| Alabama (Dallas County), Beloit — The Beloit Industrial Institute |
| | Marker Front: The Beloit Industrial Institute was founded in 1888 by Industrial Missionary Association, an area subdivision of the American Missionary Associations. The President of the Association, Dr. Charles B. Curtis, was a Presbyterian missionary and educator from Wisconsin who established the school and founded the Beloit community. Dr. Curtis named the community for his Alma Mater, Beloit College in Wisconsin. The Beloit Industrial Institute gained recognition as the first . . . — Map (db m22142) |
| Alabama (Dallas County), Cahaba — Dallas County Courthouse |
| | The grassed over mound of brick before you was once Dallas County's courthouse. This courthouse was built in 1834. It was dismantled prior to 1905 by brick salvagers.
Cahawba was the county seat from 1818 to 1866. This brought a lot of people, business and money into town. When the county seat was moved to Selma in 1866, most of Cahaba's residents moved also.
After the Civil War, the abandoned courthouse became a meeting hall for freedman seeking new political power. Cahaba was known . . . — Map (db m23010) |
| Alabama (Dallas County), Cahaba — Kirk-View Farm |
| | In 1866, shortly after the Civil War and a severe flood, the county seat was moved from Cahaba to Selma. Residents rapidly abandoned the town. Many homes were dismantled and reassembled elsewhere.
Despite this trend, returning Confederate veteran Samuel McCurdy Kirkpatrick and his wife Sarah purchased a large brick house and outlying structures here on the northern edge of town. They acquired many of the vacated town lots and consolidated them into a large farm. For nearly seventy years, . . . — Map (db m22362) |
| Alabama (Jackson County), Scottsboro — Jackson County Courthouse And The Scottsboro Boys |
| | Marker front:
Constructed in 1911-1912 and designed by architect Richard H. Hunt, the Jackson County Courthouse is a Neo-Classical, brick building situated on a town square in Scottsboro, the county seat of Jackson County. The front, two-story portico is supported by four stone columns of the Doric order. A cupola on the top contains a Seth Thomas clock.
This courthouse was the site of the first of the Scottsboro Boys trials. Two white women accused nine black teenagers of rape on . . . — Map (db m22264) |
| Alabama (Jackson County), Scottsboro — Scottsboro Railroad Depot |
| | The Memphis and Charleston Railroad Company constructed the Scottsboro Railroad Depot in 1860-1861 as a passenger and freight facility. The rail line ran throughout the Confederacy and the Union considered its capture vital to cutting off supplies to the south. On January 8, 1865, the Depot was the site of an intense battle between 101st U.S. Colored Infantry and the 110th U.S. Colored Infantry, who held the Depot, and Confederate soldiers led by Brigadier-General H. B. Lyon. The out-numbered . . . — Map (db m22258) |
| Alabama (Jefferson County), Birmingham — Julius Ellsberry |
| | In dedication to Julius Ellsberry, the first Black Alabama man to die in World War II; born Birmingham, Ala, 1922.
Enlisted in the U.S. Navy, 1940; First Class Mate [sic] Attendant aboard battleship Oklahoma in the Battle of Pearl Harbor, did sacrifice his life to save his shipmates, December 7, 1941. — Map (db m4635) |
| Alabama (Jefferson County), Birmingham — Rickwood Field |
| | Built by local industrialist A. H. "Rick" Woodward, this park opened on August 18, 1910. It is the oldest surviving baseball park in America. Rickwood served as the home park for both the Birmingham Barons (until 1987) and the Birmingham Black Barons (until 1963). It was also a favorite site for barnstorming Major League teams. Many greats of the game thrilled crowds here, including Babe Ruth, Jackie Robinson, Ty Cobb, Burleigh Grimes, Ted Williams, Stan Musial, Walt Dropo,and Reggie Jackson. . . . — Map (db m22526) |
| Alabama (Jefferson County), Leeds — John Henry — Ledgendary 'Steel Drivin' Man' |
| | The story of "steel driving' man" John Henry is one of America's most enduring legends. The strong ex-slave became a folk hero during construction of the Columbus & Western Railroad between Goodwater and Birmingham. He drilled holes for explosives used to blast tunnels. According to legend, he was involved in a race against a steam-powered drill that its manufacturer claimed could do the job faster than a man. Witnesses said after the all-day contest that he and his heavy hammer cleared . . . — Map (db m22207) |
| Alabama (Macon County), Tuskegee Institute — The Tuskegee Airmen's Plaza |
| | This plaza is dedicated to the memory of the Tuskegee Airmen, including General Daniel "Chappie" James, whose training at Tuskegee University and the Tuskegee Army Air Field enabled them to prove for all time the competence and bravery of Black Americans in the U.S. Air Force.
This plaza commemorates their courageous service in the air and on the ground--both women and men--in defense of the United States of America. Without their commitment and daring, America's victories over her enemies would have been much more difficult. — Map (db m20076) |
| Alabama (Pickens County), Carrollton — Pickens County Courthouse — Erected 1877-78 |
| | Pickens County, named for General Andrew Pickens of South Carolina, was established December 19, 1820. First County Site was Pickensville. On March 5, 1830, the government awarded 80 acres of land at Carrollton for the County Site. The first courthouse erected at Carrollton was burned on April 5, 1865, by troops of Union General John T. Croxton. A freedman, Henry Wells, was accused of burning the second on November 16, 1876. He was arrested in January, 1878, and held in the garret of this . . . — Map (db m22178) |
| California (Alameda County), Oakland — 48 — Charles S. Greene Library — African-American Museum and Library at Oakland — Oakland Landmark Number 48 |
| | Dedicated in 1902 as the Oakland Public Library, this was the first Carnegie Library built in Oakland. Designed in the American Beaux Arts style by architects Bliss and Faville (who later designed the Hotel Oakland), it was Oakland's main library until 1951.
Oakland had outgrown its first public library, a wooden structure built in 1878 on the site of today's City Hall. Charles S. Greene, City Librarian from 1889 tp 1926, began a campaign to construct a new one. Andrew Carnegie's . . . — Map (db m18670) |
| California (El Dorado County), Coloma — Dukehart’s Barbershop and Bathhouse — Site of |
| | In the 1850s a black man known only as “Dukehart” operated a barbershop that straddled the creek at this location. Typical of many barbershops of this period, Dukehart’s establishment also provided hot baths for his customers. The water was carried through a trough or pipe into the building and heated. Then the water was poured over the bather, and the used water returned to the creek. — Map (db m17166) |
| California (El Dorado County), Coloma — Monroe Family Homestead |
| | The home of the pioneer Monroe family stood here for more than a century. The family matriarch, Nancy Gooch, came across the plains from Missouri as a slave in 1849. She gained her freedom in 1850 when California joined the Union as a “free” state. Later, she bought the freedom of her son, Andrew Monroe and his family, who joined her in Coloma.
