Fairlawn in Southeast Washington in Washington, District of Columbia — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
Education Matters
An East-of-the-River View
— Anacostia Heritage Trail —
Anacostia's Ketcham School (across Good Hope Road) opened in 1908 to serve white elementary school children. For junior and senior high school, whites crossed the river until 1935, when Anacostia Junior-Senior High School opened at 16th and R Streets, four blocks to your left. In 1943 Kramer Junior High opened next door for grades seven through nine.
African American children had to cross the river for junior high school until 1950, when Douglass Junior High opened in the old Birney School. Their older siblings continued the commute for another four years until the U.S. Supreme Court ruled school segregation unconstitutional (Brown v. Board of Education).
Under DC's 1954 desegregation plan, students were allowed to remain in their current school until graduation, or they could switch immediately to their neighborhood school. That first September only 44 of Anacostia High School's approximately 1,200 students were African American. School opened calmly, but in early October white students at Anacostia, Eastern, and McKinley, High Schools staged a strike to protest desegregation. Elsewhere students returned quickly to classes, but in Anacostia police had to step in to end the protest.
Washington's German Orphan Home once stood about six blocks up Good Hope Road. Founded in 1879 by the Concordia German Evangelic Lutheran Church in Foggy Bottom, the home moved to "Good Hope Hill Farm" purchased from Captain Samuel and Flora Cabell in 1880. In 1965 it moved to Upper Marlboro Md., before closing in 1978.
Erected 2013 by Cultural Tourism DC. (Marker Number 16.)
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Charity & Public Work • Civil Rights • Education. In addition, it is included in the Anacostia Heritage Trail series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1879.
Location. 38° 52′ N, 76° 59.044′ W. Marker is in Southeast Washington in Washington, District of Columbia. It is in Fairlawn. Marker can be reached from the intersection of Good Hope Road Southeast and Minnesota Avenue South East. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1431 Good Hope Road Southeast, Washington DC 20020, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Good Times on Good Hope (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Uniontown, DC's First Suburb (about 600 feet away); Rose's Row (approx. 0.2 miles away); The Sage of Anacostia (approx. 0.2 miles away); Mother Churches and Their Daughters (approx. 0.2 miles away); Frederick Douglass National Historic Site
Photographed By Devry Becker Jones (CC0), January 15, 2018
Credits. This page was last revised on January 30, 2023. It was originally submitted on December 7, 2016, by Allen C. Browne of Silver Spring, Maryland. This page has been viewed 477 times since then and 50 times this year. Last updated on March 7, 2019, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. Photos: 1. submitted on December 7, 2016, by Allen C. Browne of Silver Spring, Maryland. 2. submitted on January 15, 2018, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. 3. submitted on December 7, 2016, by Allen C. Browne of Silver Spring, Maryland. 4, 5. submitted on December 10, 2016, by Allen C. Browne of Silver Spring, Maryland. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.