Abstract

Anita Hammond shares her life from her earliest memory as a child growing up in segregated, farming community of Seaford, Delaware to her currently life in Penn Branch neighborhood, in Washington, D.C. She has lived in the neighborhood, since 1965. She shares her vivid memories of the people, neighborhood association and nearby community businesses. Finally, Mrs. Hammond shares and how COVID-19 has impacted her life.

Abstract Barbara Morgan is a second-generation Washingtonian and a well-known community activist. In her interview, she shares her extraordinary family history and her early experiences growing up in Northwest quadrants of Washington, DC during the 1940s and 1950s, during segregation. Barbara moved into Penn Branch approximately one year after she married her husband in 1962. The neighborhood was then known as Ft. Dupont Park. However, she explains how the name of the neighborhood was changed out of...

Abstract This oral history interview was conducted for 'We Are Penn Branch' oral history project. Baxter Gee and Judith A. Gee shared stories about their lives before and after moving to the Penn Branch neighborhood in 1971. They gleefully tell the story of how they met and married. Baxter Gee also share stories about his military career traveling around the world and living for several years in Japan and Hawaii, before relocation to Washington, D.C. Both Judy Gee and Baxter Gee discuss memories of...

Scope and Contents Collection contains meeting minutes, correspondence, financial materials, membership lists, and clippings regarding the activities of the Chillum Heights Citizens' Association. Collection also includes topical files on such subjects as D.C. Home Rule and suffrage, juvenile delinquency, crime, civil rights, racism, D.C. budgets, the Rock Creek expressway; as well as items from the Federation of Citizens Association and Neighbors Inc. Folders are arranged into three series: administrative...

Scope and Contents This six box collection consists of the personal papers of Margaret Cooper and documents her professional; civic and community activities; and achievements. The collection consists largely of certificates, plaques, programs, administrative materials, and miscellaneous materials documenting Cooper’s involvement as an active member and leader of several organizations and institutions, including Third Baptist Church, Christian Endeavor, D.C. Federation of Civic Associations, Inc., the East...

Scope and Contents This collection covers Ophelia Daniels’ involvement in various D.C. civic associations, local D.C. politics, as well as her work as a school counselor in the D.C. public school system, primarily focusing on the 1970s-1980s with some materials spanning from the 1940s to the 1990s. Some other family members’ work in education, such as Ophelia’s husband Arnold Daniels, son Danny Daniels, and father William Cope Jr., are featured as well. The collection also includes photographs, letters,...

Abstract Diane Alexander and her daughter Yvette Alexander reflect on their childhood, family life, careers, and experiences as long-time residents of Penn Branch. Diane Alexander shares her experience searching for a home with her husband and becoming a first-time home buyer in Penn Branch. Once they settled into the neighborhood, Diane Alexander described it as a friendly and quiet to place to live with easy access to grocery stores, restaurants, and a movie theater. Although Diane and Yvette...

Abstract Dr. James Baldwin gives an overview of his life from his childhood in North Carolina to his enlistment in the U.S. Army and now legendary service as a part of the legendary 784th Tank Battalion that supported the liberation of Holland. He also discusses how he and his wife, Ann Baldwin (1921-2006), purchased their home in the Penn Branch neighborhood in southeast Washington, D.C., in the early 1960s and were among the first African American families to integrate the community. He briefly...

Scope and Contents

The collection contains correspondence, by-laws, newsletters, and monthly meeting minutes of the Dupont Park Civic Association. Significant items in the collection include monthly crime reports issued by the Sixth District, Jesse Jackson’s 1988 speech to seek the Democratic nomination for President of the United States, and the Far Northeast Council of Civic Association’s proposal for community action against poverty.

Scope and Contents

Contains correspondence, clippings, meeting minutes, reports, and pamphlets of local issues and citizens’ organizations in which Mrs. Ellis was involved; including the Chillum Heights Citizens’ Association, the D.C. Federation of Citizens’ Associations, Junior Village, the Committee for the Rights of the D.C. Business Community, urban renewal, home rule, and mass transit. Of significance, is a 1972 report titled "Report of the Special Citizens’ Advisory Committee on Urban Renewal in D.C."