Begun as a cabin, the home was enlarged as the family grew. Andrew and his son Pearley raised fruit and other crops. Their 80 acres of . . . — Map (db m17455) |
| California (El Dorado County), Coloma — Monroe House |
| | Perly Monroe was the grandson of Peter and Nancy Gooch, who were freed from slavery here when California became a state in 1850. The Monroe family became successful fruit farmers and prominent property holders in Coloma. Built in 1925, this house is tangible evidence of their success. The Monroe orchard, located elsewhere in the park, still produces pears and apples. — Map (db m17205) |
| California (Sacramento County), Folsom — Leidesdorff Plaza |
| | Dedicated to the memory of
WILLIAM ALEXANDER LEIDESDORFF
Early California pioneer, civic
leader, merchant, trader, and
owner of 35,000 acre rancho
“Rio de los Americanos” in the
Folsom area.
Born 1810 in Danish West Indies
of Negro and Danish parents
Died 1848 in San Francisco — Map (db m15617) |
| California (Sacramento County), Sacramento — Daniel Blue — 1811 - 1899 — In Memory of |
| |
in whose house St. Andrews African Methodist Episcopal Church the oldest African-American congregation on the Pacific Coast was organized in 1850
and
other members of the Sacramento area African-American community laid to rest on this site.
Built upon the foundation laid by the apostles and prophets, the cornerstone being Christ Jesus, himself"
Ephesians 2:19:20 — Map (db m18872) |
| California (Sacramento County), Sacramento — 1013 — Site of First African Methodist Episcopal Church on the Pacific Coast |
| | This is the site of the first church building associated with an African American religious congregation on the Pacific Coast. The church was the Methodist Church of Colored People of Sacramento City, formally organized in 1850. In 1851 the congregation was admitted into the African Methodist Episcopal Church, becoming the first African Methodist Episcopal Church on the Pacific Coast. First known as Bethel, the name was later changed to St. Andrews. The original 1850 wooden church building was . . . — Map (db m4327) |
| California (San Francisco City and County), San Francisco — Vernon Alley — Legendary San Francisco Jazzman |
| | The legendary jazz bassist Vernon Alley was born May 26, 1915, in Winnemuca, Nevada. His father was a barber, a railroad man, and a laborer. His mother was a hotel worker. He came to San Francisco as a child and has always called The City his home.
As a young man, his parents took him to see the jazz great Ferdinand "Jelly Roll" Morton. From that moment, jazz was to become his first love in a magical life that touched many people and broke many barriers.
Vernon Alley's life as a . . . — Map (db m20985) |
| California (San Joaquin County), Stockton — 22 — Moses Rogers Home — 1890 |
| | One of California’s leading Black citizens build and resided in this home with his wife, Sara, and five daughters until his death in 1900. Born a slave in Missouri, he participated in the California Gold Rush and earned a statewide reputation as a mining engineer. The home is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Stockton Historical Landmark No.22
Designated by the Stockton City Council 1978 — Map (db m23973) |
| Connecticut (Fairfield County), Danbury — Black Soldiers Memorial |
| | Dedicated to the Memory Of the Black Soldiers of Greater Danbury who Served in the 29th and 30th Regiments, Conn. Volunteer Infantry During the Civil War 1861 – 1865
[ Names inscribed on the back ]
29th Conn Infantry
Pvt James Adams • + Cpl Charles Aray • Pvt William Armstrong • Pvt William Avery • Cpl Allen Banks • Pvt Willis Banks • Pvt Joseph Barker • Cpl James Brewster • + Pvt Elbert Brown • Pvt Jerome Brown • Pvt Thomas Burr • Pvt Henry Butler • Cpl . . . — Map (db m23052) |
| Connecticut (Litchfield County), Watertown — Civil War Monument |
| | (Front):In commemoration of the patriotism and valor of the men of Watertown who, in the hour of peril, offered their lives that the republic might live, thus winning the gratitude of their fellow-citizens, the admiration of succeeding generations and a place among the nation’s heroes; this monument is erected that their example may serve as an inspiration to heroic deeds in all coming time.
(Right):Fifth Regiment Infantry Co. D. William Gridley Sixth Regiment Co. E. . . . — Map (db m18865) |
| Connecticut (New Haven County), Fair Haven — The Connecticut Twenty-Ninth Colored Regiment, C. V. Infantry |
| | [Center obelisk, west face:]
Bronze relief depicting soldiers in battle beneath the regimental colors of the "29th Reg't Connecticut Volunteers - QUI TRANSTULIT SUSTINE."
Battle Engagements
New Market Road - October 13, 1864
Darbytown Road - October 13, 1864
Kell House/Fair Oaks - October 27-28, 1864
Chaffins Farm - September 29, 1864
Petersburg - September 24, 1864
Richmond - September 29, 186[4]
Officers Died of Disease - 1
Officer Killed or . . . — Map (db m23085) |
| Delaware (New Castle County), Christiana — NC-184 — Old Fort Union American Methodist Episcopal Church |
| | In 1813 a group of African-American Methodists led by Peter Spencer formed an independent denomination that came to be known as the African Union Church. It was the first incorporated religious body in the United States controlled entirely by African Americans. Early meetings of the Christiana Bridge congregation were likely held at private residences until 1850, when a brick structure was built for worship. In 1854 the group was formally incorporated as the African Union Church of Christiana . . . — Map (db m13554) |
| Delaware (New Castle County), Delaware City — NC-97 — Delaware City School No. 118C |
| | In 1919 Delaware radically altered its state school system, opening a new era in the education of African-American youth. Progress was stimulated by the efforts of the Delaware School Auxiliary Association and its primary supporter, P.S. duPont, who conducted a statewide effort to replace outdated and overcrowded facilities. On March 9, 1922 the State received the deed for a new building to replace a school located in the Polktown section of the community. the facility housed grades 1 through . . . — Map (db m10445) |
| Delaware (New Castle County), Newark — Iron Hill School #112C — Preserving History: The African-American Community of Iron Hill |
| | The Iron Hill Museum is dedicated to the study of human and natural history of the Iron Hill Area. The Museum is currently engaged in a project to restore the Iron Hill School #112C and document the experiences of African-American students who attended the school between 1923 and 1965.
