Bloomingdale in Northwest Washington in Washington, District of Columbia — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
Fathers and Sons
Worthy Ambition
| | LeDroit Park/Bloomingdale Heritage Trail | |
African Americans began attending St. Martin's around 1950, two years after Archbishop Patrick O'Boyle directed DC's white parishes and schools to integrate. The desegregation of public schools in 1954 and a suburban building boom accelerated white flight from Bloomingdale and other urban neighborhoods. By the early 1960s, the St. Martin's congregation was nearly all African American. Leslie Branch, whose family lived on the 100 block of U Street, was St. Martin's first black altar boy, and in 1982 he became the U.S. Navy's first black Catholic chaplain. His brother Edward also entered the priesthood. Because St. Martin's priests regularly visited parishioners' homes,
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St. Martin's School operated across North Capitol Street at 62 T Street, NE, from 1912 until it closed in 1989. Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, who lived in the convent next door, served as teachers. Their convent later became part of the Summit at St. Martin's apartments.
In the 1990s the North Capitol Street and Rhode Island Avenue Ecumenical Council formed to pressure city officials to clean up the neighborhood. St. Martin's worked on issues with Metropolitan Wesley AME Zion, just ahead at R Street, Mt. Pleasant Baptist at 215 Rhode Island Avenue, and St. George's Episcopal at Second and U Street. The council also launched festivals and wellness fairs.
Erected 2015 by Cultural Tourism DC. (Marker Number 12.)
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Education • Religion & Religious Structures. In addition, it is included in the African Methodist Episcopal Zion (AME Zion) Church, and the LeDroit Park/Bloomingdale Heritage Trail series lists. A significant historical year for this entry is 1901.
Location. 38° 54.937′ N,
Regionally, this marker is in the Washington Metropolitan Area. It is also in the American Northeast, in the Upper South, in the Mid-Atlantic, in the Tidewater, and in the Chesapeake Bay Region. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Dividing Line (about 700 feet away, measured in a direct line); Metropolitan Wesley A.M.E. Zion Church (approx. 0.2 miles away); Bloomingdale (approx. 0.2 miles away); Home to Headliners (approx. Ό mile away); Barnett Aden Gallery (approx. Ό mile away); Prospect Hill (approx. Ό mile away); DC and the Development of the International Bear Brotherhood Flag
Credits. This page was last revised on February 2, 2023. It was originally submitted on November 23, 2017, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 549 times since then and 18 times this year. Last updated on March 8, 2019, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on November 23, 2017, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.
