Howard University Sets the Standard tenth, t, and vermont avenue nw
to the north and east of the U Street corri- dor rises the tower of Founders Library at Howard University — an institution created in 1867 that has trained and inspired generations of African American leaders and has been a lodestar for its own community. The highest value was placed on educational achievement in this historic neighborhood. Divisions 10 through 13 of the DC Public Schools, the “colored schools” as they were known in pre- 1954 segregated Washington, were considered the best in the nation. Teachers were looked up to as community leaders, mentors, and role models. The former Grimke Elementary School, the Colonial Revival structure just south of U Street on Vermont Avenue, was part of this system. It was named for Archibald Grimke, born to a slave mother and a white father, who became a promi- nent Washington lawyer and civil rights leader. Garnet-Patterson Junior High School, still a center of community activity, is located today on Vermont Avenue between U and V Streets. All of the city’s high schools for African Americans were located in this vicinity. Among the achievers in this community was Lillian Evans Tibbs, known professionally as Madame Evanti — the first internationally known African American opera singer. She lived in the house at 1910 Vermont Avenue. The grand space at Tenth and U Streets was a gathering place for the com- munity, with Sunday concerts held in a bandstand where the African American Civil War Memorial is now located.
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