Boundary Stones | WETA's Washington DC Local History Website

Some of the outfits worn at the Presidential Masquerade of 1880.

D.C.'s Half-Accidental National Mardi Gras

The modern-day DC Caribbean Carnival is a small affair, at least compared to the world-famous parades in carnival cities. There are plenty of revelers — and people celebrating Caribbean culture — but the capital certainly doesn’t come to a halt the way cities like New Orleans do on Mardi Gras. This hasn’t always been the case, however. For one year, in 1871, Washington, D.C. stumbled into hosting a Carnival parade that rivaled those in New Orleans itself. The National Fete, as it also became known, was an extremely patriotic version of the Carnival festivities, with national flags, “Yankee Doodle,” and rockets’ red glare mingling with the Lord of Misrule and the masquerade.

During the Civil War, Roosevelt Island Was Home to Black Troops and a Freedman’s Camp

While it’s known today for its forested hiking trails and outdoor memorial to America’s 26th president, Theodore Roosevelt Island played a prominent role in Washington, DC’s Civil War history. In 1863...
“I Catered for the Best People”: Hattie Sewell, a Black D.C. Entrepreneur in Rock Creek Park

In the 1920s, entrepreneur Hattie Sewell looked to put her extensive experience in the hospitality industry to work turning around the Peirce Mill Teahouse in Rock Creek Park. But as a Black...
“A Great City to Be”: Architect Leon Krier’s Plan to “Finish” Washington D.C.

Should the National Mall really be a National Lake? Leon Krier thought so! The Luxembourgish architect came to D.C. in the 1970s and saw Washington as an unfinished sketch waiting to be painted in...

Police officer escorts five young African American men out of the Alexandria, VA Library on August 21, 1939.

Black History Month

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Funk and the Chocolate City: How George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic Left a Mark on DC

Funk band Parliament-Funkadelic has been in a long-term relationship with their African American fans from Washington, D.C. since the early 1970s. The message of Black freedom and empowerment inherent to funk music resonated with activists in the District who had fought for (and won) Home Rule, among other major political and social victories in recent years. In 1975, P-Funk released the album Chocolate City, an ode to the people of Washington, D.C.
July 2, 2024
- Washington, D.C.
By Kira Quintin
Did the Underground Railroad Run Through Georgetown?

The Underground Railroad has deeper ties to the Washington DC area than many know. Escaped slaves are believed to have used the burial vault at Mount Zion Cemetery in Georgetown as a hiding place during their journey to freedom.
February 16, 2024
- Washington, D.C.
By Sarah Kim
Tennis's Original Sister Act: Margaret and Roumania Peters

Decades before Venus and Serena Williams dominated women’s tennis on the WTA tour, the Peters Sisters — Margaret Peters, a.k.a. “Pete", and Roumania Peters, a.k.a. “Repeat” — from Georgetown, were unstoppable champions in the all-black American Tennis Association.
July 13, 2017
- Washington, D.C.
By Lila Spitz

Watch & Learn

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How a D.C. Civil Rights Activist Fought Racism with Rodents

In the 1960s, Julius Hobson used a new tactic to fight racial inequality: rat relocation rallies.
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The 1939 Alexandria Library Sit In Opened a New Front in the Civil Rights Movement

Libraries had not been a big part of the civil rights movement but that changed in Alexandria, VA.
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A Black Arlington Neighborhood was Destroyed to Build the Pentagon

To build the Pentagon, the Black community of East Arlington was razed with 30 day's notice.