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Bloomingdale in Northwest Washington in Washington, District of Columbia — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
 

Dividing Line

Worthy Ambition

— LeDroit Park/Bloomingdale Heritage Trail —

 
 
Dividing Line Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Devry Becker Jones (CC0), November 23, 2017
1. Dividing Line Marker
Inscription.
This busy stretch of Rhode Island Avenue was a racial dividing line even as DC became majority African American in 1957. "African Americans were not welcome on [the north] side of the street," commented Reverend Bobby Livingston years later, "unless you had a mop and a bucket in your hands." In 1958 Mount Bethel Baptist Church, a 1,500-member black congregation, purchased its church from a white Methodist congregation. Reverend Leamon White oversaw Mount Bethel's move from Second and V Streets. The civil rights activist had worked for desegregation in the early 1950s and in 1963 helped plan the March on Washington. Signs for the march were assembled in Mount Bethel Church.

Memories of discrimination during the 1940s and '50s remain for many neighbors. Across First Street, Rhode Island Pharmacy operated a whites-only soda fountain. Discrimination meant, however, that black-owned businesses thrived, including Johnson's pharmacy and Harrison's Café on Florida Avenue. Some white businesses welcomed all to sit and eat, including B. Ambrogi's at Third and Rhode Island, later B & J's Barbecue.

Like many DC neighborhoods, Bloomingdale experienced the civil disturbances following the 1968 assassination of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The Safeway near this corner was looted. In addition, "Rioters ...
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destroyed the inside of" Reservoir Market, recalled Barry Cohen of his family's store just north at First and U Streets. "It was like a bomb had gone off." The building survived only because the upstairs tenant held her baby as she yelled out the window, "Please don't burn us out! I have nowhere to go!"
 
Erected 2015 by Cultural Tourism DC. (Marker Number 11.)
 
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African AmericansChurches & ReligionCivil RightsIndustry & Commerce. In addition, it is included in the LeDroit Park/Bloomingdale Heritage Trail series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1957.
 
Location. 38° 54.938′ N, 77° 0.709′ W. Marker is in Northwest Washington in Washington, District of Columbia. It is in Bloomingdale. Marker is at the intersection of T Street Northwest and 1st Street Northwest, on the left when traveling east on T Street Northwest. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 84 Rhode Island Avenue Northwest, Washington DC 20001, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. DC and the Development of the International Bear Brotherhood Flag (about 600 feet away, measured in a direct line); Fathers and Sons (about 700 feet away); Anna Julia Hayward Cooper Residence (approx. 0.2 miles away); Home to Headliners
Dividing Line Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Devry Becker Jones (CC0), November 23, 2017
2. Dividing Line Marker
(approx. 0.2 miles away); Bloomingdale (approx. 0.2 miles away); Barnett Aden Gallery (approx. 0.2 miles away); Separate Schools (approx. 0.2 miles away); Elks Columbia Lodge No. 85 (approx. 0.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Northwest Washington.
 
Dividing Line Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Devry Becker Jones (CC0), February 22, 2020
3. Dividing Line Marker
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on January 30, 2023. It was originally submitted on November 23, 2017, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 285 times since then and 15 times this year. Last updated on March 8, 2019, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. Photos:   1, 2. submitted on November 23, 2017, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.   3. submitted on February 22, 2020, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.

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Mar. 28, 2024