Abstract

Ms. Corado discusses growing up in El Salvador amidst the civil war, her understanding of her gender and its evolution, emigrating to D.C., living homeless in Dupont Circle, becoming an activist, and establishing Casa Ruby.

Abstract

Ms. Corado discusses her early activism and leading the group Latinos en Accion which she would turn into Casa Ruby, the early days of Casa Ruby’s first space, the growth and accomplishments since then, and the challenges and hopes for the future.

Abstract This project explores the impact of programs and activities The Washington Section, National Council of Negro Women past presidents, members and other key people. The interviews were meant to form the basis of an assessment of the organization’s importance from its founding in 1943 to the present and a guide for the future. The stories collected speak to how the Washington Section established and maintained a strong presence through its involvement with women, children and their families in...

Abstract For six days in July of 1978, workers in D.C.’s Metro system brought the city to a halt. Angered by violence against bus drivers and their eroding real wages in an era of high inflation, Black and white workers united and walked off the job in defiance of management and the leadership of their own union. The 1978 wildcat strike helped guarantee that Metro would remain a source of family-sustaining jobs for Black working class Washingtonians. This project interviewed participants in the...

Scope and Contents From the Collection:

D.C. Oral History Collaborative (DCOHC) is a citywide initiative to train community members in oral history skills, fund new and ongoing oral history projects, connect volunteers with oral history projects, and publicize existing oral history collections. DCOHC is a project of DC Public Library, HumanitiesDC, and the Historical Society of Washington, D.C. This collection contains oral history interviews, transcripts, and indexes produced by DCOHC grantees.

Abstract

The Mind Body Justice project recognizes the key Black and African-American voices working to reduce health disparities east of the Anacostia River in Washington, D.C.’s Wards 7 and 8 through health education, medicine, environmental awareness, food activism, and wellness. The project seeks to expand the knowledge and document the history of health activism east of the Anacostia River.

Abstract This project is an account of the Edgewood/Brookland Family Support Collaborative’s (E/BFSC) authentic response to a child welfare crisis and the break-down of a governmental system charged with protecting children. The E/BFSC's distinguished approach to rebuilding this broken system placed community leaders, residents, and community stakeholders at the center of the conversation about how to strengthen families and build a collaborative network of providers that keep children safe and at...

Abstract One block of Newton Street in Columbia Heights is currently home to three affordable housing LIHTC (Low-Income Housing Tax Credit) buildings. In 2020, one of them, The Newton Street Cooperative, celebrated its 30-year anniversary. That same year, another one, The Cooperative at 1477 broke new grounds as the second limited equity housing cooperative successfully converted from a LIHTC rental in D.C. on that same block. It would not have happened without the initiative and perseverance of...

Abstract This oral history project uplifts the stories of leaders and ordinary people who helped change the course of banking history through collective action in the 1970s, leading Adams Morgan to become one of D.C.'s most multicultural, politically active communities. Through honest conversations about how financial discrimination and economic violence were overcome through personal and community resilience, the narrators reveal how extreme disparities persist and can be overcome. The Urban...

Abstract

Ms. Shanice discusses growing up in D.C., in several different neighborhoods, her family, going to high school and coming into herself, going to clubs and sex work, the impact of the AIDS epidemic, the violence transgender women faced and the killing of a close friend, getting involved in non-profit work, and the changes in the city.