7th Annual DC Community Heritage Project Showcase

DC's Largest Exhibition of Community History and Historic Preservation Projects

Join us for a celebration of Washington, DC history, preservation, and local culture! The 7th Annual DC Community Heritage Project Showcase at the brand new Dunbar High School (note the venue change; updated 11/22/13) will introduce you to some of the most creative and innovative local historians in the city. Recipients of the 2013 DC Community Heritage Project Grant will demonstrate 18 exciting new projects and all participants will enjoy FREE food and drink while talking about local history! You are guaranteed to learn something new about Washington, DC!

Visit http://dcchpshowcase2013.eventbrite.com to register for this program.

This year's showcase will feature the following grantee organizations and their projects:

Logan Circle Community Association, “Logan Circle Heritage Trail Education Curriculum”

The Logan Circle Community Association (LCCA) proposes to collaborate with Garrison Elementary School, Cultural Tourism DC (CTDC), and instructional specialist Chris Magnuson to develop a curriculum outline for fourth- and fifth-graders that will accompany the forthcoming Logan Circle Heritage Trail. The Heritage Trail, which will be dedicated on July 13, 2013, highlights the civic and cultural history of the Logan Circle neighborhood via beautifully crafted signs that will be mounted on public property along 15 stops throughout the Logan Circle neighborhood (the trail map and examples of three signs are attached as appendices).

Chowan Discovery Group, "The Gold Coast"

The project is to produce a 15-25 minute documentary video about Washington, D.C's upper 16th St Northwest neighborhoods of Crestwood, Shepherd Park, Colonial Village and North Portal Estates during the period of the 1950's to the 1990's, when most of the population was made up of African-American leaders in the areas of law, education, healthcare, government administration, military and business. Included in the interviews are residents of multiple generations. The final product is a DVD video.

Crestwood Citizens Association, "Crestwood History Project"

The Crestwood History Project will publish a book tracing the little-known history of an area that has been united within nearly consistent boundaries ever since its first survey in 1720. 

It is a narrative of Native American quarries...larger-than-life individuals such as Alexander de Bodisco and Thomas Blagden...mills, farms and historic country roads in "Washington County"...and a geography that restrained development in the past even as it enhances the neighborhood today. 

Paul Laurence Dunbar High School Convocation and Alumni Federation, "Dunbar High School Student Project on Dunbar Alumni Legends and Pioneers"

The Dunbar High School Student Project (Project) on Dunbar Alumni Legends and Pioneers will involve and engage students at Paul Laurence Dunbar High School in a range of educational, research and training experiences that will provide skill sets that will be beneficial in college and in any work environment. The purpose of the Project is to work with students at Dunbar to accomplish the following: (1) begin research and identification of renowned Dunbar alumni and faculty that have made historically significant and vital contributions to the District and nation; (2) begin to catalog the amazing life stories of prominent Dunbar graduates and faculty and the role the school had in their growth and development; (3) understand and implement ways to leverage the prestige of Dunbar and its distinguished graduates in order to enhance the education of Dunbar students; and (4) participate in work groups to identify notable alumni, principals and faculty to be enshrined in wall and floor plaques throughout the new school building, to serve as models of inspiration.

Anacostia Community Outreach Center, "The Langston Terrace Dwelling Oral/Video History Project"

The Langston Terrace Dwelling Oral/Video History Project will give the Langston Dwelling Summer campers an opportunity to learn, witness and embrace the importance of the history of their community. The young people will research the history of Langston and interview, photograph and video artifacts of several residents and other stakeholders of the community to be included in the final presentation. The final presentation will include a program open to the community that will feature a showing of the finished product at the Anacostia Community Outreach Center office.

Female Union Band Society, "Mt. Zion/Female Union Band Historic Memorial Park Foundation Website Development Project"

The Foundation seeks funding to hire a web designer to design and launch a website for the Foundation. The Scholar will compile content for the website including a bibliography of historical information pertaining to the Cemeteries. The Foundation does not currently have a website, nor has it ever had one. A website will be a valuable tool for the Foundation to use to increase visibility of the cemeteries and to raise funds so that we can hire a consultant to develop a long-term plan for the future of the cemeteries.

Neighborhood Farm Initiative, "DC Garden Oral History Project"

The goal of the project is to gather oral histories from older Washingtonians who have spent significant portions of their lives growing their own food and have participated in Washington's local food economy and culture. By conducting interviews with a diverse group of individuals across the District, we will attempt to document not only each gardener's individual story but also the culture, traditions, and practices of food-growers in this city. Interview questions will be geared towards capturing the ways that food has connected people in their neighborhoods and communities at different points in history. We will rely on NFI's connections to a broad urban agriculture network to reach a diverse group of Washingtonians who represent the broad range of food growers in our community.

Deanwood Heights Main Streets, "Master Builders of Deanwood"

DHMS proposes to host a Saturday seminar and screening of Michelle Jones' latest film about African-American architects and their work in DC. DHMS wants to spotlight the architects who lived and worked in Deanwood. We will include a subject matter speaker about the history of African Americans and Architecture.

African American Holiday Association, "African American Pioneer Muslimahs in Washington, DC (Part Two)"

This project is Part Two of the first documentary completed in 2011 through a grant from the Humanities Council, WDC. We will conduct another set of interviews with four or five African American elderly Muslim women (Muslimahs) who we were unable to capture with the first film. Our focus, again, is to give exposure to the untold history of these "sisters" who are in the 80's and 90's. We will discuss the challenges they received from their families, their community and other unfortunate, negative elements as they converted to a religion and way of life that seemed "foreign" to many. Some of these Muslimahs were married and they worked alongside their Muslim husbands to establish this new way of life for themselves and their children. Additionally, they helped to build the only "temple" now that masjid from the ground up in Washington, DC by African Americans. Also, it's the only street named Islamic Way in Washington, DC.

Black Student Fund, "Remembering the Dream Makers of Black Student Fund"

With the support of staff and interns at the Black Student Fund (BSF), BSF Scholars will archive, research, and document the history of BSF. The research will focus on BSF's leadership and BSF's impact on the DC independent school community. The project will include the production of a video by BSF Scholars so that they can learn how to archive, research and document history. In addition BSF wants current students attending one of our 44 Member Schools to contribute to the legacy of the organization by serving as BSF's historians. BSF Scholars will work with a Social Sciences scholar and a professional videographer.

Henson Arts in Learning, "Citizens We"

The Citizens We Project is a photographic portrait of the people in the neighborhoods of Adams Morgan, Mt. Pleasant, and Columbia Heights in Washington, DC. The project consists of an exhibition of thirty 17 x 25 inch Black & White prints of clients from the Shrine of the Sacred Heart Dinner Program and an online publication using HP MagCloud, about the Dinner Program and the challenges of immigration in contemporary American society. The publication can be viewed online for free and sold as a soft cover book.

ANC7B, "We are Fairfax Village"

“We are Fairfax Village” is a newly formed organization created to document the extensive history of the Fairfax Village neighborhood. The mission is to: 1) pursue and value the oral histories of past and current residents of Fairfax Village, 2) perform historical research of various resources related to Fairfax Village, 3) work collaboratively to author, illustrate, and share documents in accessible and user-friendly ways. 

The organization is the idea of Libya Doman in 2013 who has been a home owner in Fairfax Village for nearly 8 years. Over these years she has heard stories of the predominately African-American neighborhood being used in the past as housing for Congress members as it was just a short distance from the Capitol Building. Ms. Doman met an older, Caucasian woman who shared that she grew up in Fairfax Village when it was military quarters. Many of the community’s elders have lamented the changes in the community from tree-lined streets with quality neighborhood dining for homeowners to nearly 60% tenant occupied units where neighborhood organizations struggle to curtail drug deals hidden in alleys.

WSC Avant Bard, "Kendall Green and the National College for the Deaf"

WSC Avant Bard seeks support to develop a play that explores the history of deaf culture and the history of Kendall Green. Funds will be used to support the work of researchers, the writer/humanities scholar, the director and theatre artists in exploring this fascinating corner of DC.

