Riots to Renaissance 14th and u streets nw
the corner of 14th and u streets has been a city crossroads, a neighborhood gathering place, and a stage set for events that have shaken the city and the nation. For city residents, it was the transfer place for crosstown streetcars and buses. For the African American community, it was the heart of a busi- ness and professional downtown. It has also been the fault line in the struggle for equal rights for black Americans in the 20 th century. Some of the nation’s first picket lines walked this corner in the 1930 s when the New Negro Alliance protested discrimination in hiring by local busi- nesses. Among the protesters was Mary McLeod Bethune, founder of the National Council of Negro Women, educator, and advisor to four U.S. presidents. The 1938 United States Supreme Court decision that followed affirmed the constitutional rights that supported the sit-ins of the civil rights movement of the 1950 s and 1960 s. In April 1968 , the corner was the flashpoint for riots that followed the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The violent protest destroyed businesses along 14 th Street, Seventh Street, and in other parts of the city. In 1986 , the Frank D. Reeves Municipal Center rose where the riots had begun, and became both a symbol and a sparkplug for a neighborhood renaissance. New restaurants, shops, and nightclubs, a new subway stop, and the restoration of historic buildings followed, making U Street once again a lively urban community.
Made with FlippingBook Annual report maker