In order to achieve this, the Museum has embarked on an oral history project to formally interview and record the memories of former students who are now between the ages of 40 and 80. Oral historian Roberta . . . — Map (db m10053) |
| Delaware (New Castle County), Newark — NC-129 — Pride of Delaware Lodge #349 IBPOEW |
| | The Improved Benevolent Protective Order of Elks of the World was formally organized in 1898. Designed to promote civic improvements, the IBPOEW is one of the largest fraternal organizations of its type in the world. Responding to the request of a group of Newark citizens, the IBPOEW issued a charter for Pride of Delaware Lodge #349 on March 29, 1923. The first Exalted Ruler of the new lodge was W. G. Saunders, a long-time leader in Newark's African-American community. The present Lodge Hall . . . — Map (db m9974) |
| Delaware (New Castle County), Newark — NC-167 — St. John African Methodist Church |
| | This congregation was organized circa 1848. Early meetings were held in a log cabin at this location on land that was conveyed to trustees of the "Protestant Methodist Church" in 1850. In 1866 the members of the First Colored Methodist Protestant denomination merged with the African Union Church, which had been founded in Wilmington in 1813 and was the first incorporated religious body controlled entirely by African-Americans. The new denomination became known as the African Union Methodist . . . — Map (db m9968) |
| Delaware (New Castle County), Odessa — NC-90 — Appoquinimink Friends Meeting House |
| | Believed to be one of the smallest Quaker Meeting Houses in the nation, the Appoquinimink Friends Meeting House was built in 1785 by David Wilson and presented to the Friends as a gift. Local tradition identifies this structure as a stop on the Underground Railroad during the years preceding the Civil War. While enroute to destinations north of Delaware, runaway slaves would hide in the loft of the church in order to escape capture. Prominent local Quakers who served as agents on the Railroad . . . — Map (db m10308) |
| Delaware (New Castle County), Port Penn — Port Penn Schoolhouse — Symbol of the Community |
| | Left Panel State Stewardship: Linking People, Culture and Environment After operating the museum for fifteen years, the Port Penn Area Historical Society transferred the schoolhouse museum to the Division of Parks and Recreation in 1991. It now serves as the cornerstone of the Delaware Folklife Program's mission to document and interpret Delaware's local culture. Port Penn's marshland and ways of life remain a focus of the Division's interpretive programs. Center Panel Eight . . . — Map (db m10430) |
| Delaware (New Castle County), Townsend — NC-93 — Taylor's Bridge School — (District No. 66) |
| | On April 5, 1923 a frame schoolhouse located nearby was destroyed by a storm. Within two weeks the General Assemble appropriated $5,000 to construct a new school. Although the amount proved to be inadequate, P.S. duPont, through the Delaware School Auxiliary Association, provided the balance necessary to complete the project. On October 27, 1923 the State of Delaware purchased three acres on this site to build the new brick on-room structure. Construction began shortly thereafter. In 1949 the . . . — Map (db m10596) |
| Delaware (New Castle County), Wilmington — NC-102 — Bethel A.M.E. Church |
| | On May 10, 1846, a group of African-American residents of Wilmington who had affiliated themselves with the African Methodist Episcopal Church held a meeting for the purposes of electing trustees and organizing as a corporate body. At the time, approximately 15 families were meeting from house to house, worshipping under the direction of ministers from Mother Bethel A.M.E. Church in Philadelphia. The following September, the congregation purchased land at 12th and Elizabeth Streets on which a . . . — Map (db m11010) |
| Delaware (New Castle County), Wilmington — NC-138 — Brown v. Board of Education |
| | Delaware remained a racially segregated society until the mid-twentieth century. Though the segregation of public schools was supported by the “separate but equal” doctrine that had been upheld by the nation’s highest court, the facilities and services provided students were hardly equal. Seeking to address this situation, citizens in the communities of Claymont and Hockessin solicited the counsel of Louis L. Redding, the state’s first African-American attorney. In 1951, with the . . . — Map (db m3124) |
| Delaware (New Castle County), Wilmington — NC-143 — Ezion-Mount Carmel United Methodist Church |
| |
In 1805 a group of African-Americans, desiring greater freedom of worship, withdrew from Asbury Methodist Episcopal Church to form a separate congregation. Led by Peter Spencer and William Anderson, they established what was then known as the African M. E. Church at 9th and French Streets. This was Delaware’s first church to be organized by African-Americans. The original house of worship was replaced by a new brick structure on the site in 1870. It was formally renamed Ezion Methodist . . . — Map (db m14757) |
| Delaware (New Castle County), Wilmington — NC-128 — Freedom Lost |
| | By the late 1700s the institution of slavery was declining in Delaware. A changing economy and the active efforts of Quakers and Methodists had led to the manumission of many slaves and dramatic growth of the state’s free black population. Though Congress outlawed importation of slaves in 1808, demand for slave labor in the expanding states of the Deep South continued to grow. A nefarious criminal element sought to fill this need by kidnapping free blacks for sale into slavery. Such was the . . . — Map (db m10950) |
| Delaware (New Castle County), Wilmington — N.C.- 84 — Gravesite of Bishop Peter Spencer (1779-1843) — And His Devoted Wife, Annes |
| | Born a slave, Bishop Spencer was the father of Delaware’s independent Black church movement. In 1813, he founded the Union Church of Africans, presently known as the African Union Methodist Protestant Church. The mother AUMP church stood on this site from 1813 to 1970. The Union American Methodist Episcopal Church (UAME), formally organized in 1865, traces its origins to Spencer. He was also the founder of “August Quarterly” in 1813, one of the oldest Black folk festivals in America. — Map (db m2607) |
| Delaware (New Castle County), Wilmington — NC-82 — Howard High School — First Secondary School for Blacks in Delaware |
| | Founded in 1867 by the Association for the Moral Improvement and Education of Colored People and named for Civil War General Oliver Otis Howard, the original school was located at 12th and Orange Streets.