All African People's Development and Empowerment Project, "Marcus Garvey Enrichment School Documentary Project"

The Marcus Garvey Enrichment Documentary Project will work with African American youth living in the Barry Farms community of Washington D.C. Youth from the ages of 13-18 will produce a documentary about the historical Barry Farms community, its current social history, and the thriving culture that highlights the positive culture of Barry Farms, but also the historiography of South East, Washington D.C. The initial phase of this project seeks funding for research and development of a proposed documentary that audio-visually depict the rich, but under-represented African American youth’s perspective on the current issues of Barry Farms and the broader African American Washington, D.C. community. 

Military Road School Preservation Trust, "Oral History of the Military Road School Alumni before 1954"

As part of the Sesquicentennial observance of the Military Road School, a video of oral histories provided by alumni who lived in the Brightwood community as well as nearby Maryland and attended the School from the 1930's to 1954 will be developed for the purpose of corroborating the educational legacy for which it was well known until closing as a D.C. public school in 1954. This project will document the experiences of some of those African-American students who, despite a lack of materials and amenities that were available to their white counterparts, were able to thrive and excel in a segregated environment. 

Community Resources Incorporated, "A Loud Silence: A Visual Code on the Underground Railroad"

The proposed project will research sites of the Underground Railroad in WDC, obtain maps of the topography and terrain at the time of the UG, create mixed media work that would depict markers, codes, symbols and signs, and tell the story of their composition, creation, use and meaning. The work created will be documented and presented as if they were actually in use during the time of the Underground Railroad.

Rehoboth Baptist Church Historical Committee, "Documenting History of Rehoboth Baptist Church (150 Years)"

The committee will be gathering, organizing, cataloging and archiving materials to prepare a comprehensive and complete History Book on the life of the Rehoboth Baptist Church (1864-2014). A catalogue of these materials will be compiled for our usage and for the Historic Preservation Office. The Rehoboth Baptist Church was founded by former slaves and is one of the oldest Black Baptist Churches in the city.

A Few Thoughts on Last Week's DC Community Heritage Project Symposium

Insightful commentary on last week's event from Humanities Council Grants and Special Projects Intern, Sneha Sharma

Washington D.C. residents don’t always have all that much in common with one another. They come from different cultures, backgrounds, and hold a diverse array of professions. Some residents have lived here their whole lives and others just moved in. Often, one of the only things these residents hold in common with one another is the history that surrounds them. Washington D.C. has a rich and extensive history that visually reveals itself through the mix of old and new architecture and the plethora of museums. In order to find a collective sense of community, residents ideally should understand this shared history. 

Not only did the panelists at last week's DC Community Heritage Project Symposium address these abstract ideas, they also discussed the importance of architecture and urban planning in relation to community. Throughout history, racism and rising property prices displaced residents and disrupted any shared sense of community that previously existed. In the present society, residents’ common knowledge of these past events can strengthen their understanding of the community and of each other. Since all the panelists possess strong community ties, they ably discussed how their interactions and work within the community improved when residents identified with their community’s history. Through their statements during the discussion, these panelists all reinforced the idea that a community’s history is always relevant to the present residents whether these residents have been here for five or fifty years. 

After the discussion, I realized that these speakers would never have come together if not for the city’s history that they are all so invested in. This demonstrates the strong sense of community that history can help create. The panel itself was well attended and was followed by a Q and A session where some attendees voiced their personal experiences and opinions in relation to the discussion topic.

(Sharma is a student at The University of California Riverside and is currently studying at the University of California DC Center)

Announcing this Year's DC Community Heritage Project Grant Award Winners

$36,000 Awarded for 18 Projects Spanning Every Ward in the City

Congratulations to these 18 outstanding organizations! Each one is working to document, preserve, and share the history of Washington, DC's neighborhoods, landmarks, and culture. 

Logan Circle Community Association, “Logan Circle Heritage Trail Education Curriculum”

The Logan Circle Community Association (LCCA) will, with Garrison Elementary School, Cultural Tourism DC (CTDC), and instructional specialist Chris Magnuson, develop a curriculum outline for 4th and 5th graders that will accompany the forthcoming Logan Circle Heritage Trail. The Heritage Trail, which will be dedicated on July 13, 2013, highlights the civic and cultural history of the Logan Circle neighborhood via beautifully crafted signs that will be mounted on public property along 15 stops throughout the Logan Circle neighborhood.

Chowan Discovery Group, "The Gold Coast"

Chowan Discovery Group will produce a 15-25 minute documentary about Washington, DC's upper 16th Street, NW neighborhoods of Crestwood, Shepherd Park, Colonial Village and North Portal Estates during the period of the 1950's to the 1990's, when most of the population was made up of African-American leaders in the areas of law, education, healthcare, government administration, military and business. The film will include interviews with residents of multiple generations. 

Crestwood Citizens Association, "Crestwood History Project"

The Crestwood History Project will publish a book tracing the little-known history of a neighborhood united within consistent boundaries since its first survey in 1720. This published history, full of photos, drawings and maps, will not only provide Crestwood residents with an enhanced sense of community, it will help give the neighborhood its place in DC history alongside nearby areas that have been better documented.

Paul Laurence Dunbar High School

Paul Laurence Dunbar High School Convocation and Alumni Federation, "Dunbar High School Student Project on Dunbar Alumni Legends and Pioneers"

This exciting new project will engage students at Paul Laurence Dunbar High School in a range of educational, research and training experiences providing skill sets that will be beneficial in college and in any work environment. Students will research and identify Dunbar alumni and faculty that have made historically significant and vital contributions to the District and nation. 

Anacostia Community Outreach Center, "The Langston Terrace Dwelling Oral/Video History Project"

The Langston Terrace Dwelling Oral/Video History Project will give the Langston Dwelling Summer campers an opportunity to learn, witness and embrace the importance of the history of their community. The young people will research the history of Langston and interview, photograph and video artifacts of several residents and other stakeholders of the community to be included in the final presentation. The final presentation will include a program open to the community that will feature a showing of the finished product at the Anacostia Community Outreach Center office.

Female Union Band Society, "Mt. Zion/Female Union Band Historic Memorial Park Foundation Website Development Project"

The Foundation seeks funding to hire a web designer to design and launch a website for the Foundation. The website will be a valuable tool for the Female Union Band Society as they work to increase visibility of the Mt. Zion and Female Union Band cemeteries and will also serve as  an effective means of distributing historical information to researchers, tourists, and the community. 

Neighborhood Farm Initiative, "DC Garden Oral History Project"

This oral history project will record interviews with older Washingtonians who have spent significant portions of their lives growing their own food and have participated in Washington's local food economy and culture. By conducting interviews with a diverse group of individuals across the District, they will document not only each gardener's individual story but also the culture, traditions, and practices of food-growers in this city. Interview questions will be geared towards capturing the ways that food has connected people in their neighborhoods and communities at different points in history. 

Deanwood Heights Main Streets, "Master Builders of Deanwood"

Deanwood Heights Main Streets (DHMS) will host a Saturday seminar and screening of Michelle Jones' latest film about African-American architects and their work in DC. The seminar will focus primarily on examining the stories of the architects who lived and worked in Deanwood. 

African American Holiday Association, "African American Pioneer Muslimahs in Washington, DC (Part Two)"

This project is Part Two of the first documentary completed in 2011 through a grant from the Humanities Council of Washington, DC.The producer will conduct another set of interviews with four or five elderly African American Muslim women (Muslimahs) who were not included in the first film. The project's goal is to tell the history of these "sisters" in their 80's and 90's, including the challenges they faced as they converted to a religion and way of life that seemed "foreign" to many. Some of these Muslimahs helped to build DC's only "temple," now the masjid, from the ground up.

Universal Negro Improvement Association Historical Society, Inc., "The Impact of Marcus Garvey and the UNIA in Washington DC"

This three day project will feature an exhibit, discussion, and tours on impact of Marcus Garvey in Washington, DC. All of the programs will be held at the Americas Islamic Heritage Museum in Historic Anacostia.

