carvers working on the MLK memorial is continuing in the tradition of his father and grandfather. Though Nicholas Benson and his ancestors did not work on the National Cathedral, it is fair to say that they, more than most, have literally carved Washington. Benson's grandfather carved portions of the Iwo Jima Memorial just across the Potomac in Arlington, his father worked on the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, and Benson carved inscriptions on the World War II Memorial.

Benson relishes the opportunity to leave his mark on history, and seems to have gained a deep, personal connection with the words of Dr. King. The total number of letters comprising the inscriptions is 2,085, and each one takes Benson an hour to complete, so it stands to reason that he and his colleagues will have had plenty of time to carefully reflect on these memorable quotations by the time they complete the project.

Some of the carvers in Hunt and Wagner's documentary confessed that they viewed their profession as one on the verge of extinction. Mechanization and changing architectural styles have decreased the need for hand carved pieces. But on the Mall in Washington, as long as there are heroes to immortalize, and histories to transform into legends, it seems there will be a place for the artisan mason – master carvers.

Check out the Post article for more on Benson and his work on the MLK Memorial.

Thanksgiving and the Humanities

A Holiday Steeped in Tradition, Characterized by Acts of Compassion, Serving as a Waypoint in Time and Memory

In the United States, Thanksgiving is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November, and it's an occasion typically marked by poultry feasts, team sports, and frenetic shopping sprees. In the District of Columbia, there are many opportunities to take part in these holiday customs, but certainly there has to be something different about the way such a unique city celebrates Turkey Day. It's likely that many will dispense with their typical holiday traditions to distribute food to the less fortunate; some will shepherd out-of-town family and friends to perpetually open museums and attractions, and many will find themselves at work celebrating in spirit.

The First Thanksgiving, Jean Leon Gerome Ferris

At the HCWDC, our staff, board, grantees, and project partners will likely be participating in some of these universal or DC specific activities, but chances are, we will also be considering how the humanities relate to this beloved holiday. A holiday complicated by the blurring of historical narrative and literary trope. A holiday that paradoxically encourages gluttony and sharing. It is a secular holiday, but it draws heavily on the religious traditions and philosophies shared by a multitude of cultures from around the world. Perhaps the closest link between the Thanksgiving holiday and the Humanities is in collective memory derived from tradition, remembrance, and commemoration.

Oral history narrators almost always describe community celebrations in their interviews because, no less than an historic building or landmark, the dining rooms of parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles, can serve as sites of memory, that anchor people's perceptions of the past. Thanksgiving is often a time for family and friends to recite what they are thankful for, and share a memorable meal. For many it may be a rare opportunity for dispersed relatives to come together and remember old times, loved ones who have passed, and to speculate about the future of succeeding generations. It is these powerfully emotional and widely practiced traditions that make Thanksgiving a place-in-time around which shared heritage develops.

The Humanities Council would like to thank everyone who has helped promote the humanities in DC this year. The study of the humanities is not simply an enriching or edifying pursuit of knowledge – though it is that as well - but it has the power to be transformative on a large scale. Even Thanksgiving takes on a new meaning when viewed through the lens of history and memory. Are you thankful for the humanities in DC? Let us know how the humanities have affected your life by commenting on this post or emailing Jasper Collier, the HCWDC Curator of the DC Digital Museum at jcollier[at]wdchumanities[dot]com.

Fifteen Minutes with Erin Derge and Kristen Swenson of Ginger Root Design

HCWDC INTERN ASHLEY PORTILLO INTERVIEWS THE CREATIVE MINDS (AND HANDS) BEHIND THE REVAMP REWEAR ECO-FRIENDLY FASHION LINE

Erin Derge and Kristen Swenson will preview their fall fashion line and answer your questions on Monday, November 15th at "Green is the New Black: Eco-Consciousness is in Style" at Ray's the Steaks at East River, 6:30 p.m. $30 for Dinner and Biodynamic Wine! Register now!

See photos from Ashley's visit on our Facebook page 

Q: How did you become interested in sewing and fashion?