Pierre S. DuPont was the major benefactor for the new building, opened in 1928 on this site. With the annexation of the adjoining Howard Career Center in 1975. Howard's role as the major education institution for Blacks expanded to include students from the total Delaware community. — Map (db m10914) |
| Delaware (New Castle County), Wilmington — NC-149 — Knotty Pine Restaurant |
| | In 1875 the Delaware General Assembly enacted legislation requiring the racial segregation of public places such as train stations, hotels, and restaurants. For most of the next century this practice was strictly enforced. Established at this location in 1959, the Knotty Pine Restaurant was a refuge for African Americans in a city where access to public facilities was still limited. Noted for its “down home cooking” and friendly atmosphere, the Knotty Pine was popular with residents . . . — Map (db m10920) |
| Delaware (New Castle County), Wilmington — Louis L. Redding City County Building |
| | Named in honor of Delaware’s first Afro-American attorney, graduate of Howard High School, Brown University, and Harvard Law School, admitted to the Delaware Bar in 1929, pioneer in the struggle for equality and tireless advocate in civil rights cases of national significance.
Successfully representing victims of racial discrimination in a series of landmark cases, he gave new meaning to the concept of equality under the law.
In the courts of Delaware, Parker vs. University of . . . — Map (db m5526) |
| Delaware (New Castle County), Wilmington — NC-94 — Saint Joseph Church |
| | The cradle of African-American Catholicism in Delaware, St. Joseph Church was organized in 1889 by Father John A. DeRuyter of the Josephites. Services were first held in the basement of St. Mary’s Church on 6th and Pine Streets. Incorporated as St. Joseph’s Society for Colored Missions on March 4, 1890, the first church structure was dedicated in October of the same year. During the next few years, Father DeRuyter expanded the church’s role in the community to include an orphanage, a school and . . . — Map (db m10919) |
| Delaware (New Castle County), Wilmington — Scott AME Zion Church |
| | Zion Church in New York City, organized in 1796, was the catalyst by which the African Methodist Episcopal Zion denomination was established in 1821. By the 1870’s a number of Wilmington residents had affiliated themselves with this growing denomination. Formally incorporated as Plymouth AME Zion Church in 1878, the group first held worship services in an old church at 2nd & Washington Streets. Renamed Grace AME Zion in the 1890s, the congregation moved to several locations before purchasing . . . — Map (db m11011) |
| Delaware (New Castle County), Wilmington — NC-152 — Shiloh Baptist Church |
| | The origin of this congregation can be traced to 1875, when members of a Sunday School class affiliated with First Baptist Church met to plan the organization of a separate church to serve the needs of the city's African-American residents. Formally organized on May 31, 1876, Shiloh was the first African-American Baptist church in the State of Delaware. The first pastor was Reverend Benjamin T. Moore, who continued to serve in that capacity until his death in 1928. For several years meetings . . . — Map (db m13583) |
| Delaware (New Castle County), Wilmington — NC-86 — South Wilmington — Cradle of African-American Political Leaders |
| | William J. Winchester, after serving 16 years on Wilmington City Council, became the first of his race elected to the Delaware House of Representatives. He served from 1948 until his death in 1952. Herman M. Holloway Sr., became the first African-American elected to the State Senate in 1964. Henrietta Johnson was the first African-American female elected to the House of Representatives, serving from 1970-1978. — Map (db m14135) |
| Delaware (New Castle County), Wilmington — NC-125 — Wilmington Friends Meeting — Burial Place of Thomas Garrett |
| | The first Meeting House on this site was built in 1738. It was replaced in 1748 when a larger building was constructed. The old Meeting House was then converted into a school. Known as Wilmington Friends School, it was relocated to a new facility in 1937, and is the oldest existing school in the state. The present Meeting House was built in 1816. Wilmington was the last major stop on the East Coast overland route of the Underground Railroad. One of the central figures of this clandestine . . . — Map (db m10941) |
| Delaware (Sussex County), Lewes — SC-214 — Menhaden Fishing Industry |
| | The Atlantic Menhaden is a small herring-like fish found in the coastal waters of the Eastern United States. Used by Native Americans to fertilize crops, these oily fish were also used by European settlers to produce fuel for lamps. In the mid-19th century, technological improvements resulted in more efficient processing methods and the menhaden fishing industry was greatly expanded. Products included oil for use in paints and fertilizer to support the growing nation’s agricultural economy. In . . . — Map (db m19428) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Adams-Morgan — 5 of 18 — Ambassadors of Faith — Roads to Diversity — Adams Morgan Heritage Trail |
| |
Three dramatic religious structures dominate this corner. They are among some 40 religious institutions lining 16th Street between the White House and the Maryland state line.
Many serve as unofficial “embassies” representing the interests of their faiths before the U.S. Government. The neo-Baroque National Baptist Church, to your right, is a memorial to Roger Williams, founder of Rhode Island and champion of religious liberty. Its congregation has long worked for social . . . — Map (db m17076) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Adams-Morgan — 4 of 18 — Life on the Park — Roads to Diversity — Adams Morgan Heritage Trail |
| | During the Civil War (1861-1865), the Union Army Carver Hospital and barracks occupied Meridian Hill. The facilities attracted African American freedom seekers looking for protection and employment. By war’s end, a Black community had put down rooks. Soon Weyland Seminary opened to train African American clergy and teachers. In the late 1880s, Mary Foote Henderson purchased most of this land and evicted its residents. Many settled in today’s Reed-Cooke neighborhood to your left.
The . . . — Map (db m17032) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Adams-Morgan — 2 of 18 — Meridian Hill/Malcolm X Park — Roads to Diversity — Adams Morgan Heritage Trail |
| | Long before Europeans arrived, Meridian Hill was a sacred place for Native Americans. As recently as 1992, a delegation of Native Americans walked across the continent to this park to mourn the 500th anniversary of Columbus’s arrival. They were received by environmentalist Josephine Butler, a champion of park preservation.
Europeans named the hill for Commodore David Porter’s grand Meridian Hill house (1825) which straddled the route of the prime meridian (16th Street). Americans used this . . . — Map (db m16910) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Adams-Morgan — 3 of 18 — The Roots of Reed-Cooke — Roads to Diversity — Adams Morgan Heritage Trail |
| | In 1947, the building on your left opened as the National Arena, a public roller rink and bowling alley. It also hosted professional wrestling, roller derbies, and rock concerts. In 1986 it became the Citadel Motion Picture Center, where portions of Peggy Sue Got Married, Gardens of Stone, and other movies were filmed. In 1994 MTV recorded its town hall meeting with President Bill Clinton in the studio here in Reed-Cooke.