Black Student Fund, "Remembering the Dream Makers of Black Student Fund"

Black Student Fund (BSF) scholars will archive, research, and document the history of BSF. The research will focus on the organization's leadership and its impact on the DC independent school community. As part of the project, BSF will produce a video on archival and historical research techniques to guide the young scholars in their work. The project will be conducted in preparation for the organization's 50th anniversary in 2014.

Henson Arts in Learning, "Citizens We"

The Citizens We Project is a photographic portrait of the people in the neighborhoods of Adams Morgan, Mt. Pleasant, and Columbia Heights in Washington, DC conducted in partnership with the Shrine of the Sacred Hear Dinner Program. The project will consist of an exhibition of thirty 17 x 25 inch black & white prints of clients from the Shrine of the Sacred Heart Dinner Program, and an online publication about the Dinner Program and the challenges of immigration in contemporary American society. The publication will be available online for free and sold as a soft cover book.

ANC7B, "We are Fairfax Village"

“We are Fairfax Village” is a project working to document the extensive history of the Fairfax Village neighborhood. The mission is to: 1) pursue and value the oral histories of past and current residents of Fairfax Village, 2) perform historical research of various resources related to Fairfax Village, 3) work collaboratively to author, illustrate, and share documents in accessible and user-friendly ways. 

WSC Avant Bard, "Kendall Green and the National College for the Deaf"

WSC Avant Bard will develop a play that explores the history of deaf culture and the history of Kendall Green. The play will be researched by professional scholars and written to convey the history of this often ignored piece of DC's historical narratives to a diverse audience.

All African People's Development and Empowerment Project, "Marcus Garvey Enrichment School Documentary Project"

The Marcus Garvey Enrichment Documentary Project will work with African American youth living in the Barry Farms community of Washington D.C. Youth from the ages of 13-18 will produce a documentary about the historical Barry Farms community, its current social history, and the thriving culture that highlights the positive culture of Barry Farms, but also the historiography of Southeast, Washington D.C. The initial phase of this project seeks funding for research and development of a proposed documentary that audio-visually depict the rich, but under-represented African American youth’s perspective on the current issues of Barry Farms and the broader African American Washington, D.C. community. 

Military Road School Preservation Trust, "Oral History of the Military Road School Alumni before 1954"

As part of the Sesquicentennial observance of the Military Road School, a video of oral histories provided by alumni who lived in the Brightwood community as well as nearby Maryland and attended the School from the 1930's to 1954 will be developed for the purpose of corroborating the educational legacy for which it was well known until closing as a D.C. public school in 1954.

The oral history collection will be accessible to the general public online as a resource that will enable students, teachers, and a wide range of ordinary citizens to witness the academic, social and cultural aspects of what school life was like for preceding generations of African-Americans.

Community Resources Incorporated, "A Loud Silence: A Visual Code on the Underground Railroad"

The Song Yet Sung, by James McBride is the most lyrical, profound, and mystical rendition of the enslavement experience because it centers around, and depicts the use and power of “The Code”, a complex system of signs, symbols, and markers as well as the individuals who connected them to one another and who created a path for enslaved people seeking freedom.This project will research the Underground Railroad in DC, obtain maps of the topography and terrain at the time, create mixed media work depicting the markers, codes, symbols and signs uncovered, and tell the story of their composition, creation, use and meaning.

Rehoboth Baptist Church Historical Committee, "Documenting History of Rehoboth Baptist Church (150 Years)"

Rehoboth Baptist Church will gather, organize, catalog, and archive materials to prepare a comprehensive book on the history and life of Rehoboth Baptist Church (1864-2014). The Rehoboth Baptist Church was founded by former slaves and is one of the oldest Black Baptist Churches in the city.

Join us in December when each of these projects will be presented at the DC Community Heritage Project Showcase!

Kent Boese Believes Historic Preservation Can Promote Respect and Progress Within a Community

Recent DC Community Heritage Project Grant Recipient Discusses Community History and his Forthcoming Park View Walking Tour

By Priya Dadlani

Kent Boese is a DC Community Heritage Project grantee, who created the Park View Walking Tour project and gave the Park View neighborhood a prominent voice in the DC community. Boese moved to the neighborhood in 2007, not knowing much about the community, but after getting to know his neighbors and conducting some research, he found out that this small neighborhood is very unique and holds interesting stories unknown to most of the District. Boese grew up in Harvard, Illinois,a small town of about 5,000 residents. Boese says, “I've discovered in many ways each neighborhood within D.C. operates like a small town. I guess that's why I fell in love with my neighborhood and why I am an effective advocate for it.” Like small towns, communities in the District function better when people work together. Helping neighbors, calling officials and assisting the community are common actions for Boese and others living in communities like Park View.

Boese quickly realized that other local blogs often distorted Park View or fostered their own bias about it. To properly represent the neighborhood, Boese created a blog where he shares information about Park View to anyone who wants to learn more about the community. “I wanted the community to have an equally strong voice as surrounding neighborhoods. I also wanted to create a place where local news and articles on history, development, crime, etc. could be shared and foster discussion within the neighborhood,” says Boese.

Boese’s blog, Park View, D.C., includes reports on the “collective memories and experiences of DC citizens”. Boese believes these details are important because Park View, with the rest of DC, is going through many changes. But the Park View Boese fell in love with is the one that he moved to, not “some mythical future neighborhood”. So for him, it is important to preserve the deeply rooted history of the community and its citizens and make these stories available to newer residents so they will be able to more thoroughly understand what Park View is and make stronger connections to the history of the community. Boese says that, “one of the greatest assets of the neighborhood is the long-established residents. It is in the community’s best interest for the contributions of all previous generations to be known if we are to value and respect each other and continue to move forward as one community.”

The love Boese has for DC comes from a very rich history and to him the District is interesting because it has both “deep roots” and a “transient population”. It also has both a national and a local presence. After many years of relative stability, the city is undergoing a lot of growth and demographic changes. “How we as Washingtonians respond to these changes - preserve, document, and make our history accessible - successfully fight and minimize displacement - and move together as a city will determine our worth to the country and the world,” says Boese. DC has great potential for a better future , but it can only be realized if newer residents and older residents are able to work together and learn more about one another’s history . Boese believes that preserving the history of the city and passing it on to new generations will help District citizens in achieving this goal.

Kent Boese has done something great for DC by giving Park View a voice just as loud as those of its’ neighboring communities. The walking tour project Boese is working on is nearing completion, and a draft was recently sent to the printer. The next step is to distribute all the brochures throughout the District and get the word out about where copies can be found. The Humanities Council is excited about Boese’s walking tour, and we hope the Park View community will be too.

Zion Baptist Church Oral History Project

Narrators Reveal a Southwest Centered On Neighborhood Churches, Schools, and Businesses

During the 1930s and 40s, despite the fact that Washington, DC's population was well on it's way to reaching 700,000 people, the city's Southwest quadrant retained the appearance and feel of a small town. The narrators of Zion Baptist Church's "Spoken Memories" oral history project recall this slow-paced, civic-minded community from the shadows of the hulking concrete highrises that now line Maryland and Virginia Avenues. 

One interviewee remembered, "I missed the church in Southwest because we had strong family ties. All of us had friends and family members at the different churches. My grandfather and one uncle were members of Mt. Moriah Baptist Church. I had cousins who went to Friendship, and friends who attended the Catholic Church, St Vincent De Paul. Southwest was a community because its residents were always together. We all went to Randall Junior High, and we socialized in the neighborhood together. Zion always had church sponsored summer trips to the beach for us. We went to Carr's Beach, Sparrows Beach and a beach in New Jersey. We went on hay rides to the outskirts of Maryland, and we had summer-long Vacation Bible School. Southwest was a meeting place." 

