Black History

COMMENTARY: Notes and Footnotes to a Life in Georgetown

WASHINGTON INFORMER — There is a visceral disregard and aggressive muting of the African-American presence in Old Georgetown.

Published

6 years ago

February 23, 2019

Thalia Nash-Mwaipaja Special to The Informer

By Thalia Nash-Mwaipaja

In the early ’80s, my mother, younger sister and I went to live with my uncle Rev. Dr. James K. McCants where he presided in the church clergy house in Old Georgetown. What would become my address, 2902 O Street Northwest, was owned and maintained by Mt. Zion United Methodist Church, the historic African American house of worship located just around the corner at 1334 29th Street Northwest. This move, from our East of the River house in Hillcrest (Southeast) to Georgetown represented, perhaps, the biggest and most pivotal change in my life.

I didn’t know a lot about the history of Old Georgetown, I only saw the difference in appearance, which was a totally different from the neighborhood I’d left. The sidewalks were made of red bricks or cobblestone and gave the community a type of quiet village charm. The atmosphere was always very tranquil, except on the outer layers of the neighborhood which catered to college revelry, happy hours, and shoppers. In this way, even as nightfall came, the residents of Georgetown maintained a mostly reserved, lights-out curfew of 10p.m. In a town known for blaring go-go music, an exhaustive nightlife, and a growing commuter system, it felt less and less like I was even in the District.

What I remember most fondly were the beautiful tree-lined streets for blocks with colorful flowers along the brick sidewalks. The corner stores were operated by one of two persons, and the neighbors were so well known that shop owners allowed residents to purchase things on a store tab, rather than at point of sale.

Thalia Nash-Mwaipaja revisited her Old Georgetown home recently with Washington Informer staff to discuss the love she maintains for the people and its history.

But by the late 1980s, I rarely saw African Americans in the neighborhood, except on Sundays for church services or on weeknights for occasional programs.

I remember my uncle telling me Mt. Zion was one of the oldest Black congregations in Northwest Washington, and that many of the members consisted of families that once resided in Georgetown – with only a handful continuing to reside in their Georgetown homes not far from the church. Through generations many of the members still attended services and made up large populations of active church members.

Living in Old Georgetown gave me an opportunity to experience a different type of diversity. I was able to attend Woodrow Wilson Senior High which was touted as an exemplary academic space and one that welcomed the children of our nation’s various embassies. In this way, the diversity I experienced as one of only a few African Americans living in Georgetown also spanned to include friendships with families whose surnames included: Shah, Li, Aragona, Ahmadu, Blesendorff, and Iloabachie. Many of these friends discussed how Black builders had to use their fingers to mold and manipulate materials for brickmaking / bricklaying. They challenged me to walk my neighborhood and examine the many African, Negro, Black, African-American fingerprints — locked in stone and pressed into the flesh of architecture of our ancestors.

Initially my friends knew more about the rich heritage of Black Georgetown than I did – which lead me to bend the ears of those around me for constant signs of heritage and “belonging” in a place that while quiet and reserved, maintained a healthy suspicion of Black bodies.

For instance, one of the most telling misfortunes of being whitewashed from a place while you’re living in it, was the anxiety white neighbors felt at having me in what they perceived to be “their space.” I always understood the angry or confused looks, or even the slow police cruiser trailing my cousin (my uncle’s older son) and me to see where we were going, at the behest of “concerned neighbors,” as an indication of their xenophobia or emotional insecurity. We often laughed at white newcomers to Old Georgetown who didn’t understand that their homes were once occupied by and served as the birthing rooms of the very people they now feared. It didn’t matter that the families no longer dwelled in the community, the houses still held their memories.

Since I married and moved away from Old Georgetown, my desire to reaffirm the family-ties of Black Georgetowners has reached a critical level. There is a visceral disregard and aggressive muting of the African-American presence in Old Georgetown. That separation between what lies beneath the surface and what lies in front of us should be bridged by school curriculum, the city’s historical societies, archivists, and historians. Washingtonians of all ages should be taught the history of a place that was once a refuge for slaves escaping the Deep South, as a vibrant Black economic hub courting generational affluence, and as a place where those who did it, remain interred. I am ever grateful to The Washington Informer Newspaper and The Washington Informer Charities for their efforts to bring this history to life through their annual African American Heritage Tour. It will absolutely make a difference in the lives of participants.

This article originally appeared in the Washington Informer.

