Story of Chocolate City - half day walking tour of black Washington DC

Starting with the compromise of locating the capital in the South, the history of DC has always been intimately tied with the impact of race on the country's history. The city is scarred by memories of slavery, challenged by the terrible poverty and poor housing however also touched by the inspirational vision of Dr Martin Luther King Jr and the excellence of Black Broadway and Howard University. Until the Civil War, slave pens dotted the Mall and we will visit sites linked to the slave trade and discuss the daily challenges of living in a border city. When freed from slavery many black Washingtonians lived in cramped alleys, in squalid conditions and we'll get a glimpse of alley life. The city was also central in the Civil Rights struggle from the Marion Anderson concert and MLK's March on Washington to Marion Barry's leadership in the 80s and 90s. Through all of this DC nurtured black excellence with the likes of Langston Hughes, Duke Ellington, Marvin Gaye and Carter Woodson calling the city home.