Other narrators also speak of the close link between Southwest's religious community. It was a neighborhood of many churches, and many different religions, but all were bound together through service to their congregants. Long term social bonds, and a general sense of steadiness seem to have contributed to the narrator's memories of Southwest as a tight-knit neighborhood. "I don't see Zion as the family and community church that we had in the past," observed one narrator. "Now, new members join Zion and leave before you can get to know them. In earlier times, Zion had more stability and folks got to know each other. We were a true family and we looked out for one another." 

But old Southwest's character was not to be found solely in it's thriving religious life, but also in the school system and it's ever-observant teachers. One narrator remembered, "Mrs. Peterson was my Principal at Randall Junior High School, so seeing her at church was like seeing her at school. Many of our teachers were also members of Zion. There was Mr. Herbert, who taught at Randall and was a member of Zion. The teachers knew the 153 families of Southwest, so nobody got away with bad behavior. They always made us aware of our conduct." Some years later that same Mrs. Peterson became Assistant Superintendent of the DC Public School system, but her students and neighbors still remembered her fondly for all she had done in Southwest. "She knew the Southwest families," recalled one narrator, "and often assisted them in their struggles."

Schulman's Market at N and Union Streets, SW
Image Courtesy: Library of Congress

Though Southwest is currently experiencing a resurgence in business activity, the urban renewal of the 1950s transformed many of the commercial corridors into residential streets, and many of the storefronts into government office buildings. But in the 1930s and 40s, a thriving small business community contributed to the cohesiveness of the neighborhood. One narrator remembers, "Many members had businesses located in the Southwest. Everything we needed was in our community. We had restaurants, cleaners, barber shops and stores." Another interviewee is more specific; " A lot of our members had businesses on Third Street, F Street, and Fourth Street... ... Someone had a shoe shop. Mr. James Brown had a print shop and used to do all of Zion's bulletins. The Barnes & Matthews Funeral Home was located on Fourth Street. I also remember the drug store, Campbell's Funeral Home, John T. Rhines Funeral Home, Bruce Wahl's Night Club, and a restaurant. Everything we need was within the Southwest community."

Zion Baptist Church's oral history project is valuable to Washington, DC not just because it preserves the history of a venerable religious institution, but because the words of its narrators breathe life into interpretations of archival records. The housing stock, church buildings, storefronts, an d school buildings of neighborhoods such as Georgetown, Capitol Hill, and Shaw serve as visible reminders of what those neighborhoods once were. But in Southwest, where there are only shadows and glimpses of the neighborhood's historical city-scape, we must try to rebuild it in our minds through the memories of those who were there. The next post in this series will examine Zion, and its congregants' transition from Southwest to it's current home on Blagden Avenue, NW.

To view the edited transcript of the Zion Baptist Church "Spoken Memories" Oral History project, visit the Humanities Council's DC Digital Museum. 

In DC, Church History is Neighborhood History

Zion Baptist Church Oral History Offers Unique Perspective on Urban Renewal

Southwest Washington may be one of the most enigmatic neighborhoods in the district. During the 1950s, homes and businesses that had stood in the area for decades were razed as part of the Federal Government's plan to revitalize the neighborhood, and provide office space for government agencies. The story has been written time and again by Washington historians, and a documentary film was produced that emphasized the human cost of the wholesale relocate, raze, rebuild, and return process that left out that final step for many families. A 2009 DC Community Heritage Project examined that disruptive and traumatic experience through an entirely new lens - that of the Zion Baptist Church Congregation. 

The oral history project, led by church historian Sarah J. Davidson, captured the stories of 46 longtime congregation members and former pastors. A group of professional and volunteer oral historians asked the narrators a set list of questions, that generally focused on church life and community. The oldest person interviewed was born in 1916 and had become a church member in 1928, but most of the interviewees were old enough to remember when Zion moved from Southwest to a temporary home in the YWCA on Rhode Island Avenue, NW.  One narrator recalls, "We moved from Southwest because the city took over that community to rebuild. The address of the old Zion was 337 F Street, SW. It was in the middle of the block. The freeway is there now, behind the Market Inn Restaurant." 

Some of the interviewees could trace the history of the church back even further because their families had been members in the 19th century. Zion's archives reveal ties to a group of Freedmen who were brought to Southwest Washington with the Union Army during the Civil War, and who constructed the first church in 1867. One of the narrators, recalling family traditions handed down through generations, said "my ancestors were members of Zion Baptist Church. .. They remodeled the feed store, when the church was located there." In 1870, that remodeled feed store was replaced by a new building on the same site at 337 F Street, SW where it became a major focal point in the lives of many Southwest DC residents. 

We will continue to examine this remarkable oral history project for what its narrators can tell us about life in Southwest before the 1950s, and the traumatic experience of the Federal Government's early experiment in urban renewal there. The next post will focus on the interviewees memories of Southwest as a village within the city, including relationships with neighbors, business-lined streetscapes, and, of course, the centrality of church life.

Zion Baptist Church Oral History Interviewers and Narrators, “Zion Baptist Church Presents "Spoken Memories": An Oral History Journal,” DC Digital Museum, accessed April 30, 2012, http://www.wdchumanities.org/dcdm/items/show/1421. 

Don't Let the History of Your Neighborhood be Lost

Apply for a DC Community Heritage Project Grant

For the past five years, the Humanities Council of Washington, DC (HCWDC) has made over 80 grants to citizens and organizations interested in preserving the heritage of the city’s unique neighborhoods, landmarks, and culture through the DC Community Heritage Project (DCCHP). The DCCHP is a collaborative effort of the Humanities Council of Washington, DC, the DC Historic Preservation Office, and the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities. This year, HCWDC will maintain its commitment to preserving local history and culture, by investing in neighborhoods that have not yet had their stories told.

In recent years, D.C. has become a renaissance city, through an influx of buildings, monuments, and newly minted Washingtonians. With all this change, struggles in reconciling the old with the new are inevitable. As such, we are encouraging residents, long-time or newly-arrived, to preserve the histories they have come to appreciate.

Communities can have a powerful connection to the local school house, or the neighborhood church because of the powerful memories associated with these structures. A particularly cruel teacher or benevolent pastor are experiences shared by a group of people and talked about for years, that can eventually be raised to the level of local legend. When those memories are tied to a historic structure, the very character and culture of a neighborhood can seem to hinge on that building’s preservation. In 2009, Deanwood Heights Mainstreets produced their first walking tour of Deanwood's churches entitled “Faith and Foundation.” The group has received subsequent grants to document more houses of worship, and has added other historic Deanwood landmarks to the tour.

In 2010, Historic Mt. Pleasant Inc. combed the local archives to produce a survey of their neighborhood's historic storefronts from 1901-1938. The database they compiled includes ownership transfers, businesses operated, and architectural changes. The data reveals a past Mt. Pleasant dizzy with change and population growth, but it is open for interpretation, and available in full on Historic Mt. Pleasant's website.

But it is not just in the bricks and mortar of the cityscape that collective memory resides. In fact, the most powerful, yet ephemeral local histories reside in the minds of those who have lived them. These are the types of histories best preserved through oral history interviews. In 2007, Empower DC organized an oral history project that captured the memories of long time residents of Ivy City. The tapes revealed strong remembrances of the historic Crummell Elementary School, an endangered historic landmark and the focal point of the community. Empower DC has since expanded the oral history project and has produced a draft documentary film.

In 2009, Tendani Mpulubusi and Helping Inner City Kids Succeed produced an extraordinary documentary film on Barry Farm that explored the community's history and examined its present-day challenges. Barry Farm: Past and Present used interviews with scholars, community historians, students, and community leaders to tell a thoughtful and textured story about one of Ward 8's most historic neighborhoods.

The DCCHP seeks to preserve both the physical and the intellectual heritage of Washington’s neighborhoods. Last year, students and educators from John Eaton Elementary School used a grant from the DC Community Heritage Project to fund a study of the school's past. Students used architectural clues, oral history interviews, and archival research to piece together the history of Eaton Elementary and the surrounding portions of the Cleveland Park neighborhood. The project coordinators used the experience to create a lesson plan that they hope will be replicated by other schools in the District and across the country! The student history detectives were invited to present their findings at last year's 38th Annual DC Historical Studies Conference.

