Fifteen Minutes with Cindy Janke of the Franklin School Exhibition

HCWDC INTERN, ASHLEY PORTILLO INTERVIEWS THE CURATOR OF THE FRANKLIN SCHOOL EXHIBITION

Visit http://www.franklinschooldc.org/ to learn about the Franklin School Exhibition which was held at the Historical Society of Washington, DC. Visit the Franklin School at 13th and K Streets, NW in downtown DC.  Find out more about this project at our 4th Annual DC Community Heritage Project Showcase on Wednesday, December 8. You are guaranteed to learn something new about DC at this FREE program and reception! RSVP today!. 

Q: How did you become involved in preservation?

A: Oh my God it has been thousands of years (laughs)! As a child, I remember looking at people fixing up their houses. Then when we moved to Capitol Hill in 1969 and bought an old house, I got interested in the history of my own house and those of my neighbors.

Q: Did you grow up in DC?

A: No, I grew up in upstate New York, but I’ve lived here (in DC) since 1965. So I have some views of the past and present (laughs).

Q: Tell me a little bit about the significance of the Franklin School.

A: As I worked on the exhibition, Capitol Funding, I realized its significance for this city. It is an architectural landmark and educational landmark, as far as classroom design and educational programs. It made 19th century public schools respectable when they hadn’t been. Then, I got into 20th century history and I found that a lot of civil rights battles took place at the Franklin School. I knew it was a landmark but not one where the civil rights movement had taken place.

Image Courtesy DCist.com

Q: What challenges do you face on this quest to salvage the Franklin School?

A: Well, it used to be a homeless shelter. Some people want to reopen the Franklin School as a homeless shelter again. But that doesn’t solve the plight of the homeless. It’s available, it’s space, but it doesn’t solve the problem. It’s not suitable. In reopening the space, they could find something better if they tried. Things have to move along, you can’t just freeze everything. But this is a landmark- a National Historic Landmark.


Q: What is your vision for reviving this historical landmark?

A: There’s been talk about converting it into an adult graduate school or as a UDC Law School because these don’t require gyms and ball courts like a regular school does. And the rules prohibit the construction of gyms and courts. I would like to see the Franklin School serve some sort of cultural or educational function, maybe as a non-profit. We have two headquarter schools in DC. I mean, the Sumner School is great, but what about the Franklin School? We just can’t get rid of it. Sometimes you need to put your foot down.    


All of the 2010 DCCHP grantees will be recognized at a special showcase held at the Tifereth Israel Congregation in Northwest on December 8th. The Council produced three videos, each combining a collection of grantee interviews or documentary clips that will describe the grantee projects and explain how they were developed. These videos will be shown at the Grantee Showcase, and each organization will have the opportunity to set up a display, to further explain their projects to the attendees. The DCCHP Grantee Showcase is a free, public event. Click here to register.

DCCHP project sponsors and partners include: the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service Office of Historic Preservation, the D.C. Office of Planning and Historic Preservation, the DC Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development, DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, DC Historic Preservation, and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

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.

DC Community Heritage Project Showcase on December 8th

Grantees Will Display New Contributions to Local History and Culture

In June, the Humanities Council awarded 18 DC Community Heritage Project grants to an outstanding group of organizations which worked throughout the Summer to produce a diverse collection of projects that document the history and culture of Washington, DC's neighborhoods and landmarks. The groups produced brochures, oral histories, documentary films, exhibits, and other materials and are now distributing them to the public. Each will be cataloged and digitized for the Humanities Council's DC Digital Museum, but hard copies of many of the projects will be available throughout the city.

E.B. Henderson and History of
Black Basketball in DC Brochure

The Capitol View Civic Association, and the Congress Heights Community Association each produced brochures on the history and heritage of their neighborhoods. The documents combine interviews with long-time residents, and archival research to tell the story of these two unique and ever-changing communities. Both brochures are available through the DC Digital Museum, and will be distributed on a large scale in hard copy. The Woodlawn Cemetery Perpetual Care Association created three large banners that will be exhibited throughout the city. The displays are meant to draw attention to the historic Southeast cemetery, and the notable historic figures buried there. The Tinner Hill Heritage Foundation received a grant to support The Emergence and Legacy of African American Basketball National Conference. The conference, held on November 12-13, introduced young people to Washington, DC's rich African-American basketball lineage. In 1904, Dr. E.B. Henderson, the “Godfather of Black Basketball,” returned to the District from physical education training at Harvard and introduced the relatively new sport to Washington's African-American youth. Eventually, his team, which played at the 12th Street YMCA, became the foundation for Howard University's varsity squad. The Tinner Hill Heritage Foundation produced a full color brochure for the conference which will be available in the DC Digital Museum catalog.

