Tag: African-American History

Exploring Brochures – Deanwood A Model of Self-Sufficiency in Far Northeast Washington, D.C.

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✍️🏼Sophia V. Nelson

I was recently gifted a selection of Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum exhibitions and other DC History brochures. On the surface, these are simply brochures but take a closer look, and you’ll find that they are little windows to the past. Join us as we explore these brochures throughout Black History Month.

The Deanwood History Project brochure – published in 2005. The project interprets the history of the Deanwood neighborhood located in Northeast Washington, DC.

Brochure cover. It features a photo of “residents at the groundbreaking for First Baptist Church of Deanwood’s second building in 1909.”

Image 2: video clip from “Deanwood Oral History Project – A Self Reliant People” produced by HumanitiesDC (full-length video is available on YouTube).

Close up of page 9. The page is titled “Earning Our Daily Bread” and includes details about the types of businesses Deanwood residents owned and operated. Project researchers referred to the Simms Blue Book and National Negro Business and Professional Directory to determine that in 1944 Deanwood had a dry cleaner, filling station, auto repair shops, beauty shops, a record store, and more.

Founder of the National Training School for Women and Girls (1909), Nannie Helen Burroughs is one of several notable African Americans that lived in the Deanwood neighborhood.

One of Washington DC’s oldest African American communities, Deanwood, comprises “Victorian, neoclassical, colonial, revival, prairie, and craftsman” houses. These homes were designed and constructed by African American architects.

Architect H.D. Woodson, for whom a DC High School is named after, resided in the community. Along with a few other investors, H.D. Woodson founded the Universal Development and Loan Company. The group designed and established Suburban Gardens Amusement Park, which catered to African Americans during segregation.

A digital copy of the Deanwood brochure is available on https://planning.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/op/publication/attachments/Deanwood_%2520Brochure.pdf

Happening Today! Virtual Celebration for the Life of Carter G. Woodson

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Join the National Park Service and the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, Inc. (ASALH) as we celebrate the 146th anniversary of the birth of Dr. Carter G. Woodson with an online, Virtual Symposium on Saturday, December 18th from 9:30 am to 3:00 pm. This year’s theme for the birthday celebration is “A Bold Vision: Revisiting the Life and Legacy of Dr. Carter G. Woodson and What it Means Today”, and will feature remarks and presentations from NPS officials and community leaders.

Registration for the event can be found at: https://asalh.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_KnmkCOzYQ2mt1-IGWtQsJQ, which is also where the event can be viewed. Additional viewing of the event can be found at ASALH TV.

Call 202-426-5961 for more information.

(Audio Interview+) Ritual and Recall: A Discussion with Anthony McKissic

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In this interview with Anthony McKissic, we talk about ritual and recall in Black art and Black spaces. A resident of Baltimore, Maryland, McKissic was born and raised in Washington, DC. A part of his cultural upbringing is rooted in Prince George’s County, Maryland, and Chattanooga, Tennessee. He attended Morgan State University and the Maryland Institute College of Art. McKissic is currently pursuing a doctorate in English from Morgan State University while continuing to teach with Baltimore City Schools.

recently photographed at a Holly Springs, Mississippi juke joint [photographer, Anthony McKissic]

McKissic talks up Blues artists Jr. Kimbrough, R.L. Burnside, and Cotton Patch Soul Blues a form of Blues music with roots in Mississippi.

Included here are links to a couple of the Blues artists that McKissic is inspired by:

R.L. Burnside and family. R.L. Burnside on guitar, Burnside’s grandson on drums. Song title, “Boogie Instrumental”

[source: YouTube, Alan Lomax Collection]

“I Came to Praise His Name” by Leo Bud Welch [source: YouTube, Easy Eye Sound]

(Photos) James Brown’s Augusta, Georgia

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Street corner. Colorful mural featuring various images of James Brown.
Colorful James Brown mural on Broad Street in Augusta, Georgia

One thing about Augusta, they gonna show mad love for brother James Brown.

Go to “Get up offa that thing” and get down there for the James Brown Augusta, Georgia city tour: jamesbrownfamilyfdn.org

Savannah River. Augusta Canal. Columbia County, Georgia.

Today’s Google Doodle: Cartoonist, Jackie Ormes

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The work of cartoonist, Jackie Ormes

Jackie Ormes is today’s #googledoodle – an African American cartoonist, this clip from “One tenth of a nation. Achievements” highlights Jackie Ormes’s career.

”One tenth of a nation. Achievements” video includes Eslanda of Eslanda’s Bridal Services (Washington, DC); Verna Hickman of Golden State Insurance Company (Los Angeles, CA); food editor for Ebony Magazine, Freda DeKnight, and others.

Charles County, Maryland’s Josiah Henson is one of many Recommended for the National Garden of American Heroes

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Maryland Governor Larry Hogan’s response to ”Executive Order on Building and Rebuilding Monuments to American Heroes”

On July 3, 2020, the Trump administration issued the “Executive Order on Building and Rebuilding Monuments to American Heroes.” State Governors and county officials were asked to give recommendations for a park that will feature historically significant Americans. Breonna Taylor, Rosa Parks, and John Lewis are some of the names that have been recommended.

The Department of Interior has a public database in which you can view the recommendations submitted by your local and state representatives. (see link in bio).

Cover of ”In Search of Josiah Henson’s Birthplace: Archaeological Investigations at La Grange Near Port Tobacco, Maryland”

Pictured above is a report of archaeological findings performed at the birthplace of Josiah Henson. Born in Charles Country, Maryland, Josiah Henson was an abolitionist that escaped to freedom. Half brother of explorer, Matthew Henson. A distant relative of actress, Taraji P. Henson.

The archaeological study and report was prepared by St. Mary’s College of Maryland. Josiah Henson is one of the historical figures recommended by Maryland Governor Larry Hogan.

For more on this story, check out:

Executive Order on Monuments

State and local recommendations for American Heroes Monument

Garden of American Heroes by Amanda Jackson