Anacostia Unmapped

The death of Christopher Barry came unexpectedly. He was the only child of former D.C. Mayor Marion Barry and Effi Barry and had eulogized both of his parents. A group of friends gathered at We Act Radio in Anacostia to share memories; many that did not make it into many media stories of his death. Thanks to Kymone Freeman for sharing these powerful words.

Troy Donte Prestwood (pictured) has lived in all corners of the District, but for the last nine years he’s called Anacostia home. Today he represents the neighborhood in local government as an Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner. And he says Anacostia is definitely unlike other parts of the city: The river has a different rhythm, and the neighborhood marches to a different beat. He speaks with Anacostia Unmapped contributor John Johnson about the changes he is seeing.

Most Anacostia residents know the power and fame associated with the home of Frederick Douglass. A few even remember the period between the famous abolitionist's death and the property's designation as a national historic site — the years when the community, including a Cub Scout troop, took care of things.

Jason Fuller talks with two longtime residents, Sandy Allen and Arrington Dixon, about their memories.

Spend time in Anacostia, and the G-word often comes up: gentrification. It's the "most loaded word in the English language," says Adele Robey, founder of Anacostia Playhouse on Shannon Place SE. She talks with Anacostia Unmapped contributor John Johnson about being "the resident white woman" in neighborhood conversations about arts and development, and what it's like to run a theater in a community that scrutinizes every development project for its potential to displace people. (Robey herself is performing in a show, Riches, at the theater through early August.)

A night at the legendary basketball court in Barry Farms, Washington D.C.

As the country tries to make sense of this weeks violence, we are reminded that a mother who loses her son must take on a long fight to find out what happened to him. The story of Beverly Smith and her son Alonzo Smith, who was killed by special police in Anacostia. Interview by Kymone Freeman. Photo by Brandon Gatling.

Neighborhoods in Washington are constantly shifting, and Anacostia finds itself in the midst of one such change. So let’s start today with the Great Migration, when tens of thousands of African Americans left the South and many stopped right here in Washington D.C.

Charlene Butler Rutger’s family was one of many shaped by that migration. Her grandfather came and then almost all of his brothers and sisters followed him to Anacostia. Anacostia Unmapped contributor John Johnson talks with her about how social networks — and family dinner in particular — grounds them in tradition.

Photograph by Brandon Gatling.

This map was never drawn. It had to be memorized. It led the way through early Washington City, where buildings we all know — like the Capitol and the Smithsonian "castle" — were only halfway built. The map led to freedom, to a schooner called The Pearl. It was the escape plan of slaves. Anacostia Unmapped contributor John Johnson has the story.

Photo: "Male adult slave escaping by way of a river" via The New York Public Library Digital Collections

Anacostia is the inner city in a lot of outsiders' minds, but not all of the Southeast D.C. neighborhood is densely populated. Anacostia Unmapped contributor John Johnson — who often takes his young daughter along on interviews — talks with mother and songwriter Tamika Jones about how her perception of the neighborhood has changed over the years. For Jones, "infamous Anacostia" offers a lot to anybody who wants to share a leafy park or a good view with their family.

A young woman boards a bus in Richmond and heads for 17th and L streets in the District. Her first job out of high school: Taking dictation from government lawyers and then burning the typewriter ribbon. After her plan for housing falls through, she finds an apartment in Anacostia. For an out-of-towner, "it was the big city," says Caroline G. Pleasant, who talks with Anacostia Unmapped contributor John Johnson about her experience settling in Southeast D.C. nearly five decades ago.

Photo: National Youth Administration youth assis in the South Parkway Branch of the YWCA in Chicago in an undated photo. More information: nypl.org