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Muhammad Ali's Speech at Howard University, 1967
Muhammad Ali in 1967 (World Journal Tribune photo by Ira Rosenberg, Library of Congress) The PBS documentary The Trials of Muhammad Ali, which airs on WETA on Monday, April 14, 2014 at 10 p.m., covers...
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Petey Greene Talks Down the Riots, 1968
Petey Greene had a gift for words and he used them to calm Washington, D.C. during the riots that ravaged the city in 1968.“God gave me a talent, and that talent was verbal skills”[1]. Critically...
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D.C.'s Ties to Freedom Summer
The 1964 Freedom Summer movement in Mississippi does not generally conjure up images of the nation’s capital. But a few of the organizers had strong ties to the District.Long before Marion Barry became...
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Joan Mulholland: Arlington's Homegrown Activist
Joan Muholland mugshot after her arrest in Jackson, Mississippi in 1961. (Photo source: Joan Muholland) What are you doing tonight? Hopefully you're planning on going to the Arlington Historical...
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The Greatest Game Ever Played
Lew Alcindor throws down a slam dunk in the 1965 game between Power Memorial Academy and DeMatha Catholic at Cole Field House. Dematha won the game and ended Power Memorial's 71 game winning streak....
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Malcolm X's Unlikely Washington Connections
Though based in New York, Malcolm X traveled widely in the early 1960s, and Washington was the site of two seemingly unlikely connections for him. (Photo source: Library of Congress.) In the early...
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Remembering the Summer of 1960 at Glen Echo
Picketers, including future Maryland State Senator Gwendolyn Greene Britt, stand outside Glen Echo Park in 1960. (Photo source: National Park Service) You might not immediately associate roller...
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A Place for the Poor: Resurrection City
Resurrection City spent six muddy weeks on the National Mall, within view of landmarks such as the Capitol. (Photo source: Wikipedia Commons) In the early morning hours of June 23, 1968, thick clouds...
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Julius Hobson Gets Out of the Rat Race
Hobson with his station wagon and trademark pipe and fedora, ready to harangue the multitudes. (Source: Evening Star) If you lived in DC in August of 1964, you might have seen Julius Hobson driving...
View Article"The Whitest Huddle of Any Team in the League"
The Washington Redskins are being accused of insensitivity and intolerance. The government is taking steps to intervene if the team doesn’t change its ways. Sound familiar? That’s because today’s...
View ArticleMarion Barry Leads Bus Boycott
The price of public transportation in D.C. is rising and people are angry. Although this statement could accurately describe the present time, let’s turn back the clock to 1965.D.C. Transit had just...
View ArticleJulius Hobson's Unlikely Relationship with the F.B.I.
We’ve written before on this blog about the exploits of Julius Hobson. A D.C. civil rights activist in the 1950s, ‘60s, and ‘70s, his campaigns against segregation and injustice were based on equal...
View ArticleThe Roads Not Traveled: D.C. Pushes Back Against Freeway Plans
During the morning commute on Metro trains are packed. A lot of riders are commuters coming in from Maryland or Northern Virginia. The Metro wasn’t the initial plan; back in the 1950s, the plan was to...
View ArticleThe Making of Old Town
The picturesque Old Town we know today didn’t just happen naturally. It was planned in response to America’s burgeoning historic preservation movement, mid-century urban renewal efforts and a lot of...
View ArticleWhen Owls Guarded the Smithsonian
In the 1960s and '70s, renovations in the Smithsonian Institution’s Castle sought to restore the building to its Victorian beginnings. Secretary of the Smithsonian S. Dillon Ripley, didn’t think...
View ArticleThe Beatles' Final D.C. Concert
Although their first appearance in Washington D.C. was certainly more historic, the Beatles' last visit was nothing if not eventful, and verged on the downright bizarre. In stark contrast to that...
View ArticleThe Jeannette Rankin Brigade
In 1916, Jeannette Rankin made history as the first woman elected to Congress. A renowned pacifist, Rankin was the only member of Congress to vote against U.S. involvement in World War II. At age 87,...
View ArticleWolf Trap Captures the Hearts of the DMV
Today, Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts is a mainstay of Washington, D.C.’s cultural life. The park’s large outdoor auditorium and beautiful green space play host to a variety of...
View ArticleRemembering the First Smithsonian Folklife Festival
In January of 1967, after just a few months on the job as the Smithsonian's Director of Museum Serivices, Jim Morris had an idea. What if the Smithsonian were to put on an outdoor festival in...
View ArticleJohn Layton, the M.P.D., and the 1968 Washington Riots
By the time John Layton was named Metropolitan Police Chief in 1964, there was a well-established undercurrent of hostility between the Police Department and Washington's inner city African American...
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