Constructed in 1908 to serve as DC's city hall, this building at 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue was historically known as the District Building. It was re-christened in 1994 to honor John A. Wilson, a…

The National Council of Negro Women's relocation of its headquarters in 1995 to Pennsylvania Avenue was fitting for a group that has been so enormously influential in advancing the economic well-being…

Oscar Stanton De Priest (1871-1951) represented Chicago’s South Side in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1929 to 1935. He was the first African American Congressman in the 20th century and the…

For 60 years spanning much of the second half of the 20th century, New Bethel Baptist Church at 1739 9th Street was led by Rev. Walter Fauntroy, one of DC's most respected civil rights leaders. A…

Walter Washington (1915-2003) became the first African American mayor of a major American city, and the first mayor in DC since 1871 when President Lyndon Johnson appointed him to the position in…

Attorney and politician Wilhelmina Jackson Rolark (1916–2006) and publisher and executive Calvin Rolark (1927–1994) were activists and outspoken advocates for DC. Their legacy is carried on by the…

On February 9, 1954, Rev. Smallwood E. Williams stood up at a public meeting in a downtown church and called for the resignations of most members of the DC Board of Education, as well as of School…

In May 1961, at the former Greyhound Bus Station on New York Avenue NW, a group of activist volunteers boarded a bus to begin what would become a tumultuous and violence-filled “Freedom Ride 1961.”

“We gonna lay down our shufflin’ shoes.” (Howard University student protestors, 1968)

"If we’re going to have civilization in Washington, we need more friction."