Reed-Cooke’s earliest African American settlers moved . . . — Map (db m17031) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Anacostia — Frederick Douglass National Historic Site |
| | Also known as Cedar Hill, this site encompasses the estate owned by Frederick Douglass from 1877 until his death in 1895. In honor of Douglass’ work as an author, orator, abolitionist, statesman, and civil rights leader, this site is designated a Literary Landmark by Friends of Libraries U.S.A. — Map (db m5471) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Anacostia — The Growlery |
| | Here stood Frederick Douglass’ rustic retreat from domestic society, where he could think, read and write undisturbed. Evoking the image of a lion’s lair, he called his hideaway the Growlery. It was simply furnished with a lounge, a high desk and a stool. The present building is a reconstruction. — Map (db m5362) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Brightwood — 17 — Aunt Betty's Story — Battleground to Community — Brightwood Heritage Trail |
| | Elizabeth Proctor Thomas (1821-1917), a free Black woman whose image appears on each Brightwood Heritage Trail sign, once owned 11 acres in this area. Known, respectfully in her old age as "Aunt Betty," Thomas and her husband James farmed and kept cows here. When the Civil War came in 1861, her hilltop attracted Union soldiers defending Washington. As Thomas later told a reporter, one day soldiers "began taking out my furniture and tearing down our house" to build Fort Stevens. Then a . . . — Map (db m17132) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Brightwood — 15 — The Rock on Brightwood Avenue — Battleground to Community — Brightwood Heritage Trail |
| | Across Quackenbros Street is Emory United Methodist Church. Named to honor Bishop John Emory of Maryland (1789-1835), the congregation dates from 1832.
From the beginning, Emory welcomed all races but, like most Washington churches then, seated African Americans in a separate gallery. In 1846 the national Methodist church split over the slavery issue. Seven years later Emory sided with the South. In 1939 the Methodist Church reunited. Despite its southern sympathies, the church had helped . . . — Map (db m17223) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Brookland — Charles Richard Drew Memorial Bridge |
| | Named in honor of Dr. Charles Richard Drew, 1904-1950 esteemed citizen of the District of Columbia athlete, scholar, surgeon, and scientist whose discoveries in blood preservation saved thousands of lives. — Map (db m6262) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Capitol Hill — Freedmen’s Memorial Monument to Abraham Lincoln — or Freedom’s Memorial |
| | In grateful memory of Abraham Lincoln. This monument was erected by the Western Sanitary Commission of Saint Louis, Mo., with funds contributed solely by emancipated Citizens of the United States declared free by his Proclamation, January 1st A.D. 1863. The first contribution of five dollars was made by Charlotte Scott, a freed woman of Virginia, being her first earnings in freedom and consecrated by her suggestion and request, on the day she heard of President Lincoln’s death, to build a . . . — Map (db m2097) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Capitol Hill — Mary McLeod Bethune |
| | 1875–1955 Let her works praise her. I leave you love. • I leave you hope. • I leave you the challenge of developing confidence in one another. • I leave you a thirst for education. • I leave you a respect for the use of power. • I leave you faith. • I leave you racial dignity. • I leave you also a desire to live harmoniously with your fellow man. • I leave you finally a responsibility to our young people. —Mary McLeod Bethune. — Map (db m5505) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Capitol Hill — 9 — Washington Navy Yard: Serving the Fleet — Tour of Duty: Barracks Row Heritage Trail |
| | In front of you is the main gate of the Washington Navy Yard, established in 1799. It is the U.S. Navy's oldest shore facility in continuous use. Over time, workers here have built and repaired ships and their fittings, designed and developed ordnance (weapons and ammunition), and provided administrative support for the fleet.
Although city designer Pierre L'Enfant planned a commercial center for the site, its access to water and nearby timber made it a natural for ship building. The . . . — Map (db m10835) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Colonial Village — Frank D. Reeves — 7760 16th Street, NW — African American Heritage Trail, Washington, DC |
| | Frank D. Reeves (1916–1973), a lawyer and civil
rights activist, was part of the team that shaped the
1954 Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court
case outlawing school segregation. He advised
Senator John E Kennedy on minority affairs during
the 1960 presidential campaign, then joined the
Howard University School of Law faculty. At the same time Reeves served as legal counsel to the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and helped negotiate the 1963 March on Washington . . . — Map (db m20194) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Columbia Heights — 15 of 19 — College Hill — Cultural Convergence — Columbia Heights Heritage Trail |
| | Wayland Seminary opened in Foggy Bottom just after the Civil War to train formerly enslaved people and others as “preachers and teachers for the South” and as missionaries to evangelize Africa. In 1875 it moved here, later merging with Richmond Theological Seminary to become Virginia Union University in Richmond. Among Wayland’s distinguished alumni was Booker T. Washington.
Just two blocks up the hill is the former site of George Washington University’s predecessor, . . . — Map (db m23947) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Columbia Heights — Francis L. Cardozo High School — 1928 |
| | Organized September 1928 at M Street and New York Avenue
Moved February 19, 1933
to Ninth Street and Rhode
Island Avenue, N.W.
Moved August 1950 to Thirteenth
and Clifton Street, N.W. — Map (db m23651) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Columbia Heights — 9 of 19 — Justice vs. Injustice — Cultural Convergence — Columbia Heights Heritage Trail |
| |
These elegant 13th Street Houses were constructed when racial separation was legal and widely accepted. In 1910 the deeds for many houses across 13th Street had covenants banning “any negro or colored persons.” Those on this side generally did not have the covenants.
By the 1930s, 13th Street divided black from white. Then, in 1941, African American educator Mary Hundley and her husband Frederick bought 2530 13th Street, on the white side, despite its restrictive covenant. . . . — Map (db m23603) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Columbia Heights — 1 of 19 — Main Street — Cultural Convergence — Columbia Heights Heritage Trail |
| | Marker Front: Fourteenth Street has always been the business backbone of Columbia Heights. Beginning in the 1890s, electric streetcars dropped passengers at nearly every corner, attracting commerce. By 1925 storefronts occupied the blocks between Euclid and Otis Streets.
Most stores, often less than 20 feet wide, were family run and offered one line of products. In 192 on 14th Street between Irving Street and Park Road alone, you could find hats, bicycles, men's clothing, ladies’ . . . — Map (db m23705) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Columbia Heights — 10 of 19 — On the Heights — Cultural Convergence — Columbia Heights Heritage Trail |
| |
In the days of legally segregated public education (1862-1954), this school building was Central High, the gem of the School Board’s white division. But by 1949, it had few students, as the post-World War II suburban housing boom had drawn whites away. Consequently, African American families outnumbered whites around Central.
