Washington, DC’s H Street in Northeast was a thriving commercial corridor from 1849 until the 1968 riots. After decades of decline, City First partnered with a local visionary, Jane Lang, to redevelop the historic Atlas Theatre catalyzing the resurgence of the H Street community’s cultural and economic potency.
The Marshall Heights community, located in the far eastern corner of the nation’s capital in Ward 7, began as an informal “shantytown” settlement of African Americans because it was one of the few areas in the city that did not have housing covenants excluding blacks from owning property.
During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the YMCA Anthony Bowen (Y), founded in 1853 and originally built in 1912, anchored DC’s historically prosperous black U Street corridor. Anthony Bowen, the Y’s founder and namesake, purchased his family’s freedom in 1830.
Barry Farm is today known for the 432 dilapidated housing units built in 1943 by the National Capital Housing Administration. However, the African American community traces its history to 1867 when the Freedmen’s Bureau acquired 375 acres of land in Southeast DC. This land was divided into smaller plots and purchased by African Americans over time.
Since 1976, Bread for the City (Bread) has served homeless, indigent and impoverished families in DC’s Shaw neighborhood, which was devastated for decades after the 1968 riots. Bread’s Shaw center supports over 2,500 clients monthly with food, clothing, medical and dental care, legal services and case management.
The changing physical and human landscape of DC’s neighborhoods is not unusual, but the story of Petworth exemplifies negative effects of gentrification like the involuntary displacement of residents. Bordered by Rock Creek Park on the West, Petworth has seen a massive population change in the last 30 years.
Originally named for Columbian College (now George Washington University), Columbia Heights was once a horse track and farmland. In the late 19th century, Columbia Heights transformed into an upscale suburban neighborhood, which was home to federal workers and military officers.
Nestled on Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue, in Anacostia, a word that loosely translates to “village trading center” and a neighborhood that acknowledges the Anacostan (Nacochtank) Native Americans, the Thurgood Marshall Academy is a reminder that justice endures.
Once home to plantations, a steelworks, ordinance manufacturers, and later the St. Elizabeth’s Hospital, the Congress Heights community has changed over time. Congress Heights is a town built on land bought by slaves who purchased their own freedom, has seen successive waves of European immigrants, and is also home to the oldest Jewish cemetery in DC.