During the Great Depression, the Federal Writers Project commissioned several initiatives designed to aid thousands of struggling American writers and journalists. But perhaps their most interesting project is also one of their most important: a collection of oral histories known as the “Slave Narratives Project.” And within that collection, one narrative in particular stands out: the story of Rezin Williams.
In the mid 1830s, Washington stood on edge as pro and anti-slavery forces battled for influence. Conditions were ripe for D.C.’s first race riot, which erupted in August 1835 when a lynch mob targeted Beverly Snow, a successful free black restaurateur.
As a former enslaved person, Thomas Smallwood knew what it was like to live as someone else's property. That inspired him to spend most of his life freeing hundreds of people from slavery — and mocking their former owners while he was at it.
Half a century after the Civil War, Southerners were trying to change what the country remembered about the rebellion, including the realities of slavery. One way that they did this was by putting up monuments all over the United States glorifying Confederate heroes and "faithful slaves." While dozens of memorials and statues were erected, one in Washington, D.C. fortunately never came to fruition.
160 years ago, the only Civil War battle fought inside the District of Columbia nearly determined the fate of the nation. On July 11-12, 1864, Confederate forces under the command of Lieutenant General Jubal Early advanced down the 7th Street Pike (today Georgia Avenue, NW) and squared off against a motley crew of Union defenders garrisoned at Fort Stevens, one of the dozens of forts and batteries ringing the capital.
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.
After serving as Martha Washington's ladies' maid for most of her life, Ona Judge escaped from slavery in 1796. While with the family in Philadelphia, she boarded a ship headed north to Portsmouth, New Hampshire. For years she would evade efforts by President Washington to return her to bondage at Mount Vernon.
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.
"If you were to ask the first comer you meet in the street whether he knew 'Hiawatha' he would immediately be able to whistle it," wrote the Washington Post in 1904. Read about one of the most anticipated musical events of that year, featuring Anglo-African composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor and his namesake Choral Society.
As Washington, D.C. has become more gentrified, leaving much of its former history and culture behind, mumbo sauce is one aspect of D.C.'s homegrown culture that has managed to stick around. However, even mumbo sauce's place in the shifting scene of D.C. has been challenged in recent years.