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D.C. BLACK POWER CHRONOLOGY
Introduction
The Black Power Chronology presents a multimedia timeline of 30 important historic events and institutions that defined the Black Power era in Washington, D.C. The material was compiled over a three-year period by a remarkable set of committee members who are SNCC and Black Power veterans as well as scholars, lawyers, artists, and historians.
The chronology captures the dates of each historic event or institution and presents a detailed narrative about the event, program, or institution as told by a person who was actually involved in its formation. Historic photographs, relevant documents, video clips, and images of posters, book covers, buttons, and flyers are included to amplify the narratives.
Washington, D.C. Timeline
1998
January 1
Shirikiana Aina Gerima First question: what was the climate in D.C. in the mid-90’s when you were thinking about creating the space Sankofa? Haile Gerima: What culminated to be a bookstore initially was driven by a force of cultural void. The fact that there were…Read More
1994
November 1
Sister Ruby Dee at Sisterspace and Books Sisterspace and Books was an African-American woman-owned bookstore and cultural center located on U Street, N.W., for over 10 years. Although Sisterspace specialized in books by and about African-American women, it carried over 2,000 titles by many authors, including out-of-print classics. [caption id=”attachment_1700″…Read More
1990
June 20
Nelson Mandela with Sylvia Hill and Gay McDougall “Free Nelson Mandela” We had spent years organizing and participating in boycotts, legislative advocacy, divestment campaigns, material aid campaigns for the armed struggle of the African National Congress liberation movement and southern African refugees, and marches to the chant “Free Mandela”! Then, on…Read More
January 1
Brenda and a market woman in Conakry, Guinea. Courtesy of Brenda Winstead. I am a self-taught designer who founded Damali Afrikanwear 29 years ago. Damali Afrikanwear is an exquisite collection of clothing that uses hand-woven and hand-dyed fabrics from Africa, often combining them with fine linens, silks, cottons, and tapestries…Read More
1985
June 1
John Conyers and Cedric Hendricks in July 2018 at John’s home in Detroit In the Beginning John Conyers, bassist Ben Williams, and Cedric Hendricks at the 33rd Annual Jazz Concert during the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s Annual Legislative Conference (CBCF ALC), September 2017. This was the…Read More
1978
January 1
“Solidarity is not an act of charity, but mutual aid between people fighting for the same objectives.” ((A version of this paper was presented in Durban, South Africa, in October 2004 by Sylvia Hill, co-chairperson of the Southern Africa Support Project.)) Samora Machel, President of Mozambique, 1975–1986. With these words,…Read More
1977
February 28
Pacifica Radio Comes to Washington When I came to D.C. in the early 70s, the city was still reeling from the assassination of Dr. King and the “so-called” riots that followed. The District was just developing a predominantly Black city council. A lot of SNCC staff people had just come…Read More
1973
January 1
Sweet Honey in the rock first full concert, 1974 at DC Black repertory theater, Washington DC. From left to right Bernice Johnson Reagon, Louise Robinson, Carol Mailard, Mie. Photo by Roy Lewis Shortly after arriving in D.C. and finding a place to stay, getting the…Read More
1972
May 19
The first time I attended a Malcolm X Day Celebration was in 1969, in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, N.Y. It had a theme of promoting unity in the Black community and included activist speakers like Jitu Weusi along with music from artists who were featured at The EAST, a…Read More
January 1
The first national observance of African Liberation Day in Washington, D.C. occurred in 1972, following a visit to the liberated zones of Mozambique by Malcolm X Liberation University director Owusu Sadaukai (Howard Fuller), African-American film director and cinematographer Robert Van Lierop (A Luta Continua), and SNCC veteran Bob Fletcher. In discussions with…Read More
January 1
Marie-Nahikian The Adams Morgan Organization (AMO) and its leadership had a role in Black Power in the District of Columbia along many paths. Each path seems more important than the next. AMO was created in 1972, after residents spent almost a full year developing a governing structure that recognized the…Read More
1971
December 10
I was an enthusiastic listener of WHUR-FM before I joined the staff as Public Affairs Director in December 1974. Black Power was my cultural, political, and social identity, and WHUR gave me the space and platform to stay connected, informed, and involved, locally, nationally, and internationally. Between 1966, when Stokely…Read More
June 1
All photos courtesy of Marcia Ellis Muhammad’s Mosque No. 4 was legally incorporated in 1959; only Detroit, Chicago, and Milwaukee had preceded Washington in developing a unified Muslim community. In 1960 following intense fundraising, the building on New Jersey Avenue, N.W., was established, becoming the first “Masjid” structure to be…Read More
1970
January 1
Regional Addiction Prevention, Inc. (RAP, Inc.) was established in 1970 as a non-profit, residential drug and alcohol abuse treatment organization in Washington, D.C. We opened as an independent entity and raised funds to support our work. As a pioneer in the use of cultural identity and social consciousness as tools…Read More