The ultimate goal of the project is to provide the skills and financial means for every neighborhood in Washington, DC to make its history known. We welcome new concepts from neighborhoods already reached by the DCCHP, but we need proposals from communities such as Trinidad, Lamond-Riggs, Lincoln Heights, Brightwood, and others that have not received a grant. Any DC resident with a story to tell about their community is encouraged to apply.

We strongly encourage first time applicants to attend one of our grant workshops. To register for a DCCHP Grant Workshop, please visit http://www.wdchumanities.org/grants/deadlines

Who Lived Here?

Houses in DC Live Many Lives. Research the History of Your Home or Another Intriguing Property.

The most important history lessons are deeply personal, and invoke an emotional response. This explains the popularity of documentary film, with its flair for the dramatic, and genealogy with its immediate personal connections. It also explains why some people are so willing to passionately defend a community's architectural look and feel, and the unique intangible identities their neighborhoods develop through tradition and memory. 

On Saturday, February 18, the Humanities Council, in partnership with the DC Public Library, the DC Historic Preservation Office, and the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, will host a House History Day during which DC residents will learn how to research the past lives of their homes. House history research is powerful because it provides that personal connection to the past that few other types of historical research can; it allows anyone to forge a strong sense of connection with their neighborhood and their community whether they have called DC home for years, or just moved in last month. 

Next month's workshop will feature hands on instruction from expert archivists and historians; researchers will have time to practice their new skills as well, and are encouraged to bring along as much information about their house's history as they can. 

Sessions include: DC Maps, Historic Building Permit Database, Photo Archives, Microfilm, and DC Digital Museum/Neighborhood Context. The day will consist of two identical workshops in which participants will rotate to each of the sessions. The morning workshop lasts from 10am-12pm and the afternoon workshop from 1pm-3pm.  Lunch will be served between the morning and afternoon workshops. 

To register please visit http://dchousehistory.eventbrite.com. 

Please register for only one of the two workshops. House History Day is free, but we ask that you only register if you are sure you will be able to attend. The workshops are very popular and space is extremely limited. For more information please email info[at]wdchumanities[dot]org.

History and Community in LeDroit Park

Can Local History Projects Mend Collective Memory?

It's hard to imagine that densely packed Ward 1, with its rows of federal style townhomes and gleaming new luxury condos, was once the target of developers looking to establish subdivided and suburban-style gated communities, but in 1873, LeDroit Park was conceived as just that. Filmmaker Ronald Smokey Stevens recently completed a documentary as part of the DC Community Heritage Project that surveys the history of the neighborhood from its exclusive beginnings, through its illustrious decades as the locus for black culture in Washington (and perhaps the United States), to its current challenges and successes. The film, Preserving LeDroit Park: an historic DC Community, is available in full as part of the Humanities Council's DC Digital Museum, but it can also be purchased at http://www.preservingledroitpark.com.

Stevens' film exemplifies the value of historic preservation and public history. It not only tells the story of LeDroit Park, but it tells the story of a man who's regular rounds through the neighborhood carried him past the Robert and Mary Church Terrell House, and how these encounters with the past inspired and empowered him to find out more.

Mary Church Terrell, Stevens' tells his viewers, began fighting for Civil Rights using civil disobedience tactics long before Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, Jr., or the Freedom Riders. In 1950 Terrell and a group of activists sought to test the District of Columbia's anti-segregation laws by entering a de facto white-only restaurant. When they were refused service, they filed a lawsuit which, by 1953, led DC courts to rule segregation in eating places unconstitutional. Though many longtime residents of LeDroit Park and Washington, DC likely know of Terrell and her groundbreaking work, her story may be news to families who have recently made the neighborhood their home. By helping to popularize the story of Terrell as well as those of Anna J. Cooper, Walter E. Washington, Reverend Jesse Jackson, Paul Lawrence Dunbar, Duke Ellington, and the other notable residents of LeDroit Park, Stevens can help build a sense of community pride and appreciation of a common past.

Photographer David Corry, interviewed for the film, believes that creating this sense of community will be an ongoing challenge for LeDroit Park, but one that can be overcome. The perceived lack of a sense of community caused by gentrification and demographic shifts can be remedied by public history projects like Stevens' film as personal connections to place and time are developed for newcomers, and rebuilt among long-term residents.

The film is produced well, making use of Stevens' oratory skills, authoritative historical research, illustrative photographs, and stock video footage. It is brief, but informative, and well worth the 17 minutes for anyone interested in Washington, DC history.

More information on the notable residents of LeDroit Park can be found in Kim Roberts' online exhibition Wide Enough for Our Ambition.

38th DC Historical Studies Conference Kicks Off this Weekend

Annual Letitia Woods Brown Lecture on the Civil War in Washington

The 38th Annual DC Historical Studies Conference kicks off this weekend with the Letitia Woods Brown Lecture, and a fascinating plenary discussion about a Digital History of the Civil War in Washington, DC. The Brown lecture is titled "Lincoln's Citadel: The Civil War in Washington, DC," and will be delivered by Professor Kenneth J. Winkle of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The Civil War is not the only topic of discussion during the 150th Anniversary of the conflict, but it certainly is a major theme throughout the two-day conference schedule. 

The sesquicentennial of the Metropolitan Police Department will be highlighted in a panel discussion featuring department historian Lieutenant Nicholas T. Breul, with Martin Murray, and Sandra Schmidt and moderated by Bill Brown. A session on political collections in DC's archives will be moderated by Yvonne Carrigan, Head of Special Collections and Archives at George Mason University's Fenwick Library. The panel will include librarians and archivists from other area Universities as well as the DC Public Library Washingtoniana Division. Professionally guided history tours will be offered of Lafayette Square and major sites of Prohibition-Era Washington. 

Recent recipients of the Humanities Council and the DC Historic Preservation Office's DC Community Heritage Project Grant will form a panel exploring neighborhood history. Another DCCHP grantee, John Eaton Elementary School, will demonstrate their student-produced, web-based history project. Their session is rounded out by Lucinda Janke, Kesh Ladduwahetty, who produced a Humanities Council funded online exhibit on the Franklin School last year, and Kimberly Springle, Director of the Sumner School Museum and Archives and Humanities Council Board member. It is great to see so much of the great work produced by these dedicated local historians and scholars represented at the conference.

This overview by no means covers all of the sessions offered at this year's conference. With so many great speakers and new ideas, there is bound to be something of interest to just about anyone. Check the conference's blog for more details on the schedule and how to register for sessions.

You are Guaranteed to Learn Something New About DC!

DC Community Heritage Project Grantees to Showcase Projects Dec. 8

Join us at John Eaton Elementary school in Cleveland Park as this year's DC Community Heritage Project grantees showcase their efforts to research, interpret, and publicize the history of their communities. You are guaranteed to learn something new about Washington, DC!

The DC Community Heritage Project, a partnership between the Humanities Council of Washington, DC and the DC Historic Preservation Office, began in 2005 as a way to connect neighborhoods with history at a grassroots level. Each year, the program offers informative symposia on best practices in constructing a community history project, and a grant cycle to support local history organizations.

The event is open to the public and completely free. Please RSVP by visiting http://dcchp.eventbrite.com/ , calling 202-387-8391, or emailing grants@wdchumanities.org.

Check out all the great projects that will be on display this year...

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Preserving LeDroit Park: An Historical Community in Washington, DC

This documentary film, produced by Ronald Smokey Stevens, explores the history of the LeDroit Park neighborhood from its beginnings as an exclusive, all-white subdivision through its transformation into the bastion of Washington's black middle class. The film highlights eminent residents of LeDroit Park who made significant contributions to DC and the nation.

Panel Exhibition on the Reopening of Peirce Mill

The iconic Peirce Mill is located in Rock Creek Park between the Cleveland Park and Mt. Pleasant neighborhoods in northwest Washington. For years, the site has served as physical link between Washington's urban present and agrarian past. To help reacquaint Washingtonians with this historic landmark after a 12 year $3 million renovation, Friends of Peirce Mill has produced four large exhibit panels which will be moved to display sites throughout the city.