Nearby “Colored” high schools - especially Cardozo at Ninth Street and Rhode Island Avenue - struggled with overcrowded, outdated facilities. When . . . — Map (db m23608) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Columbia Heights — 17 of 19 — Social Justice — Cultural Convergence — Columbia Heights Heritage Trail |
| | Straight ahead is All Souls Church, Unitarian, long known for its social activism, starting with abolitionism in the 1820s and ranging through nuclear disarmament and interracial cooperation. During the segregation era, All Souls was one of the few places in DC open to integrated meetings. During the 1980s and '90s it (and other neighborhood churches) even hosted concerts by DC's influential punk bands Bad Brains, Fugazi, Minor Threat, and others.
In the 1960s, the church launched the . . . — Map (db m24152) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Deanwood — 5 of 15 — A Whirl on the Ferris Wheel — A Self Reliant People — Greater Deanwood Heritage Trail |
| | To your right it is the former Merritt Educational Center which operated from 1943 to 2008. However, if you were standing here in the 1920s or '30s, in its place you would have seen exuberant crowds of fashionably dressed African Americans enjoying Suburban Gardens Amusement Park.
The park was built in 1921 by architectural engineer Howard D. Woodson, writer John H. Paynter, theater magnate Sherman H. Dudley, and other investors of the black-owned Universal Development and Company. It was . . . — Map (db m24519) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Deanwood — 12 of 15 — Designed to Compete — A Self-Reliant People — Greater Deanwood Heritage Trail |
| | This quaint frame building has served several church congregations since its construction in 1908. The First Zion Baptist Church stayed for more than 60 years. Since 1993 members of Joshua's Temple First Born Church have worshiped within its walls.
One of the city's first academically trained Black architects, William Sidney Pittman (1875-1958), designed this understated structure. Pittman trained at Tuskegee Institute, where he won the support of the founder Booker T. Washington and later . . . — Map (db m21681) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Downtown — W.3 — Asbury United Methodist Church — Civil War to Civil Rights — Downtown Heritage Trail |
| | Stories of slavery and freedom, of struggle and achievement are woven through the history of this African American congregation. Founded in 1836, by the time of the Civil War Asbury United Methodist Church was the preeminent Black church in the city, its membership of 600 making it the largest of 11 African American congregations in Washington. Today, Asbury counts among its members descendants of District slaves who tried a dramatic escape to freedom in 1848 aboard the ship Pearl. . . . — Map (db m10904) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Downtown — Central Public Library — Mount Vernon Square — African American Heritage Trail, Washington, DC |
| | This majestic building was opened in 1903 as the Central Public Library, popularly known as the Carnegie Library because Andrew Carnegie donated funds to build it. From the start Central was open to all. Mary Church Terrell and historian John Cromwell spoke here regularly, and materials on African American history and culture were especially useful to teachers preparing for “Negro History Week” (now Black History Month). In 1972 the library moved to Ninth and G Streets, NW, and was . . . — Map (db m18794) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Downtown — e.2 — Old City Hall — Civil War to Civil Rights — Downtown Heritage Trail |
| | "--witness to the end of slavery in the nation’s capital."
This imposing Greek Revival building was Washington’s first city hall, designed by George Hadfield and built between 1820 and 1850. It house the city court and an elected mayor and city council until 1871. Its prestigious high site overlooked Pennsylvania Avenue and bordered Judiciary Square, then as now, a hub of community life.
This building also stood witness to the end of slavery in the District of Columbia. President . . . — Map (db m21758) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Downtown — The John A. Wilson Building |
| | The John A. Wilson Building is headquarters of the local government that serves the nearly 600,000 citizens who call the Nation's capital their home. The Mayor and the 13-member Council, elected by residents of the District of Columbia, oversee all functions similar to those of city, county and state governments across America. Dedicated as the District Building on July 4, 1908, it was renamed in 1998 for John A. Wilson, a former Council chairman. The marble and granite Beaux Artes style . . . — Map (db m12612) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Georgetown — Healy Hall — National Historic Landmark — Georgetown University |
| | [Panel 1:]
Healy Hall bares the name of
the Reverend Patrick F. Healy, S.J. 1834-1910 the University's twenty-ninth president 1873-1882
The first Black American to hold a doctorate and the first to serve as president of a major university in the United States, known as Georgetown's second founder. Father Healy - through his pioneering achievement and personal sacrifice - established this institution as a leader in American higher education.
[Panel 2:]
Healy Hall Georgetown . . . — Map (db m21889) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Mount Vernon Square/Shaw — 1 of 17 — Words and Deeds — Midcity at the Crossroads — Shaw Heritage Trail |
| | Wealthy industrialist Andrew Carnegie donated funds to build the Beaux Arts-style building you see across the street to your left, the city’s first public library. The Central Library opened in 1903 with 12,412 books by its predecessor, the private Washington City Free Library.
The public library welcomed all races at a time when the city was generally segregated. It occupied an unofficial border between businesses that primarily served Whites to the south, and those that largely catered . . . — Map (db m21801) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Navy Yard — Joshua (Josh) Gibson |
| | Josh Gibson is considered one of the greatest power hitters in the history of baseball. The powerful catcher led the Washington Homestead Grays to eight of nine Negro National titles from 1937 through 1945.
Gibson utilized a powerful swing, and tales of his mammoth home runs have become legend. Over his 17 year career, he hit almost 800 home runs.
In 1972, Josh Gibson was inducted into The National Baseball Hall of Fame. — Map (db m20613) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northeast — Former Site, Columbian Harmony Cemetery — 1857-1959 |
| | Many distinguished Black citizens including Civil War veterans were buried in this cemetery. These bodies now rest in the new National Harmony Memorial Park Cemetery in Maryland. — Map (db m16069) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — Bethune Museum-Archives |
| | Mary McLeod Bethume "Council House" National Historic Site Designated October 15, 1982 by Act of Congress Born on July 10, 1875, in Mayesville, South Carolina, Mary McLeod Bethune was the daughter of sharecroppers. After attending Scotia Seminary in North Carolina she founded Daytona School for Negro Girls which became Bethune-Cookman College. A leader in the black women's club movement, Mrs. Bethune became advisor to Presidents Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoover, and Franklin Roosevelt. During . . . — Map (db m17502) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — Carter G. Woodson House |
| | Has been designated a National Historic Landmark.
