Mary Church Terrell (1863-1954) earned her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees at Oberlin College during the 1880s and taught in Ohio and Washington, DC. Following the completion of her graduate degree, Mary Church traveled and studied languages abroad.…

The Anthony Bowen YMCA is home to the nation's first African American chapter of the Young Men's Christian Association. The building is four stories and reflects the Italian Renaissance Revival style. It was founded in 1853 by educator and religious…

The George M. Lightfoot House was built as a residence in 1892 for Frederick Bex, a carriage maker in the small crossroads village of Brightwood in what was then still referred to as Washington County in the District of Columbia. The house was…

John Mercer Langston Elementary School was built in 1902 to handle the overflow of students from neighboring John Fox Slater School. Named for John Mercer Langston (1829-1897), the first African-American congressman from Virginia, who also had a…

The John Fox Slater School is located in a center-city neighborhood of Washington, D.C. known as Shaw East. Completed in 1891 for African American students by the city's Office of the Building Inspector, the Queen Anne/Romanesque Revival-style…

John Philip Sousa Junior High (now Middle) School, built in 1950, stands as a symbol of the lengthy conflict over the desegregation of public schools and the beginning of the modern civil rights movement. The school is nationally significant for its…

Founded in 1909, the National Training School for Women and Girls educated Black women from around the world. Unlike other prominent Black schools, such as the Tuskegee Institute, the founders did not request money from white donors. Nannie Helen…

Known as “Little Ebenezer” in the mid-19th century, the Ebenezer United Methodist Church became one of the first African American congregations on Capitol Hill and the first public school in DC open to African American children. The congregation…

The Whitelaw Hotel showcases an early example of minority real estate development. It was financed and built entirely by African American entrepreneurs, investors, designers, and craftsmen. Associated with prominent businessman and civic leader John…