(front)
Musicians
Field musicians served as signalmen in the infantry, cavalry and artillery.
Drummer Jackson
Image courtesy of the National Archives
(back)
With Freedom Came Their Businesses
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, African Americans were compelled by Jim Crow laws to establish virtually self-contained communities. They started their own businesses and social organizations. The Greater YOU Street Corridor was home to two quality hotels——the Whitelaw and the Dunbar—as well as an African American-owned bank, Industrial Bank. The bank is still at its original 1920s location. Lee's Florist, which opened in 1945, and Ben's Chili Bowl, which opened in 1958, are also in their original locations. They are among the many businesses that allowed African American consumers to retain their dignity and patronize businesses that respected them as people.
(captions, clockwise from bottom left)
The Whitelaw Hotel, a luxury hotel for African Americans, opened in 1919.
Scurlock Studio
Courtesy of the National Museum of American History Archives
U Street Parade sponsored by local insurance company
Scurlock Studio
Courtesy
of the National Museum of American History Archives
The Dunbar Hotel at 15th and U Street, NW, 1950
Scurlock Studio
Courtesy of the National Museum of American History Archives
North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance, located next to Industrial Bank on 11th Street, NW
Scurlock Studio
Courtesy of the National Museum of American History Archives
Industrial Bank opened as the Black Industrial Savings Bank, founded by John Whitelaw Lewis, in 1913. In 1934 it became Industrial Bank.
Scurlock Studio
Courtesy of the National Museum of American History Archives
The Masonic Temple on the corner of 10th and U Street, NW, in 1934
Scurlock Studio
Courtesy of the National Museum of American History Archives
Freedmen's Hospital, 1931
Scurlock Studio
Courtesy of the National Museum of American History Archives
Scurlock Studios, 900 U Street, NW
Scurlock Studio
Courtesy of the National Museum of American History Archives
Employees of Murray Printing standing in front of the office of the company's newspaper The Washington Tribune, in 1925
Scurlock Studio
Courtesy of the National Museum of American History Archives
Comments 0 comments