This site possesses national significance in commemorating the history of the United States of America. — Map (db m7121) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — Centennial Year, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority |
| | Commemorating the Centennial Year Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated.
Rankin Chapel, site of the Founder's Window erected in honor of the Sixteen Pillars of AKA, January 14, 1978.
Dr. Barbara A. Mckinzie, Centennial International President. Marker dedicated January 15, 2008 — Map (db m15659) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — Charles Sumner School Museum and Archives — African American Heritage Trail, Washington, D.C. |
| | 17th and M Streets, NW This school, completed in 1872, was one of three public elementary schools built for DC's black children just after the Civil War. Its name honors U.S. Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts, who fought to abolish slavery here, pay black soldiers the same as whites, establish the Freedman's Bureau, and provide education to all children. Designed by Adolf Cluss, Sumner opened as the city's most modern school building. After it closed in 1978, Sumner School was saved . . . — Map (db m8184) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — Charlotte Forten Grimke House |
| | Has been designated a National Historic Landmark.
This site possesses national significance in commemorating the history of the United States of America. — Map (db m7125) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — Howard University — Sixth Street and Howard Place, NW |
| | Howard University, one of the oldest Black colleges in the United States, was established by Congress in 1866 to educate formerly enslaved individuals. Its name honors Freedman's Bureau Commissioner General Oliver Otis Howard, a member of the white First Congregational Society of Washington, D.C., which originally conceived of the school as a theological seminary to train black ministers. Mordecai Wyatt Johnson, who became president in 1926, shaped Howard into a modern institution. The . . . — Map (db m9549) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) Church — The National Cathedral of African Methodism |
| | Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) Church was founded in the District of Columbia in 1838. It is the oldest A.M.E. church and the oldest continuously black-owned property in Washington, D.C. - the Nation's Capital. The church represents the merger of two other congregations, Israel Bethel A.M.E. (1821) and Union Bethel A.M.E. (1838). The latter was a stop on the Underground Railroad. These churches merged in 1870, and the present name, Metropolitan was officially designated and . . . — Map (db m18028) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church |
| | Was organized 1822, rebuilt in 1838 and completed in 1880. This site possess exceptional value in commemorating the Religious Life of the Negro in the United States of America. Designated a Category II Landmark by the Joint Committee on Landmarks and listed in the National Register of Historic Places. July 26, 1973 — Map (db m10191) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — Metropolitan AME Church — 1518 M Street, NW |
| | This church started on Capitol Hill in 1821 as Israel Bethel, was founded by African Americans denouncing White racism at Ebenezer Methodist Episcopal Church. Later, Pastor Henry McNeal Turner helped persuade President Lincoln to accept Black soldiers into the Union Army during the Civil War. In 1870 Israel Bethel merged with Union Bethel to become Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church, the “National Cathedral of African Methodism.” This building, designed by architect . . . — Map (db m9729) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Northwest — Metropolitan Wesley A.M.E. Zion Church — The Gate Way to Freedom |
| | Organized 1832.
2nd Church Built 1833.
Admitted to Philadelphia-Baltimore Conference, 1837.
3rd Church Built 1888.
Relocated present site, 1956.
Bishop Raymond Luthe Jones, Presiding Bishop, 4th Episcopal District.
Dr. William B. Baker, Presiding Elder.
Rev. R. H. Collins Lee, Minister.
Trustees:
Alphonzo Starks, Ch.
Hattie H. Williams, Sec.
William H. Moore, Treas.
Charles W. Wade, M.D.
Mabel H. Shaw
Edward W. Weyms
Percy Jackson
Stewart A. Hardy
R. H. . . . — Map (db m11042) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Penn Quarter — 601 Pennsylvania Avenue |
| | On this site in 1814, "The Star-Spangled Banner" was first sung in public. The most famous of several hotels on this block was Brown's Marble Hotel (1851-1935), an innovative Greek Revival landmark, where John Tyler and Abraham Lincoln were guests. In the 1830s, Beverly Snow, a free Black, operated the Epicurean Restaurant on the corner of 6the Street. The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad building was completed at the same location in 1893. Its facade was incorporated int the present office building, erected by the B. F. Saul Company in 1985. — Map (db m14915) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Penn Quarter — .2 — Ceremony at the Crossroads — Civil War to Civil Rights — Downtown Heritage Trail |
| | “Imagine a great avenue [with] solid ranks of soldiers, just marching steady all day long, for two days. ...” Walt Whitman. It took two days for the grand parade of 200,000 victorious Union soldiers described by the great American poet and Civil War nurse Walt Whitman to march down Pennsylvania Avenue past this spot, headed for review by President Andrew Johnson at the White House. Whitman might have been standing right here on May 23 or 24, 1865. This had been the ceremonial and . . . — Map (db m14875) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Penn Quarter — National Council of Negro Women — 633 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW. |
| | The National Council of Negro Women was founded in 1935 by Mary McLeod Bethune (1875-1955) to "harness the power and extend the leadership of African American women." Early on, the Council campaigned to outlaw the discriminatory poll tax, develop a public health progra, adopt anti-lynching legislation, and end discrimination in the U.S. Armed Forces, defense industries and government housing. The Council's 1995 move to this grand, former hotel building made it the only African American . . . — Map (db m9376) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Shaw — African American Civil War Memorial — "Spirit of Freedom" — Civil War to Civil Rights and Beyond |
| | This memorial is dedicated to those who served in the African American units of the Union Army in the Civil War. The 209,145 names inscribed on these walls commemorate those fighters of freedom.