Washington Color School Project

The Washington Color School is an art movement centered on a loose association of painters active in the DC area active since the 1960s. The project participants seek to create an online archive of interviews and other materials relevant to the history of the Washington Color School. The organization also held an illustrated talk by eminent art critic Paul Richard who has witnessed the growth and change of the DC art community since the rise of the Color School. 

Exterior and Interior Graphic Panels and Video about Historic Adas Israel Synagogue

The Historic Adas Israel Synagogue is the Jewish Historical Society of Greater Washington's most unique and valuable artifact. In 1969, the Society even moved the entire building to its present location to save it from demolition. Despite its importance to the cultural and architectural history of Washington, DC, it has featured no interpretive interior displays before now. As the culmination of a series of DC Community Heritage Project Grants, the Society has produced an indoor panel and an outdoor panel to help bring the history of the Adas Israel Synagogue to life.

Ivy City Neighborhood and Oral History Project Film

The DC Community Heritage Project has supported Empower DC for the past several years in their efforts to document and disseminate the history of the Ivy City neighborhood. The results have been outstanding and include: over 20 oral history interviews; research and collection of historic photos and memorabilia; an hour-long radio-quality documentary about the community; and a full color, 30 page publication based on the oral histories. Taking their project to the next logical step, Empower DC has created a documentary film to further tell the story of Ivy City.

John Eaton Elementary School Centennial Website

Cleveland Park's John Eaton Elementary School has been a fixture in the community for 100 years, and a group of ambitious fourth graders have taken it upon themselves to research their school's past and document it on the internet. The students have been to the Sumner School to learn research skills, the National Building Museum to learn museum skills, and the Library of Congress to learn how to conduct oral history interviews. The results will be posted on a specially redesigned centennial version of the school's website.

My DC Neighborhood in 1955

The Essential Theatre company produced and documented a panel discussion to coincide with their production of, "A Rose Among Thorns," a tribute to Rosa Parks. The panel was filled by DC residents who lived in various neighborhoods during Parks' iconic demonstration on a Montgomery, Alabama bus in 1955. The panelists discussed their feelings on the event, and how it began to change their neighborhoods as the Civil Rights Movement shifted to center stage in America's socio-political consciousness.

The Museum of the Caribbean Diaspora: A Digital Repository

This ambitious project, headed by Roger Caruth and The Institute of Caribbean Studies, seeks to digitally document the history and culture of the Washington, DC Caribbean Diaspora making artifacts such as oral histories, photographs, and primary source documents available online as a database and as curated exhibits. The project makes use of the George Mason University Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media's open-source Omeka museum collections software. 

DC Authors' Houses: a Web Exhibit

This project is where literary history and architectural history meet. The team representing a coalition of four DC humanities non-profits have researched and photographed the historic homes of some of Washington, DC's most eminent writers including: Frederick Douglass, Zora Neale Hurston, and Sinclair Lewis. The fruits of this labor will be available to the public in the form of a professionally designed, easy-to-use web exhibit which will allow the group to continue adding new research well beyond the end of their current grant.

Voices on Fourteenth Street: Columbia Heights in the Sixties

Scholar Bell Clement and her sponsoring organization, Public Communications, Inc., have launched an oral history project to document work done by members of the Columbia Heights community to redefine their neighborhood and the terms of its governance for themselves. The project is part of a larger effort to explore American urban policy and changes in the conception of the American city during the 1960s. Five narrators were chosen through contacts with neighborhood and religious organizations, and Clement prepared a synthesis of the interviews interpreted with archival research. 

Historic Woodlawn Cemetery Records Conversion Project

Tyrone General has worked tirelessly to preserve and popularize the history of Woodlawn Historic Cemetery, and last year he received a DC Community Heritage Project grant to create several large interpretive banners to spread the story of the cemetery and the historic figures buried there. This year, in response to increased inquiries from genealogists and other researchers, General has initiated an effort to digitize the cemetery's detailed yet unwieldy paper archives.

The African-American Pioneer Muslimahs in Washington, DC

During the middle of the 20th century many African-American women in Washington, DC withstood challenges from their families and communities as they converted to a religion then seen as quite foreign and unusual. These women banded together and created a strong community of their own as they worked to create a new way of life for their children. This project documented the stories of some of the oldest Muslimahs in DC for a video set to premiere soon at a public screening.

The Anacostia Heritage Ride

The Anacostia Bicyclist Association developed this dynamic tour of select neighborhoods on the African American Heritage Trail to demonstrate cycling’s ability to contribute to the popularization of DC’s rich history and culture. Riders were provided with bicycles, water, snacks, and a companion guide developed by the ABA to help bring the heritage of Old Anacostia, Hillsdale, and the Waterfront neighborhoods to life.

Fotocraft Camera Club: More than Seven Decades of Photography in the Nation’s Capital

The Fotocraft Camera Club began at the 12th Street YMCA in 1937, and quickly established itself as the District’s premiere photography organization for African Americans. When the 12th Street YMCA closed its doors in 1982, Fotocraft persevered, moving to the 19th Street Baptist Church where members continue to meet twice per month. To celebrate their club’s storied past, Fotocraft initiated this oral history project to preserve the memories of its long-time members which will be interpreted in the context of the history of Washington, DC, and of the iconic 12th Street YMCA. 

Uncovering a Piece of Capitol Hill History through stories of the Capitol Hill Arts Workshop

The Capitol Hill Arts Workshop has provided classes, performances, lectures, and exhibits to the Washington, DC community for nearly 40 years. This year, they inaugurated an oral history project to preserve the memories of the individuals whose lives they’ve touched. As the interviews are completed, Project Director Peter DiMuro will analyze them and create an interpretive brochure.

Third Annual Historic Church Tour of Deanwood

This architectural and cultural tour of Deanwood’s churches aims to engage and educate audiences about the heritage of some of the most iconic buildings in the neighborhood. Though the history of these buildings is not widely known outside of Deanwood, the memories and stories they represent are an important part of the city’s past. Deanwood Heights Mainstreets publishes a spectacular booklet that highlights and interprets each of the tour stops. 

Living Images in My World: A History Beneath Us - Forgotten Sacred Ground Across the River Creek

Last Summer, "I Saw! The Experience of Learning in DC Project" took students from the Columbia Heights Youth on a journey through time, combining historic research with material culture and anthropological studies. The students visited The Mt. Zion Church Female Union Band Cemetery, and conducted research at libraries and archives throughout the city in an attempt to reconstruct the lives of six African Americans who cannot be found in their history textbooks. The students then produced a blog, a documentary film, and a booklet with a full bibliography.

What's In a Name: Profiles of the Trailblazers, History and Heritage of District of Columbia Public and Public Charter Schools

This project is a continuation of Women of the Dove's efforts to document the history of DC's Public and Public Charter schools. The organization has produced a booklet, and a CD highlighting their research on 86 schools, and this most recent grant has allowed them to document an additional 75 schools.

DC Community Heritage Project at the 38th Annual DC Historic Studies Conference

Patricia Hallman,Javier Barker, and Graylin Presbury to Represent 3 Past Grantee Organizations

The Cover Page from the
Fairlawn Citizens Association's
DCCHP Publication

This year's DC Historical Studies Conference will feature a panel discussion with three of our past DC Community Heritage Project Grantees. On Saturday, November 5, from 3:15-5PM, representatives from the Capitol View Civic Association, the Eastland Gardens Flower Club, and the Fairlawn Citizens Association will discuss their projects, and provide guidance to others who may wish to replicate their success. 

The DC Community Heritage Project is a partnership between the Humanities Council, the DC Historic Preservation Office, and the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities. The program is designed to provide DC community organizations with the tools and funding necessary to document and preserve the history of their neighborhoods. 

