General DC History
Washington, DC was established as the capital of the United States under the Constitution. It was founded in 1791 and named after George Washington. It is not a part of any state but rather a federal district and is the location of the U.S. government. Its location was chosen by George Washington, and it was designed by Pierre Charles L’Enfant. Benjamin Banneker was the surveyor.
DC in the 1960s and 1970s
1963: On August 28th over 250,000 people attended the “March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.” It was here that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his “I have a Dream” speech, and the march ended with a meeting between Kennedy and the leaders of the march. The march was planned by Philip Randolph and Bayard Rustin, and Roy Wilkins (of the NAACP), Whitney Young, Jr. (of the National Urban League), Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (of the SCLC), James Farmer (of CORE), and John Lewis (of the SNCC) all participated.
1964: DC residents were permitted to vote in a presidential election for the first time.
1965: The first major rally against the Vietnam War was held on April 17th and organized by the Students for a Democratic Society.
1967: In October an antiwar rally of over 100,000 people met at the Lincoln Memorial before its march on the Pentagon.
1968: In April three days of riots followed Dr. Martin Luther King’s murder in which buildings were gutted by looting and fires. For some personal accounts of this event, refer to http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/06/AR2008040602110.html?sid=ST2008040602266 and http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/06/AR2008040602114.html?sid=ST2008040602266 Black power rose in DC in the years following Dr. King’s death, influencing the formation of the DC chapter of the Black Panther Party in 1970.
1969: In November of 1969 the largest antiwar rally in History, with at least 250,000 people, was held on the Mall.
1970: On July 19th the DC chapter of the Black Panther Party was created.
1971: In May an antiwar protest culminated with an attempted government shutdown, resulting in many arrests.
1974: DC regained limited self-government after almost a century after being ruled by an appointed commissioner.
Demographics
There has always been a large African-American population in DC. Leading up to the Civil War, many free blacks lived and worked there. There were also enslaved African-Americans living in DC, which was the site of slave auctions until they were banned in 1850. The city of Washington, DC initially ended at Florida Avenue, which was then called Boundary Street. The first neighborhoods were Capitol Hill, Downtown, and Lafayette Square. LeDroit Park and Anacostia were suburbs created in the mid-1800s that excluded blacks, today being predominantly African-American neighborhoods.
DC’s black population was its highest at 71% in 1970 as whites left for the suburbs, but in recent years the black population of DC has been declining. According to the 2010 Census, the black population of DC has dropped by 11% in the past ten years. There are many factors contributing to this decline. For one thing, the white population has increased dramatically. The city is also home to growing Latino and Asian populations. Many areas of the city are becoming gentrified as young professionals move into previously working class neighborhoods.Today, African-Americans barely make up a majority of he city’s population.
While some long-time residents view these changes as part of a positive revitalization of their neighborhoods, others feel that the shrinking black population changes the character of DC in a negative manner. In a USA Today article, Virginia Ali, who founded Ben’s Chili Bowl with her husband, says that she is glad to see that the city is recovering after the decline brought on by the riots and the later crack epidemic. She says she is nostalgic though, for the days when U Street “felt like a big family.” Kenneth Carroll, a writer, feels that the sense of pride and self-determination that he once saw in the black community is dwindling as gentrification increases. Others are happy to see the changes in their neighborhoods but saddened that they are now being forced to move out because of rising prices.
Sources
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May 2011.
Morello, Carol and Dan Keating. "Number of black D.C. residents plummets as majority status slips
away." (2011): The Washington Post.
"More Recollections of DC Riots Following King's Death." The Washington Post. Available from
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/06/AR2008040602110.html.
Internet; accessed 24 May 2011.
"Official Program for the March on Washington (1963)." ourdocuments.gov. Available from
http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=true&doc=96. Internet; accessed 26 May 2011.
Preusser, John. "The Washington Chapter of the Black Panther Party: from Revolutionary Militants to
Community Activists." (2006).
The Black Panthers, "Open Letter to the People." (1970).
"Washington, D.C. - History and Heritage." Smithsonian.com. Available from
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/destination-hunter/north-america/united-states/east/washi
ngton-dc/washingtondc-history-heritage.html?c=y&page=2. Internet; accessed 24 May 2011.
Westley, Brian. "D.C.'s Majority Black Status Slipping Away." USA Today (2007).
Wiltz, Teresa. "D.C. Burned, but a Sense of Identity Was Sparked." The Washington Post. Available from
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/06/AR2008040602114_2.html?si
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