[Names of the officers and enlisted men who served with the 166 regiments of the "United States Colored Troops" and other "African" units during the War of the Rebellion.] — Map (db m8410) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Shaw — Ben's Chili Bowl / Minnehaha Theater — 1213 U Street, NW — African American Heritage Trail |
| | Ben's Chili Bowl, founded in 1958 by Ben and Virginia Ali, is one of the oldest continuous businesses on U Street. It is also one of the few to survive both the assassination of the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., and the years of the disruptive Metro construction in the late 1980s. Thanks in part to the patronage of entertainer Bill Cosby, Ben's has become a national landmark. The restaurant occupies the former Minnehaha Theater, a 1910 movie house owned and operated from 1913 to 1920 by . . . — Map (db m20341) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Shaw — 4 of 14 — Civil War Camp to Victorian Neighborhood — City within a City — Greater U Street Heritage Trail |
| | The Shaw neighborhood and the Greater U Street Historic District are rich in African American and Civil War history. They are the ideal place for the African American Civil War Memorial now located on this Metro plaza. The neighborhood was named for Robert Gould Shaw, the White commander of the 54th Massachusetts Regiment, an African American unit featured in the film Glory. When the first shots of the Civil War were fired, this entire area north of Washington’s downtown was still woods . . . — Map (db m14858) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Shaw — 5 of 14 — Howard University Sets the Standard — City Within a City — Greater U Street Heritage Trail |
| | To the north and east of the U Street corridor rises the tower of Founders Library at Howard University - an institution created in 1867 that has trained and inspired generations of African American leaders and has been a lodestar for its own community.
The highest value was placed on educational achievement in this historic neighborhood. Divisions 10 through 13 of the DC Public Schools, the “colored schools” as they were known in pre-1954 segregated segregated Washington, . . . — Map (db m17224) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Shaw — Lincoln Theatre and Lincoln Colonnade — 1215 U Street, NW |
| |
The Lincoln Theatre , built by white theater magnate Harry Crandall, opened in 1922 under African American management as U Street's most elegant first-run movie house. With 1,600 seats, it also was one of the biggest. In addition to films, the Lincoln hosted vaudeville and amateur competitions. The Lincoln Colonnade, a public hall once located below and behind the theater, held "battles of the bands" featuring local and national entertainers as well as annual balls organized by social clubs. . . . — Map (db m7914) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Shaw — 13 of 14 — Meridian Hill Park — City Within a City — Greater U Street Heritage Trail |
| | Just ahead of you at the corner of 15th Street and Florida Avenue is the entrance to Meridian Hill Park, a dramatic urban oasis established in 1912 and completed in 1936. Its stunning, 12-acre landscape features the longest cascading waterfall of its kind in North America, a grand promenade and some of the city’s most interesting sculpture. Nationally known artists performed here from the 1930s into the 1970s, making it America’s first park for the performing arts. Pearl Bailey and Pearl Mesta . . . — Map (db m24149) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Shaw — Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia |
| | 1000 U Street, NW The first African Masonic order south of the Mason-Dixon line was founded in the District of Columbia in 1825. Social Lodge No. 7, as it was known, combined with two other lodges in 1848 to form the Union Grand Lodge. Later, the name was changed to honor Prince Hall, a Revolutionary War veteran who in 1784 obtained permission from Grand Lodge of Ancients in England to establish a "Lodge of Free Negroes" in Boston. This building, designed by Albert I. Cassell and built . . . — Map (db m7913) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Shaw — 12 of 17 — Reaching for Equality — Midcity at the Crossroads — Shaw Heritage Trail |
| | For much of the 1900s, inexpensive entertainments lined much of Seventh and Ninth Streets, from D to U Streets. Vaudeville houses, pool halls, record shops and taverns made for a busy night life. And everyone went to the movies. Two small theaters once operated on this block, the Alamo at 1203 and the Mid City (1223). Seventh Street also boasted the Happyland (1220), Gem (1131), and Broadway (1515), with the Raphael nearby at 1401 Ninth.
Until 1953, Washington’s movie houses were . . . — Map (db m22288) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Shaw — Saint Augustine Roman Catholic Church — 1425 V Street, NW |
| | Saint Augustine Roman Catholic Church began in 1858 when African American congregants of the Saint Matthews Church departed to organize their own day school. The group raised funds--even held and event on the White House Lawn--and eventually constructed a school and a chapel on 15th Street, north of I Street. Opening in 1866, the Blessed Martin de Porres School and Chapel soon became the center of a separate Black parish, Saint Augustine's. In 1961 the church merged with the predominantly White . . . — Map (db m10666) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Shaw — 9 of 17 — The Fires of 1968 — Midcity at the Crossroads — Shaw Heritage Trail |
| | The assassination of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on Thursday, April 4, 1968, changed this neighborhood forever.
When word of Dr. King’s murder spread that evening, Washingtonians gathered along busy 14th and U streets, NW; H Street, NE; and here on Seventh. At first distraught residents simply demanded that businesses close to honor the life of Dr. King, but soon angry individuals began smashing storefronts and taking merchandise. Fury over Dr. King’s death, combined with local . . . — Map (db m21658) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Shaw — 2 of 14 — The True Reformer Building — City Within a City — Greater U Street Heritage Trail |
| | The daily lives of residents of this historic African American community were woven together through hundreds of social and civic organizations--fraternal organizations, clubs, school alumni associations, civic associations and the like. The grand 5-story, Italianate building at the southwest corner of 12th and U Streets, known as the True Reformers Hall and later the Pythian Temple, was the setting for many of their activities. Completed in 1903, it was among the grandest buildings in the . . . — Map (db m12637) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Shaw — 3 of 14 — We had everything we needed right here — City Within a City — Greater U Street Heritage Trail |
| | Black businesses sprung up everywhere on U Street in the early 1900s. As racial segregation increased, African Americans in Washington began a traditon of protest. They also responded by creating institutions of there own. In the 25 years from 1895 to 1920, the number of Black-owned businesses in this area skyrocketed from about to more than 300. They clustered around U Street.
John Whitelaw Lewis led the way in a true rags to riches story. Arriving in Washington with few resources in . . . — Map (db m12642) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Shaw — 1 of 14 — You Had to Wear a Tie — City within a City — Greater U Street Heritage Trail |
| | You are standing on Washington’s historic Black Broadway–the heart of African American life in Washington, D.C. from about 1900 to the 1950s. Duke Ellington, its most famous native son, grew up, was inspired, trained, and played his first music here. He is but one example of the leaders in law, medicine, the military, science and the arts who were shaped by a community that valued education and supported achievement against great odds in a segregated society. Nearby Howard University was . . . — Map (db m17186) |
| District of Columbia (Washington), Southeast — Whitney M. Young, Jr. Memorial Bridge |
| | Named in honor of
Whitney Moore Young, Jr.
1921-1971
Humanitarian-scholar and venerable leader of the National Urban League whose work produced landmark changes in civil rights laws and notable progress towards social and economic justice in America. — Map (db m15606) |
Subscribe
— Privacy Policy
— Terms of Use
— About Us
— Contact Us
HMdb.org