The discussion will be moderated by Patsy Fletcher of the DC Historic Preservation Office. Check out the conference website for more information.

In the Pipeline: Political Activism in Columbia Heights

HCWDC Grantee Bell Clement Discusses Her Current Project

In this article, Clement provides context for her project, and describes her research plan. She hopes to provide regular updates as the project progresses.

The 1960s were a period of transition for the United States.  The nation shifted gears as the effects of a generation of prosperity and global power made themselves felt in structural changes to key institutions.  In this restless, affluent nation, political activists, in office or on the street, worked to open the next chapter of the American story.  Building on decades of advocacy and organizing, civil rights campaigns gained momentum and national attention.  In the White House, the Kennedy and Johnson administrations responded to the issues raised by civil rights leaders, and also proclaimed unconditional war on poverty and began to look carefully at conditions in the nation’s cities. 

Turmoil in the District of Columbia exemplified the times.  Inner city neighborhoods were reeling from the impact of a massive federal “urban renewal” campaign which, starting in the late 1950s,displaced 25,000 residents from the city’s Southwest quadrant.  D.C. Public Schools had desegregated immediately on rendering of the Supreme Court’s 1954 opinion in Bolling vs. Sharpe, but citizens’ battles over the implications of that order continued, culminating in the  Hanson vs. Hobson (1968) challenge to academic tracking.  Locals battled Congressional determination to ram national highway system feeders through old residential neighborhoods – “white men’s roads through black men’s homes”.  The ancient campaign for home rule reached its zenith with LBJ’s 1965 full court press for legislation and, in defeat, his creation of an appointed Mayor and council government as an interim step toward residents’ goal of autonomy.

In the midst of this tumult, Columbia Heights was distinguished by the energy of its organizing and advocacy campaigns. Centered on Fourteenth Street, a key retail corridor and the route of one of the first streetcar lines into the neighborhoods from the downtown; bordered on the west by the mansions and consulates of Sixteenth Street, the “Avenue of the Presidents,” and on the east by Howard University, Columbia Heights had always been a hub of commercial and social activity.  During the 1950s and early 1960s, the neighborhood experienced rapid transition as black householders took over from white owners, a result of the lifting of restrictive covenants, urban renewal displacements, and school desegregation in D.C., as well as more general economic trends.  

When the national political conversation and federal policymakers turned attention to poverty, race inequities, and urban conditions in the mid-1960s, Columbia Heights found itself at the center of implementation action.   The Cardozo Heights Association for Neighborhood Growth and Enrichment, Inc. was formed as a subsidiary of the city’s United Planning Organization to implement the Great Society’s 1964 War on Poverty programming in Columbia Heights.  CHANGE became a central actor in District-wide battles over the shape of program implementation – and allocation of federal funding – over the next few years.  The creation of the Department of Housing and Urban Development in 1965 and its 1966 Model Cities agenda reverberated in the neighborhood as local congregations stepped up to sponsor affordable housing developments on Fourteenth and Sixteenth Streets.  In the wake of the violence of April 1968,  area residents formed planning and development organizations such as Central Cardozo Concerned Citizens and the Columbia Heights Citizens Association, and claimed the right to direct the neighborhood’s rebuilding. 

Project Context:   This project will use oral history interviews and supporting research to document this phase of Columbia Heights’ political evolution.  This segment of research is built on the results of an inventory of Columbia Heights community history resources, including both witnesses and archival resources, completed with support from the Humanities Council during Summer 2009.  Both this and the earlier project are elements of my dissertation research at George Washington University’s Department of History.  The dissertation (working title:  “Measuring Liberalism:  ‘Creative Federalism’, Empowered Citizens, and the Great Society City”; anticipated completion 2012) explores the interaction among federal policymakers, community activists,and the events and ideologies of the decade, in reshaping American concepts of the city, citizenship, and federalism. It is my intention to publish the dissertation in book form.

DC Community Heritage Project Symposium 2011

7th Annual Symposium to Highlight the Work of Former Grantees and Introduce New Digital History Techniques

The Humanities Council of Washington DC's annual Summer DC Community Heritage Project Symposium will be held Tuesday, June 28, from 6-8:30PM. The event will take place at the Deanwood Recreation Center and Library just across the street from the Deanwood Metro Station. This year's symposium is all about “making connections.” Each of the three sessions will explore opportunities for local history buffs to connect with each other and connect with the past.

The first session will introduce the local cemetery as an historical text. Conspicuous on the city-scape, yet secretive with their stories, cemeteries are often overlooked as a community history resources. Anne Brockett of the DC Historic Preservation Office and Tyrone General of the Historic Woodlawn Cemetery Perpetual Care Foundation will discuss how cemeteries can be coaxed into revealing the hidden heritage of a neighborhood, and the unknown stories of the deceased.

The second session will demonstrate a project that seeks to identify “neighborhood griots.” A griot is a person whose memory serves as a repository for a community's stories. Nearly every neighborhood has at least a few people who can draw on historical information passed down from generations, to enlighten, enrich, and educate those willing to listen. Historian Carrie Thornhill will discuss her efforts to identify neighborhood griots, and how her project can be replicated in other communities.

The third session will showcase software designed to help historians research, as well as organize and disseminate their findings. Sharon Leon of the George Mason University Center for History and New Media will discuss the growing field of digital history and will demonstrate some of the Center's valuable tools.

RSVP today for this FREE opportunity to learn how you can make connections with unorthodox historical texts, with others interested in community history, and with the living past! Register by visiting http://dcchpsymposium2011.eventbrite.com/, calling 202-387-8391, or emailing programs@wdchumanities.org.

DCCHP Grant Awardees Poised to Spread the Word About Neighborhood History

The Grantees Were Honored Last Night at the John A. Wilson Building

This year the following organizations will receive funding for projects aimed at preserving and disseminating the history and culture of Washington, DC neighborhoods:

• John Eaton Elementary School Home School Association - for their project "John Eaton Elementary School Website." 

Jenny Dieterle (left) accepts the award on behalf of the
John Eaton Elementary School Home School Association
from Humanities Council Board Chair, Marianne Scott. 

• Jewish Historical Society of Greater Washington - for their project "Exterior and Interior Graphic Panels and Video about Historic Adas Israel Synagogue." 
• Friends of Peirce Mill - for their project "Panel Exhibition on the Re-Opening of Peirce Mill." 
• Alliance for Global Justice  (Empower DC) - for their project "Ivy City History Project Film." 
• Women of the Dove Foundation - for their project "Profiles of the Trailblazers: a Digital Documentary." 
• Split This Rock - for their project "DC Authors Houses: A Web Exhibit." 
• The Exposure Group African American Photography Association, Inc. - for their project "FotoCraft Camera Club: More than Seven Decades of Photography in the Nation's Capital." 
• Public Communications, Inc. - for their project "Voices on 14th Street: Columbia Heights in the Sixties An Oral History Project." 
• African American Holiday Association - for their project "African American Pioneer Muslimahs in Washington, DC." 
• Columbia Heights Youth Club - for their project "Living Images in my World: A History Beneath US-Forgotten Sacred Ground Across the River Creek." 
• Multi-Media Training Institute - for their project "Preserving LeDroit Park: A Historic Community in Washington, DC." 
• Historic Woodlawn Cemetery Perpetual Care Association - for their project "Historic Woodlawn Cemetery Records Conversion Project." 

Tyrone General of the Woodlawn Cemetery
Perpetual Care Association with Scott

• Anacostia Bicyclist Association - for their project "Anacostia Heritage Ride." 
• Deanwood Heights Main Streets - for their project "Third Annual Historic Church Tour of Deanwood." 
• The Institute of Caribbean Studies - for their project "The Museum of the Caribbean Diaspora: A Digital Repository." 
• Capitol Hill Arts Workshop - for their project "Uncovering Capitol Hill History Through Stories of the Capitol Hill Art Workshop." 
• The Essential Theatre - for their project "My Neighborhood in 1955." 
• International Artists Support Group - for their project "Washington Color School Project." 

