Appointed Mayor Walter Washington meets with Deputy Mayor Thomas Fletcher (left) and other colleagues in his office in the District Building, ca. 1970.

ID: 3766 ~ Source: Reprinted with permission of the DC Public Library, Star Collection, Washington Post

This file appears in: Civil Rights Tour: Political Empowerment - John A. Wilson/District Building

Appointed Mayor Walter Washington meets with Deputy Mayor Thomas Fletcher (left) and other colleagues in his office in the District Building, ca. 1970.

This file appears in: Civil Rights Tour: Political Empowerment - John A. Wilson/District Building

Civil Rights Tour: Political Empowerment - John A. Wilson/District Building

In 1874, as DC's African American population and political clout grew during Reconstruction (1865-1877), Congress stripped DC residents of the ability to elect their own mayor and city council, denying them the right of self-governance. For the…