Capitol View Project Participants
Interviewed at the Humanities Council
Office

All of the 2010 DCCHP grantees will be recognized at a special showcase held at the Tifereth Israel Congregation in Northwest on December 8th. The Council produced three videos, each combining a collection of grantee interviews or documentary clips that will describe the grantee projects and explain how they were developed. These videos will be shown at the Grantee Showcase, and each organization will have the opportunity to set up a display, to further explain their projects to the attendees. The DCCHP Grantee Showcase is a free, public event. Click here to register.

DCCHP project sponsors and partners include: the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service Office of Historic Preservation, the D.C. Office of Planning and Historic Preservation, the DC Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development, DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, DC Historic Preservation, and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Your History of Mount Pleasant

Commercial Corridor Database Available for Public Interpretation

Image Credit: M.V. Jantzen, Flickr Mount Pleasant, DC Group Pool

Learn more about this project at our 4th Annual DC Community Heritage Project Showcase on Wednesday, December 8. You are guaranteed to learn something new about DC at this FREE program and reception! RSVP today http://bit.ly/hd8jtS. 


Mt. Pleasant's cheerful collection of bodegas, bars, and beauty salons along its main commercial thoroughfare cut a striking contrast to the national chains just two blocks east in Columbia Heights. Like the apartments and houses in the residential areas of Mt. Pleasant, the commercial corridor and the progression of businesses that have occupied its storefronts are part of a narrative of cultural change and population shift.

Historic Mount Pleasant (HMP), the local organization dedicated to preserving the architectural heritage of the neighborhood, recently received a grant from the Humanities Council of Washington, DC to create an in-depth study of the Mt. Pleasant commercial corridor. Working with records from the National Archives and Records Administration, the Washingtoniana Collection at the DC Public Library, the DC Recorder of Deeds, and the Historical Society of Washington, DC, HMP developed databases of historic building permits, and “chain of title” for historic commercial properties. The “chain of title” report lists past owners of many commercial properties from their construction to the present day.

1919 Baist Map of the
Commercial Corridor

The narrative, which largely covers the years between 1904 and 1938, depicts a bustling streetcar suburb in which “over one-third of the spaces had housed grocery stores; another 8 delicatessens; 4 bakers or confectioners, and 3 restaurants.” An additional 20 storefronts housed clothing-related businesses. The database reveals that during the early 20^th century, the commercial corridor of Mount Pleasant focused heavily on the immediate needs of neighborhood residents, and was the basis of a self-sufficient community. When Ward 1 experienced a large influx of immigrants from Central and South America after the 1960s, the character of the neighborhood changed, but the dedication to meeting the needs of a thriving urban neighborhood did not. The grocery stores and delicatessens became bodegas and tiendas latinas, and the commercial corridor reflected the diversity and dynamism of the neighborhood.

Even a brief glance at the raw data raises powerful questions about the history of the neighborhood, and about urban development in general. The largely quantitative study is available at Historic Mount Pleasant's website and the narrative is cataloged as part of the Humanities Council's DC Digital Museum. Examine the documents and let us know what questions, themes, patterns, and ideas seem to be begging for in-depth analysis. Leave a comment on the blog or write to Jasper Collier, Curator of the DC Digital Museum at, jcollier[at]wdchumanities[dot]org.

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/. 

Fifteen Minutes with Josh Tulkin, Environmental Activist and Jewish Community Leader

HCWDC INTERN ASHLEY PORTILLO INTERVIEWS Founding Member of thE Baltimore Jewish Environmental Network

Josh Tulkin will speak on Wednesday, November 10th at "A Moral Dilemma: Is Going Green a Choice Between Right and Wrong?" at THEARC, 6:30 p.m. FREE! Register now!

Q: Where did you grow up?

A: Oakland, California.

Q: Did growing up in Oakland, or your upbringing in general, influence you to become active in the environmental arena?

A: Well I spent a lot of time in the ocean and near the mountains so that definitely gave me a lot of appreciation for nature. And with my Jewish upbringing, I went to the synagogue a lot with my parents. In Hebrew there is a phrase that translates in English to “healing the world”. That was stressed a lot in my household and in my religion. My faith definitely made me become more socially active and aware of the need for environmental justice.

Q: Why do you think that is?

A: Great question. I think it has always resonated with me. It just felt right. I’m also drawn to complex questions, which I have found in social justice as well, but I’m attracted to the complexity of the human connection to nature.

