Black Entertainment in North Brentwood

Black Entertainment in North Brentwood. Sis's Tavern. , Sis's Tavern was built in 1912 and originally operated as a grocery by Thomas F. Randolph, a member of the prominent Randall family who were the first residents of North Brentwood., In 1919, the building was sold to Jeremiah Hawkins who, in 1924, led the effort to make North Brentwood Prince George's County's first African American incorporated town, and served as its first mayor., The property originally had a covenant that prohibited the sale of alcohol as long as the original owner or descendants lived within half a mile of the property. By the 1950s, the building was leased to Marie "Sis" Walls who ran it as a tavern after the covenant expired. Walls purchased the tavern around 1966 and continued operating it until it closed in 1970. Sis's was a fixture of the North Brentwood community and drew visitors from around the region. Locals remember it being a late-night destination for Black performers who came to North Brentwood after playing at the Howard Theater in Washington, D.C., including acts like Pearl Bailey and Duke Ellington., The tavern later became Baby Dee's. A 1920s addition to the building housed a barbershop that operated until 1996 when Baby Dee's closed. Sis's Tavern was renovated in the 2010s led by the City of North Brentwood and the Hyattsville Development Corporation with the support of local, state, and federal grant funding., Through all of the building's iterations, it has always been home to enterprises operated by and for North Bentwood's Black community. Sis's also stands as a monument to the importance of music in Black culture historically and today., You're just blocks away from the Prince George's African American Museum and Cultural Center located on U.S. Route 1. Visit their website for hours, exhibits, and programs: https://pgaamcc.org/.