Born into slavery in Prince Edward County, Virginia, Blanche Kelso Bruce (1841-1898) gained his freedom through the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863. He dedicated much of the rest of his life to…

Named in honor of Blanche Kelso Bruce (1841-1848), the first African American to serve a full term as an elected U.S. senator, the Renaissance Revival-style Bruce School served generations of African…

The Bloomingdale Historic District is a group of 1,692 contributing resources bounded by Channing Street to the north; North Capital Street to the east; Florida Avenue to the south; and 2nd Street to…

In 1943, the well-known religious leader Solomon Michaux purchased 101 U Street for his church and was sued for violating a racial covenant. However, in this case, the covenant prevented only black…

In 1965, Marion Barry moved to DC to open a branch of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) here. Soon after his arrival, Barry helped launch a successful city bus boycott to protest a…

African Americans began moving to the 100 block of Adams Street around 1925, despite covenants on some properties. At least nine houses on the block were the subject of lawsuits brought by white…

When James and Mary Hurd bought 116 Bryant Street in 1944, neighbors sued. Neighbors also sued the Hurds’ real estate agent, Raphael Urciolo, who had subsequently sold three more houses on the block…

Although some builders used racial covenants west of First Street when they began developing these houses in the 1900s, numerous black households occupied the 100 block of V Street by the 1930s,…

After the 1885 death of Emily Beale, owner of an estate named Bloomingdale, her children subdivided it and began building on some lots and selling off others. The rowhouses at 1700-1712 First Street,…

In the late 1920s, young Edward Brooke moved with his family to 1730 First Street, on the west (African American) side of the First Street racial barrier. He graduated from Dunbar High School in 1936,…