THIS MONTH IN DC HISTORY

Ward 1 – U Street / Shaw:

In June 1919, a young Duke Ellington gave one of his earliest public performances at the True Reformer Building, located at 1200 U Street NW.

Ward 2 – Downtown / Foggy Bottom:

Frederick Douglass Advocated from Downtown D.C.
In June 1874.

Ward 3 – Tenleytown / Chevy Chase:

Lafayette Elementary School Desegregated after Bolling v. Sharpe (1954)—a companion case to Brown v. Board.

Ward 4 – Brightwood / Petworth:

Paul Robeson Spoke at Roosevelt High School (June 1949).

Ward 5 – Brookland / Trinidad:

In June 1925, the renowned poet Langston Hughes was residing in the Brookland neighborhood of Ward 5, Washington, D.C. During this period, Hughes worked as a personal assistant to historian Carter G. Woodson at the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH).

Ward 6 – Capitol Hill / Southwest:

In June 1876, renowned abolitionist Frederick Douglass delivered a powerful oration at the dedication of the Emancipation Memorial in Lincoln Park, located in Ward 6.

Ward 7 – Deanwood / Fort Dupont:

Nannie Helen Burroughs School Opened (Commemorated in June)
Founded by educator and activist Nannie Helen Burroughs, the National Training School for Women and Girls opened in Deanwood.

Ward 8 – Anacostia:

Frederick Douglass’ Cedar Hill Home Nationalized (June 1962)