On Friday, Feb. 7, high schoolers gathered in the gym for the annual Black History Month assembly. After an introduction from Associate Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Guyton Mathews and senior Paige Young, author Briana Thomas spoke to the students about her book Black Broadway in Washington, D.C.
During the assembly, Thomas spoke about multiple prominent figures in Black Broadway including Duke Ellington, Pearl Bailey, Billie Holliday, Ella Fitzgerald, Madame Lillian Evanti, Mary Church Terrell and Carter G. Woodson. She also talked about current Black Broadway stars such as Reginald Douglas, James Ijames and Marjuan Canady. Black Broadway thrived in the early to mid 1900s when Black literature, music, and art flourished in the U Street Corridor.
The book begins with a foreword by D.C. Congresswoman Eleanor Norton about her experience growing up on U Street in a segregated D.C. “U Street was the self-created, self-contained Black hub of our city,” Norton said. She describes how U Street residents fought against the idea that segregation meant inferiority.
During the Jim Crow era, people of color were not allowed to attend the same schools, shop at the same stores or see performances in the same places as white people. Because of segregation, Thomas said spaces open to people of color were important during the Jim Crow era.
Thomas said Black artists created their own safe spaces. The Howard Theater, founded in Northwest D.C. in 1910, was one of them. According to Thomas, the Howard Theater was “the largest theater in the world to support Black audiences and Black performers” at the time.
“As a historian, it’s very important to let the people who lived through the experience tell their story,” Thomas said. While researching for her book, Thomas interviewed many U Street Corridor residents.
During the assembly, Thomas said she became interested in Black Broadway when she realized the area’s history was not commonly learned. “There were more than 300 Black-owned businesses, and now there are only three that are still remaining from the Black Broadway era,” Thomas said. Very few Black people owned their properties, and increased property values caused many of these businesses to shut down.
In an interview with the Bit, Thomas said she wanted her listeners to walk away from her presentation feeling capable of making social change. “I always want them to walk away with inspiration,” Thomas said. “[If others] were able to make an impact, then I can do it, too.”
“It was an overall interesting assembly about local Black history,” freshman Stuart Mitchell said. “I think it was overall pretty beneficial to students, just to acknowledge Black History Month and show that Black history is integral to the local history of D.C.”
Freshman Nikki Smallwood said she liked that the assembly was about a part of history that she hadn’t previously known about, despite D.C. history being part of the ninth-grade curriculum. “In future assemblies, I would want to see more speakers talking about topics relevant in our lives as high schoolers, and who give us a new perspective on the world that we can carry with us and continue to make a difference on our own,” Smallwood said.
Freshman Elspeth Patten said the assembly was especially interesting due to her personal connection to the neighborhood. “I live in the U Street Corridor, so it was interesting to learn more about what my neighborhood used to be like,” she said.
Thomas said she was shocked that writing her book helped her journalism career. “Now that I’ve written this story, I often get stories that are brought to me that are about Black history in other places,” Thomas said. She has since written articles about Black architects in D.C. and Black parties in New York City.
“Black history is deeply woven into everything we touch, taste and admire,” Mathews said in his opening remarks. “Georgetown Day School is Black history.”