Washington, D.C.: African American Heritage Trail
Showing results 1 to 10 of 34
historicalmarkerproject.com/markers/HM54P_charles-sumner-school-museum-and-archives_Washington-DC.html
17th and M Streets, NWThis school, completed in 1872, was one of three public elementary schools built for DC's black children just after the Civil War. Its name honors U.S. Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts, who fought to abolish slavery here, pay bl…
historicalmarkerproject.com/markers/HMCC1_central-public-library_Washington-DC.html
This majestic building was opened in 1903 as the Central Public Library, popularly known as the Carnegie Library because Andrew Carnegie donated funds to build it. From the start Central was open to all. Mary Church Terrell and historian John Cromwell spoke…
historicalmarkerproject.com/markers/HMDEA_bens-chili-bowl-minnehaha-theater_Washington-DC.html
Ben's Chili Bowl, founded in 1958 by Ben and Virginia Ali, is one of the oldest continuous businesses on U Street. It is also one of the few to survive both the assassination of the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., and the years of the disruptive Metro con…
historicalmarkerproject.com/markers/HMJRQ_dc-recorder-of-deeds-building-wpa-era-murals_Washington-DC.html
DC's Art Deco/Art Moderne Recorder of Deeds Building (1941) houses city land records. Many notable African Americans have served as recorders of deeds since President Garfield appointed Frederick Douglass to the post in 1881. These include Branche K. Bruce,…
historicalmarkerproject.com/markers/HMK24_ebenezer-united-methodist-church_Washington-DC.html
Ebenezer United Methodist Church is Capitol Hill's oldest independent Black congregation.Ebenezer UMC was founded in 1827 by African Americans who left a biracial church on Capitol Hill because the White congregants practiced segregation. The neew congregat…
historicalmarkerproject.com/markers/HMK27_metropolitan-ame-church_Washington-DC.html
This church started on Capitol Hill in 1821 as Israel Bethel, was founded by African Americans denouncing White racism at Ebenezer Methodist Episcopal Church. Later, Pastor Henry McNeal Turner helped persuade President Lincoln to accept Black soldiers into …
historicalmarkerproject.com/markers/HMK29_national-council-of-negro-women_Washington-DC.html
The National Council of Negro Women was founded in 1935 by Mary McLeod Bethune (1875-1955) to "harness the power and extend the leadership of African American women." Early on, the Council campaigned to outlaw the discriminatory poll tax, develop a public h…
historicalmarkerproject.com/markers/HMLZG_mount-zion-united-methodist-church-and-heritage-center-and-the-female-union-band-cemetery_Washington-DC.html
Mount Zion United Methodist Church is Washington's oldest Black congregation. It was established in 1816 by Shadrack Nugent and 125 other congregants who split from nearby Montgomery Street Methodist Church (now Dumbarton United Methodist) over its racial p…
historicalmarkerproject.com/markers/HMMIV_barry-farm-hillsdale_Washington-DC.html
In 1867 the U.S. Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands (Freedmen's Bureau) purchased 375 acres from white farmers David and Julia Barry to resettle formerly enslaved African Americans. By 1870 more than 500 families had purchased lots and built …
historicalmarkerproject.com/markers/HMMIX_saint-augustine-roman-catholic-church_Washington-DC.html
Saint Augustine Roman Catholic Church began in 1858 when African American congregants of the Saint Matthews Church departed to organize their own day school. The group raised funds—even held an event on the White House lawn—and eventually constr…