DC 1968 Project, Commemorating the Ups, Downs, and Triumphs of the District 50 Years Ago

By Akil Wilson, Special to the AFRO

1968 is the year that altered Washington, D.C. economically demographically and geographically.

Those who grew up in the District have heard tales  of the tragic, historic turn that the city took beginning on the night of April 4, 1968. The day Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee.

It all started at the intersection of 14^th and U Streets Northwest.

A photo of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. preaching his last Sunday sermon at the Washington National Cathedral featured on the DC 1968 Project Instagram page. (Courtesy Photo)

What began as a public display of grief, anger and confusion sparked by the loss of one of the most important men in United States history, eventually turned into major destruction in some of the District’s Black neighborhoods.

Those riots, which destroyed or damaged over 900 business and properties as well left 13 dead, primarily resulted from the unbridled frustration of D.C.’s Black population. 1968, like much of the 60’s, was a year filled with protests, uprisings and sometimes violent clashes with authorities.

“When I looked down the street, I really didn’t understand what I was seeing. It seems that people were in a celebratory mood dealing with the pain of losing Dr. King and the joy of having the chance to take things without recourse from the police,” Former D.C. Council member, Dr. Charlene Drew Jarvis, told the AFRO.

50 years later, Dr. . Marya Annette McQuirter is commemorating the important year in D.C. history online. McQuirter is the curator of DC 1968 Project an online gallery of images chronicling what life was like in Washington D.C. in this pivotal year by posting a new image every day for the in 2018.

Her page shows that in the months leading up to the events of April 4^th 1968 Washington was abuzz with activism. From the anti-freeway building campaign spearheaded by a young activist named Marion Barry to the anti-war protest actions led by Stokley Carmichael and the group of Howard University students known as SNCC.

On March 31, she posted a photo from 50 years to the day of King delivering his last Sunday sermon at the Washington National Cathedral.

With the photo is a description of the historicity behind the photograph.

“He was invited by the Very Rev. Francis B. Sayre, Jr. (white), the cathedral dean, to speak about the Poor People’s Campaign, which was scheduled to begin on 22 April. He also took the opportunity to speak out against the Vietnam War,” McQuirter wrote.

“The title of King’s sermon was ‘Remaining Awake Through a Great Revolution.’ He shared: ‘And one of the great liabilities of life is that too many people find themselves living amid a great period of social change and yet they fail to develop new attitudes, the new mental responses, that the new situation demands. They end up sleeping through a revolution.’”

Despite the passing of 50 years, DC 1968 Project shows many of the same issues the city  currently faces were at the forefront of the political landscape in 1968 as well. There was concern over Negro removal in Shaw- gentrification; teachers marching on the Capitol for fair pay and treatment- nationwide teacher strikes; and student led takeovers of Howard University administration buildings- such as what’s currently happening at the institution where students are demanding a change in policy and leadership

On the 50^th anniversary of this monumental year, DC 1968 Project emphasizes it is important to not only focus on the assassination of Dr. King and the devastation that followed, but give thanks and credit to those who stayed, survived and thrived for half a century in the Chocolate City.

For a glimpse into what life was like for Washingtonians of that era, check out McQuirter’s website dc1968project.com or follow the Instagram account, @dc1968project, for daily updates.