Erin: I guess it goes back to when I was younger. My grandma taught me how to quilt. There’s actually a picture on that wall of me when I was seven years old, at a sewing machine.

Kristen: My grandma gave me a sewing machine when I was young. I grew up on a farm so there wasn’t much to do (laughs). I would spend most of my time tearing up old jeans and making new things out of them. I remember grabbing an old shower curtain and making a bag out of it with used CDs on the pockets!

Erin: Yeah, I got in trouble a lot for cutting up my brother’s clothes and making pieces for my Barbie dolls! And I would even go to school wearing some weird outfits that I had sewn stuff onto, without my mom knowing (laughs). 

Q: How did you find the space for Ginger Root Design?

Erin: Word of mouth. The business community is very supportive here on U Street.

Kristen: We were next door talking to our friends who own their own business and they suggested this space, which was available at the time. It’s like a big family. We’re in each other’s stores a lot; it’s really nice. Everyone pops in all the time (laughs).

Q: What does your clothing line ReVamp, ReWear mean to you?

Erin: Recycling and also finding a way of unique self expression.

Kristen: Looking in your closet and asking yourself, “What do I have in my closet that I can transform into something wearable again?” We were actually thinking about naming our line “Interchangeable Parts” because our philosophy is similar to an automobile, in which you can interchange the parts. The name was such a mouthful though, so we changed it to ReVamp ReWear (laughs).

Q: Why is it important to include men’s apparel in your line?

Erin: I was especially interested in including men’s clothing because in DC, men don’t have a lot of options. I think there are a lot of men who are trying to get away from the Capitol Hill reputation.

Kristen: I agree. I think men don’t have a lot of options here and it’s cool to bring something new to the table.

Erin: When we go to estate sales, we buy all the stuff that is in horrible condition- the stuff no one else wants - we rescue these damaged items.

Kristen: Completely rescuing items that you would never think would be wearable again. We rework our men’s ties and make them wearable again. 

Erin: We’ve been making a lot of clothing for women using menswear, especially men’s pants because the fabrics are great. But now, we’re creating men’s clothes from women’s clothes. Recently, we made men’s shorts for this weekend’s Tweed Ride from a skirt!

Q: What served as your inspiration for mixing fashion with green practices?

Kristen: We started to become aware of what a wasteful industry this is.

Erin: Like, you look at a shirt that costs ten dollars but, really, there are many more costs to the environment and the people who made that shirt.

Kristen: For me, it was when I found out polyester is the same material used to make water bottles. Thinking about all of that waste and where it’s ending up made me think, “There is no way I can be a part of that.” I had to make the choice between either finding a different field to work in or trying to change it.

Q: What is one thing that you have done in the past couple of years to become more ‘green’?

Erin: Opening this business! (laughs) Also, biking and eating from the farmer’s market. You buy food from the people who grew it, which is great. I also use public transportation, I walk everywhere, and I use reusable bags.

Kristen: I’d never been able to get into going to farmer’s markets regularly, but now that I’m in DC, I go all the time. I’m definitely more conscious about purchasing local food and supporting local farmers.

Q: Tell me about the Tweed Ride going on this Sunday.

Kristen: Everyone dresses up in tweed and fall colors. It’s a very light-hearted event where everyone rides their bikes together. This year they’re showing bike-friendly fashion lines and we’ll be showcasing our new fall collection from ReVamp ReWear. (Pieces from their bike-friendly collection will be on view at Monday's "Green is the New Black" event)

Mingle with Erin Derge and Kristen Swenson on Monday, November 15 at the World House Series event, 

"Green is the New Black: Eco-Consciousness is in Style" at Ray's the Steaks at East River, 6:30 p.m. $30 for Dinner and Biodynamic Wine! Register now!

Also meet, Trayce McQuirter M.P.H., who will be signing copies of her book, "By Any Greens Necessary: A Revolutionary Guide for Black Women Who Want to Eat Great, Get Healthy, Lose Weight, and Look Phat." Mariessa Terrell, Esq., founder of Simone Butterfly will moderate the discussion.

For more information on the Humanities Council’s World House Series: The Philosophy of Green, visit http://www.wdchumanities.org/.