“God gave me a talent, and that talent was verbal skills." Critically acclaimed as America’s first “shock jock,” Petey Greene had the mouth and charisma to roar in the ears of people in the streets of Washington, D.C. His impact was no more apparent than in April of 1968 during the aftermath of Dr.
Spending a Sunday afternoon at the ol’ ballpark is pretty commonplace nowadays. But 100 years ago? Notsomuch. In the early 1900s, debate raged about whether it was appropriate – or, for that matter, legal – for ballclubs to suit up on Sundays.
In the early 1990s, homeowner Stephanie Slewka made a fascinating discovery on the second floor of her 19th century townhouse at 415 M Street, NW: a mural concealed beneath layers of paint and wallpaper. As if peeling back layers of time, she found one of the only remaining traces of Shomrei Shabbos, a small orthodox commun
Before Brazil’s bossa nova swept the globe, its breakout moment happened in a DC church basement. Discover how a chance meeting, a cultural exchange tour, and a three-hour recording session turned Jazz Samba into a Grammy-winning sensation—and made Washington, not Rio, the unlikely launchpad of a musical revolution.
On a sweltering August night in 1957, Washington’s National Theatre hosted a glittering crowd of senators, ambassadors, and VIPs for the pre-Broadway premiere of West Side Story. It was enough to make any composer nervous, but behind the velvet curtain, composer Leonard Bernstein was strangely calm.
This year's FIFA World Cup has produced some exciting matches. But one of the most thrilling goals in World Cup history actually was scored at Washington's RFK Stadium back in 1994, when the U.S. hosted the global tournament for the first time ever.
The sudden death of Maryland star Len Bias on June 19, 1986, just two days after the 1986 NBA draft, shocked a campus and the nation, sparking grief, reforms at the university, and a harsh national drug policy debate that still resonates today.
After a decade-long fight, Frederick Douglass became the first figure to represent the District of Columbia inside the U.S. Capitol—an emblematic victory that forced Congress to confront D.C.’s long struggle for recognition and equal representation.
In June 1960, a biracial contingent of college students from the Non‑Violent Action Group staged sit‑ins at Arlington lunch counters—facing taunts, arrests, and even a counter‑demonstration by American Nazi Party leader George Lincoln Rockwell.