Q: Do you have a mantra or any specific phrase that you live by?

A: My mantra is more in terms of my organizing and my activism. You always have to organize people where they’re at, not where you’re at. A lot of politics is about telling people what to think and talking to them. For me, I live by my organizing and belief that faith and environmental protection go hand in hand.

Q: Has it been difficult trying to get the faith community involved in becoming more environmentally active?

A:  That’s a hard question to ask so broadly, but I think we’ve made a lot of progress in environmental protection. Unfortunately, people still see it as economics and the environment- the costs. But there is a lot of opportunity and we have a long way to go to really establish it as a value rather than a political issue. We have politicized the environment and that’s a major impediment.  

Meet Josh Tulkin on Wednesday, November 10 at the World House Series event, "A Moral Dilemma: Is Going Green a Choice Between Right and Wrong?" with Reid Detchon, VP Energy and Climate, United Nations Foundation, former chair for the Environment Committee, Episcopal Diocese of Washington; Sarah Jawaid, Research Associate, Urban Land Institute, Coordinator, DC Green Muslims; and Carl Rollins, Member of the Advisory Board, DC Farm to School Network. FREE Panel Discussion and Reception at THEARC, 6:30 p.m. Register now! 

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

Fifteen Minutes with Rhon Hayes of Green DMV

HCWDC Intern Ashley Portillo Interviews A Washingtonian Magazine "Green Giant"

Rhon Hayes, co-founder of GreenDMV will speak on Monday, November 8th at "Local Solutions to a Global Challenge" at the Capitol Skyline Hotel, 6:30 p.m. FREE! Register now!

Q: What was the very first job you ever held?

A: Wow my very first job?! I think my very first job was working in the grants office in the university. My job was to search for grant opportunities at our university.

Q: Did you like it?

A: Yeah, I mean I liked it but I was kind of restless and had to be out and about and this was more of a sit-down job at a desk in an office. So I definitely had a desire to be out there in the community, more actively involved.

Q: At what point in your life did you become aware that people like yourself needed to start taking care of the environment? Is there a moment that stands out in your memory?

A: Oh yeah, that’s easy. My sophomore year of college, out of the same grants office I was working in at the university, someone had found an EPA grant and decided to send four students out to several offices and I was elected to go to Texas. So I got to go to Texas and that really opened my eyes to environmental justice.

Q: Tell me a little bit about what you did after college? Did you know immediately what you wanted to do?

A: No, I didn’t. I was a biology major and where I’m from you either went to work at The Research Triangle Park in Raleigh, NC or you went to Washington, DC. So I went to DC.

Q: So those were your only two options?

A: Basically yes (laughs).

Q: Why did you decide on DC? Why not stay in North Carolina?

A: Well, my college roommate was actually from DC so he told me about it and it swayed me a little bit.

Q:  Which experiences in your life influenced your decision to help local communities, specifically small businesses and the education system?

A: It mostly came out of a desire to make sure folks were able to have opportunities. And with the resurgence of environmentalism and the birth of the green job movement, there was a different facet of environmentalism and a new space to provide a segue to folks who didn’t have access to opportunities like jobs. Environmentalism is no longer just tree huggers (laughs).  I saw that businesses could save money and green jobs seemed like a good way to help the struggling community come out of their struggles and debt. And for me that’s the sweet part, not only to be able to help people but to use that as a way to uplift these folks.

Q: How did you come up with the idea of tying-in the disadvantages in our local neighborhoods to the clean energy economy of the future and the green revolution that has really taken off in the past couple of years? Was it volunteering in college or earlier in your youth that gave you a desire to intertwine service with your EPA experience?

A: No, I hadn’t volunteered before. It wasn’t until I was working for the EPA that I was really out there in the community talking to folks and getting actively involved in community environmental projects. For me, growing up in a rural area, volunteerism wasn’t preached a lot so the EPA definitely opened my eyes to the service component as well.

Q: What have you done to be more green in the past few years?

A: I have cut out all plastic bags. Period. My wife and I decided to make that lifestyle change two years ago. Also, I’m reading more and becoming more aware. These changes are almost second nature to us now. It’s a cultural shift and that’s sort of what we do with our organization. It’s about creating a mind shift. We want it to be second-nature for our folks.   

Meet Rhon Hayes next Monday, November 8 at the World House Series event, “Local Solutions to a Global Challenge: Envisioning a Sustainable District” with Councilmember Tommy Wells and Cynthia Hartley of the Capitol Hill Energy Co-op. FREE Panel Discussion and Reception at the Capitol Skyline Hotel, 6:30 p.m. Register now! 

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