Black Georgetown Remembered

A History of Its Black Community from the Founding of “The Town of George” in 1751 to the Present Day, 25th Anniversary Edition

Kathleen Menzie Lesko, Valerie M. Babb, Carroll R. Gibbs

• Publisher: Georgetown University Press
• Year: 2016
• eBook ISBN: 9781626163270
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: African American History
• Index: History

Georgetown's little-known black heritage shaped a Washington, DC, community long associated with white power and privilege.

Black Georgetown Remembered reveals a rich but little-known history of the Georgetown black community from the colonial period to the present. Drawing on primary sources, including oral interviews with past and current residents and extensive research in church and historical society archives, the authors record the hopes, dreams, disappointments, and successes of a vibrant neighborhood as it persevered through slavery and segregation, war and peace, prosperity and depression.

This beautifully redesigned 25th anniversary edition of Black Georgetown Remembered, first published in 1991, includes a foreword by Maurice Jackson and more than two hundred illustrations, including portraits of prominent community leaders, sketches, maps, and nineteenth-century and contemporary photographs. Kathleen Menzie Lesko's new introduction describes the impact the book and its companion documentary video have had since publication and updates readers on recent changes in this Washington, DC, neighborhood.

Black Georgetown Remembered is a compelling and inspiring journey through more than two hundred years of history. A one-of-a-kind book, it invites readers to share in the lives, dreams, aspirations, struggles, and triumphs of real people, to join them in their churches, at home, and on the street, and to consider how the unique heritage of this neighborhood intersects and contributes to broader themes in African American and Washington, DC, history and urban studies.

Index

A

Abrams, Rev. Wellington D., 114, 157

Acheson, Dean, 106

Alexander, Archie A., 101. See also Whitehurst Freeway

Alexander, Rev. Sandy, 22, 156–57, 161

Alexander Memorial Baptist Church, xxv, 8, 11, 13, 52, 128, 129, 139, 164–65

Alley Dwelling Act, 90

Alley Dwellings:

Bell’s Court (Pomander Walk), xi, 90–94, 97

Cissell Place, xi, 45, 90

East Place, 90, 161

Poplar Place, 90, 91, 92, 98, 99

American Tennis Association, 74

Ancestry Charts, 185–89

Ancient Daughters of Tabitha, 36

Ark, The, 7, 22, 149, 156–57. See also Meeting House and Little Ark

Armstrong Vocational High School, 75, 79, 82

Assing, Rev. Vincent J., 166

B

Baker, Newton D., 86, 89

Ball, Rev. Chester, 166, 167

Banneker, Benjamin, 5–6, 7

Baseball Teams:

Diamond Quicksteps, 75

Georgetown Athletics, 74, 75

Holy Hill All-Stars, 75

Rose Park Warriors, 75, 105

Teddy Bears, 75

Beall, George, 2

Beall, Thomas, 177

Beason, George, 62, 171

Beason, Harriet, 118, 171

Beattie, John, 2

Becraft, Maria, 12

Bell’s Court, xi, 90–94, 97. See also “Alley Dwellings” and Pomander Walk

Bev’s Basement, 112

Billings, Mary, 9, 12

Black Code, 15–16

Black Federation of Civic Associations, 62, 63

Black Georgetown Archive, xxiii, 193–95

Black Georgetown Remembered (video), 130, 140, 141

Black Georgetown Reunion Group, 123–26

Blessed Peter Claver Burial Association, x, 35

Blue Mouse Theatre (Mot...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half title
• Title
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• Foreword to the 25th Anniversary Edition
• Introduction to the 25th Anniversary Edition
• Foreword
• Introduction
• The Early Years: 1740–1900
• A Washington Community: 1900–1950
• The Historic District: 1950–Present
• Appendices
• Bibliography
• Index