Well it would be impossible to share with you the history of the Anacostia community. Even the Coles Notes version would not be good enough, but I am going to try. I headed to Anacostia, in southeast DC, to visit the Anacostia Community Museum, which is part of the Smithsonian Institute. It is a very small museum but its exhibits change often so you could go back every year and see a completely different museum each time.
The exhibit I saw was “East of the River” which is dedicated to the changes in the Anacostia Community starting with the very first native American inhabitants of the area, to the first European settlers, to the ex-slaves and soldiers that moved to the area during and after the civil war, to the modernization of the area after bridges were built to connect the area to the central city and after World War II, to integration, to the decline of the community in the 60’s, to where they are today and the hope people have in rebuilding the community. (Like I said too much to put in one little blog posting)
One of the interesting stories I read about was about the Barry Farm. I am finding similar stories all over the area. The Barry Farm was a settlement developed by the Freedman’s Bureau after the Civil War to help assist former slaves. Lots were available for purchase and by 1890 it was a thriving community of black homeowners. More and more as I explore this area of the country, I find areas where these settlements existed. I find it very interesting. You will see few reminisces of those communities left but the history is all around.
The other interesting part of the exhibit was the part talking about the decline of the community. While a lot of people disagree on how to reverse the trend, they all seem to agree on how it started. In the late 1960’s, many families were being pushed out of the central city (of DC that is) by urban renewal initiatives (when old houses are torn down for all those new condos the people have to go somewhere). City zoning laws also designated most of the land for apartments. This discouraged home ownership and pushed out single family homes. The community absorbed at lot of new families but there was little money coming in for new public facilities and infrastructure development. Everything from schools to police service to garbage collection could not keep up with the pace of the expanding population.
Today one the biggest debates in the area is how to improve the situation. A big question has become to build or not to build……a proposed soccer stadium that is. Some people feel a move by DC United (Washington’s pro-soccer team) will revive the community. Other’s feel it will only become a bigger drain on those portions of the communities that can least afford it. I guess only time will tell. Fact and/or opinion aside it is always nice to see things from different points of view. Makes me think just a little bit more about if things that I think are good really are good for everyone (or even the majority).
In short the museum is fascinating and a wonderful place to spend an afternoon.
This statue is outside the museum. It is “Real Justice, The Sprit of Thurgood Marshall”. Thurgood Marshall is considered to be one of the three leading black figures of this century (Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X being the other 2. Three men with drastically different views on how to bring about change). He is known for many things including being the first African-American Supreme Court Justice. He of course is also remembered for winning the most important legal case of this century….Brown vs. Board of Education, which ended the legal separation of black and white children in public schools. This Supreme Court victory was a major spark of the 1960’s civil rights movement. Thurgood Marshall was born in Baltimore so I am sure I will be seeing a lot more tributes to him around town. It was very difficult to get a decent picture of Real Justice because the purple was unbelievably bright in the daylight.
I don’t think I was surprised to find out that Anacostia was the home of Frederick Douglass. If his name sounds familiar, it should. He has a great story. He was born a slave, but after many attempts he eventually escaped. He lived as a fugitive for many years before his freedom was finally bought after living in Europe. He was a self taught man who was a great public speaker. He was a large part of the abolitionist movement. He was a newspaper editor, a statesman and a reformer as well as many other things. He caused a huge stir and a rift in his family when after the death of his first wife, in 1884 he got remarried…..to a white woman. CedarHill was his home for many years and I think it still has the best view of DC in Anacostia.
This is the Big Chair, which since 1959 has also made its home in Anacostia. It is said to be the largest chair in the world weighing 4,600 pounds.
Julie
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