1969
June 1
Science and Technology Committee Co-chair Dr. Fletcher Robinson and Tanzanian President Julius Nyerere “The 20th century is the century of Black Power. It has already been marked by two dynamics. First, a unified conception of all peoples who have been colonized. They are known by friends and enemies as members of…Read More
January 1
Photo By Ivy Young The Center for Black Education (CBE), an independent Black education institution, formally opened on Sunday, September 14, 1969, in Washington D.C. The opening day began with a rally/festival that spilled inside and outside its central location at 1435-37 Fairmount St. N.W., in Central. The CBE was…Read More
1968
December 26
Kwanzaa is a holiday based on the African tradition of celebrating the first fruits of the harvest. This holiday was tailor-made for the Black Power Movement by Dr. Maulana Karenga and introduced to the Black community in 1966. Even though it took several years to be embraced by large segments…Read More
August 14
James (Jimmy) Garrett My name is James (Jimmy) Garrett. I am going to summarize efforts by SNCC folks to develop and establish a Black Studies department (later called the Black Education Program, or BEP) at Federal City College (FCC), a predominantly Black, land-grant college in Washington, D.C., that opened in…Read More
May 4
The struggle for justice and freedom for Afrikan people continues for Baba El Senzengakulu Zulu. After the freedom rides Baba El Zulu became an enlisted warrior on the frontline of the civil rights movement of the 1960’s, repeatedly risking his life battling the Jim Crow laws of the segregated Deep…Read More
March 31
Nkechi Taifa-Courtesy of Nkechi Taifa One of the most pivotal and prolific lectures I heard while a student at Howard University during the early 1970’s did not come from a professor or PhD but from a speaker in a room on the first floor of Frederick Douglas Hall. The speaker…Read More
February 1
Daphne Muse In the tradition of our ancestors, Drum and Spear Bookstore was founded by and staffed with intellectually amazing people whose activism was fueled by scholars, writers, artists, and activists across many centuries. It went on to become a combination bookstore, library, community center, and iconic cultural heartbeat. –…Read More
January 1
Jennifer Lawson Photo by Vernard Gray Our Washington in the 1960s The energy was palpable. Whenever we were in a room together, ideas ricocheted at a pace that could easily have been underscored by the music we listened to—John Coltrane, Pharaoh Sanders, Ornette Coleman, Charles Lloyd, and Lee Morgan among…Read More
January 1
Januwa Moja’s creations explode in a profusion of color and style, making unique African cultural statements that underscore her love for and celebration of our heritage, our contributions and our possibilities. Moja uses a broad range of techniques and materials in her work, including hand-painted fabrics, appliqué, beading, feathers, collage, crochet,…Read More
January 1
Judy Richardson and Tony Gittens, 1968-Photo by Washington Post Origins In 1967-1968, members of the SNCC leadership moved from the organization’s headquarters in Atlanta, Ga., to Washington, D.C. After years of organizing Civil Rights protests in the South, the Movement was expanding to urban centers. Dr. King was now leading…Read More
1967
September 1
In September 1967, the Smithsonian Institution opened the Anacostia Neighborhood Museum (ANM) under the direction of community activist, organizer, and minister, John Robert Edward Kinard. A native Washingtonian, Kinard came to the Smithsonian with a deep commitment to his communities of residence, including Anacostia, and he had a long, extensive background…Read More
1966
October 15
“The purpose of the New School of Afro-American Thought was to challenge the direction of Black educational philosophy and practice in America. It set out to do this by creating a working model of what its founders felt education for Black people should be, rather than what it was…Read More
October 1
I started The New Thing in the fall of 1966 in Adams Morgan in an old, one-room storefront with a sagging floor at 1811 Florida Avenue, N.W. It was my senior year at the Howard University Architectural School. I had withdrawn because I didn’t think that the senior class project…Read More
October 1
Working for the Movement In 1963, I was a rising sophomore at Howard University, working a summer job for the Marines in Washington, D.C. When I heard about the March on Washington, I wanted to be involved, so I found the March on Washington planning office on 11th Street N.W.…Read More
January 1
I am an introvert, a daydreamer—a mixed media fiber artist (dolls, quilts, and paintings). I was always interested in art and listening to my Aunt Lawrencie’s storytelling. I was not a good student in school. I even repeated the fourth grade (to my straight “A” English teacher mother’s dismay). My…Read More
January 1
My friend, John A. Wilson (September 29, 1943 – May 19, 1993), was one of the most celebrated and influential elected officials in the history of Washington, D.C. He worked tirelessly to create programs and to provide assistance to help low-income and minority residents. He was best known for his…Read More