“Black History Sites: Washington, DC. Explore and learn about the people, places and events that have shaped the history and culture of the nation’s capital.”

Check out this great website from DC Historic Preservation Office / DC Office of Planning:

“With their longtime presence even before the establishment of a city, African Americans have been central to the culture, heritage and civic life of Washington, DC. This website records nearly 300 places associated with African American history and culture in the District of Columbia. These sites span the city’s history from its creation in 1791, through the Civil War and Civil Rights eras to 1974—when DC gained Home Rule—and beyond.

[Scroll down for the map here.]

The selected sites highlight the social, cultural and political movements that have shaped the city. They tell the story of events and people who changed its history. They include the boundary stones of the new federal territory, famously set on sites determined by astronomer Benjamin Banneker in 1792 and the Lincoln Memorial where Marian Anderson sang in 1939 and where Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his “I Have a Dream” speech in 1963. They also include many of the schools, businesses, churches, recreational centers, communities and homes of individuals where Black Washingtonians studied, worked, worshipped, played and consistently fought for their rights as individuals and as a race.

The African American Heritage Trail (AAHT), launched in 2001 and consisting of 200 sites, provided the foundation for the 300 sites included in this Story Map. However, ongoing research including recent scholarship into the District’s civil rights and Black Power movements, women’s suffrage, and racially restrictive covenants, has contributed heavily to the identification and inclusion of sites to this Story Map. Similarly, historic preservation actions, such as the historic designation of Kingman Park, Barry Farm Dwellings and numerous individual landmarks have further contributed to our database of knowledge about Black Washington and have helped augment the number of sites here. It is expected that the scope of this website will continue to grow as professional historians, students and local residents continue to identify the places and tell the stories that contribute to Washington’s rich and multi-layered history.”