This year's class of grantee organizations is ready to produce a diverse collection of educational materials of city-wide interest and importance. Thank you to all who applied!

Funds for the DC Community Heritage Project are provided by a partnership of the Humanities Council of Washington, DC and the DC Historic Preservation Office, which supports people who want to tell stories of their neighborhoods and communities by providing information, training and financial resources. This DC Community Heritage Project has also been funded in part by the US Department of the Interior, the National Park Service Historic Preservation Fund grant funds, administered by the DC Historic Preservation Office and by the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities.

Freedom Riders On WETA and HCTV

New Documentary Airs Monday Night at 9PM

In 1961, a group of African American activists, with supporters of all races and ethnicities, boarded buses at the New York Avenue Greyhound station bound for the Deep South. The supreme court had recently declared discriminatory laws effecting interstate buses and depots unconstitutional, and this courageous group was determined to test the ruling. The Freedom Riders were taunted, beaten, and jailed; their buses disabled and set ablaze, but the determined voyagers succeeded in sending the message that the rule of law alone would not be enough to subdue an entrenched Jim Crow.

This Monday at 9pm, PBS will air an all new documentary film on the Freedom Riders. The WETA website features a history of the movement, excerpts from a Smithsonian panel discussion, updates from a group of students recreating the original bus route, and an interview with the film's creator.

PBS Freedom Rides Trailer

Local filmmaker Steven Nero has been working on a similar, but more DC-focused, documentary with funding from the Humanities Council for the last few years. The most recent edition debuted at the DC Community Heritage Project showcase last December, and has garnered significant attention on the Council's Youtube channel. Check out the film if you haven't already, and be sure to tune in on Monday for producer Stanley Nelson's take on this historic Civil Rights protest.

Nero's Greyhound Building and Freedom Riders Documentary

The DC Community Heritage Project is a partnership of the Humanities Council, the DC Office of Historic Preservation and the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities.

Connecting Preservation to Community: Washington, D.C.’s Community Heritage Project

An Article By Bell Clement

Washington, D.C.’s Deanwood  is the sort of neighborhood often overlooked by preservationists and historians.  Tucked into a corner of the city between the Anacostia River and the District’s Maryland border, a far reach from the Capital’s monumental core., it is a quiet, residential community, built up by black, working-class Washingtonians in the early twentieth century.

Yet over the past five years, Deanwood has become a hub of preservation and local history activity.  Residents have published a book of community history, created a neighborhood heritage trail, and assisted in the landmarking of several neighborhood sites, with more projects to come.  How did this happen ?

Members of the Deanwood History Committee (left to right,
Barbara J. Moore, Alverna M. Miller, Deidre R. Gantt [standing],
Elaine King Bowman, and Kia Chatmon)  gather at the First Baptist Church
of Deanwood toreview material for their book, Washington, D.C.’s Deanwood.

“The first time we came together as the Deanwood History Committee was when the Historic Preservation Office asked us to help with a survey of neighborhood architecture,” says Kia Chatmon, a member of the Committee and its current chair.  “We saw pretty quickly that we needed to assemble a neighborhood history, if the architectural survey was to have any context.”

“One thing we’ve learned,” says Patsy Fletcher, Community Outreach Coordinator for D.C.’s Historic Preservation Office, and the staffer who asked Deanwood residents’ help with the survey , “is that there’s no way to interest residents in historic preservation until they‘re engaged with neighborhood history.”  

Washington, D.C.’s effort to nurture that kind of engagement has produced the D.C. Community Heritage Project.  Now entering its sixth year, the CHP is a collaborative of community historians supported by a partnership including the Humanities Council of Washington, D.C. (HCWDC), D.C’s. Historic Preservation Office (HPO), and the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities. Initiated in 2005, the CHP has assisted dozens of community heritage projects across the District’s eight wards. The CHP has supported the work of the Deanwood History Committee, and provided funding for Washington, D.C.’s Deanwood,  brought out Arcadia Publishing in 2008.

The CHP got its start as a response to the real estate frenzy that transformed Washington during the mid-2000’s. New money and new people were flooding old established D.C. neighborhoods.  “People loved that there was new investment in their neighborhood, of course.” says Fletcher, “The concern was, with all these new voices in the mix, a loss of a feeling of ownership on the part of long-term residents.”  The “last straw,” says Fletcher, were the moves to rename old neighborhoods.  In these “re-brandings”, old “Sursam Corda” became “NoMa” (“north of Massachusetts Avenue”).  Old “East of the River” became “River East.” Says Fletcher, “People just couldn’t take it.”

A small group, including Fletcher herself and academic historians involved in D.C. neighborhoods, came together to look for ways to respond.  They envisioned a framework that would support residents in telling their own stories of the communities in which they lived.  

The group sought help from the Humanities Council, which now hosts the Project.  Says HCWDC Executive Director Joy Austin, “The Humanities Council’s mission is to provide the collaborative environment, skills-building, and funding needed to undergird the efforts of people here in the District to tell their stories.  The CHP effort fit right in to that.”  The synergy between the Humanities Council and HPO is an important factor in the Project’s success.  Says Fletcher, “Leadership at HPO saw clearly that to be successful in District neighborhoods, we would need a ‘softer, gentler’ approach to preservation.  Working in tandem with the Humanities Council and its deep community network allowed us to implement that.”

The central challenge facing the Project was to figure out how to generate a community-driven program. As a response to initiatives that seemed to impose community history “from the outside,” how was the CHP to be different ?  “We didn’t want to become the very thing we were criticizing,” says Fletcher “so at the start we asked community activists to tell us what their needs were, and what a heritage project might do to meet them.”

That first CHP convening occurred in June 2005, and “we got an earful,” says Executive Director Austin.  “We learned right away that if you bring community historians from across the city together, you set off a storm of cross-pollenation .  So we do citywide convenings twice a year, to keep practitioners in touch with each other.”  Another result is that as activists learn about projects in other neighborhoods they’d like to start in their own communities, they ask for help building the skills they need .  “So,” says Austin, “we host workshops throughout the year – trainings in newsletter and brochure production, videography, document preservation, and oral history.”

The Project also addresses funding.  Says Austin, “What we see demonstrated through the CHP is that small amounts of funding, if channeled directly to the grassroots, can make a powerful difference.  Lots of worthwhile community projects stall just short of completion for want of a bit of money.”  CHP grants – none more than $2,000 - make it possible for community projects to pay for digital scans of old newspapers, or photographic reproductions or oral history transcriptions.

As with other CHP-supported projects, some of the outcomes of the Deanwood History Committee’s work – its  publications or the recent landmarkings – are easy to identify.  Other effects are more difficult to trace, but equally important.  “We have produced a record of the history of the community here,” says Chatmon.  “Now, when people or businesses come to Deanwood, they know they aren’t dealing with a blank slate, but with a place that has a specific past, a specific heritage.”

A key lesson, underscored through the Project’s first five years, is that  sustaining community leadership in preservation initiatives is hard work.  Says Fletcher, “that ‘softer, gentler’ preservation we practice – it’s tough.  This effort has to be led by the people on the front lines of the projects.  That means constant work at keeping communication open, and  incorporating  new ideas as needs change.  This is not a ‘set it and forget it’ kind of effort.”

Hard work, but worth it.  Continues Fletcher, “As a preservationist, there is nothing like that moment when  somebody from a community history project - a neighborhood resident, not somebody with special preservation training – makes the connection between the neighborhood stories they’re assembling and a particular site: ‘So that’s why this building is here; that’s what it has meant over the years.  This is a treasure, and it’s a part of  this community !’  That’s the moment I love to see.”
- Bell Clement

Bell Clement is a graduate student at George Washington University’s Department of History.  She is a past recipient of Humanities Council of Washington, D.C. grant support in her research on the District’s Fourteenth Street corridor.


The Humanities Council is currently accepting proposals for 2011 DC Community Heritage Project Grants. Applicants are highly encouraged to attend a grants assistance workshop, though it is not required. All proposals are due May 6th by 5pm.