Thalia Nash-Mwaipaja Special to The Informer

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Activism

Oakland Post: Week of March 28 – April 1, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of March 28 – April 1, 2025

Published

2 days ago

March 28, 2025

Oakland Post

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Activism

Report Offers Policies, Ideas to Improve the Workplace Experiences of Black Women in California

The “Invisible Labor, Visible Struggles: The Intersection of Race, Gender, and Workplace Equity for Black Women in California” report by the California Black Women’s Collective Empowerment Institute (CBWCEI), unveiled the findings of a December 2024 survey of 452 employed Black women across the Golden State. Three-fifths of the participants said they experienced racism or discrimination last year and 57% of the unfair treatment was related to incidents at work.

Published

6 days ago

March 24, 2025

Oakland Post

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By McKenzie Jackson, California Black Media

Backed by data, a report released last month details the numerous hurdles Black women in the Golden State must overcome to effectively contribute and succeed in the workplace.

The “Invisible Labor, Visible Struggles: The Intersection of Race, Gender, and Workplace Equity for Black Women in California” report by the California Black Women’s Collective Empowerment Institute (CBWCEI), unveiled the findings of a December 2024 survey of 452 employed Black women across the Golden State. Three-fifths of the participants said they experienced racism or discrimination last year and 57% of the unfair treatment was related to incidents at work.

CBWCEI President and CEO Kellie Todd Griffin said Black women have been the backbone of communities, industries, and movements but are still overlooked, underpaid, and undervalued at work.

“The data is clear,” she explained. “Systemic racism and sexism are not just historical injustices. They are active forces shaping the workplace experiences of Black women today. This report is a call to action. it demands intentional polices, corporate accountability, and systemic changes.”

The 16-page study, conducted by the public opinion research and strategic consulting firm EVITARUS, showcases the lived workplace experiences of Black women, many who say they are stuck in the crosshairs of discrimination based on gender and race which hinders their work opportunities, advancements, and aspirations, according to the report’s authors, Todd Griffin and CBWCEI researcher Dr. Sharon Uche.

“We wanted to look at how Black women are experiencing the workplace where there are systematic barriers,” Todd Griffin told the media during a press conference co-hosted by Ethnic Media Services and California Black Media. “This report is focused on the invisible labor struggles of Black women throughout California.”

The aspects of the workplace most important to Black women, according to those surveyed, are salary or wage, benefits, and job security.

However, only 21% of the survey’s respondents felt they had strong chances for career advancement into the executive or senior leadership ranks in California’s job market; 49% felt passed over, excluded from, or marginalized at work; and 48% felt their accomplishments at work were undervalued. Thirty-eight percent said they had been thought of as the stereotypical “angry Black woman” at work, and 42% said workplace racism or discrimination effected their physical or mental health.

“These sentiments play a factor in contributing to a workplace that is unsafe and not equitable for Black women in California,” the report reads.

Most Black women said providing for their families and personal fulfillment motivated them to show up to work daily, while 38% said they were dissatisfied in their current job with salary, supervisors, and work environment being the top sources of their discontent.

When asked if they agree or disagree with a statement about their workplace 58% of Black women said they feel supported at work, while 52% said their contributions are acknowledged. Forty-nine percent said they felt empowered.

Uche said Black women are paid $54,000 annually on average — including Black single mothers, who averaged $50,000 — while White men earn an average of $90,000 each year.

“More than half of Black families in California are led by single Black women,” said Uche, who added that the pay gap between Black women and White men isn’t forecasted to close until 2121.

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Alameda County

Trump Order Slashes Federal Agencies Supporting Minority Business and Neighborhood Development

The latest executive order targeted several federal agencies, including the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) and the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, ordering that their programs and staff be reduced “to the minimum presence and function required by law.” The executive order targeted more agencies that Trump “has determined are unnecessary,” the order stated.

Published

6 days ago

March 24, 2025

Oakland Post

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By Brandon Patterson

On March 14, President Trump signed an executive order slashing the operations of two federal agencies supporting growth in minority business and neighborhoods as he continued his attacks on programs supporting people of color and on the size of the federal bureaucracy.

The MBDA’s mission is to “promote the growth and global competitiveness” of minority business enterprises, or MBEs. In 2023, according to its website, the agency helped MBEs access $1.5 billion in capital and facilitated nearly $3.8 billion in contracts awarded to minority business enterprises. It also helped MBEs create or sustain more than 19,000 jobs nationwide. Similarly, the CDFI Fund supports economic growth in under-invested communities by providing funding and technical assistance to local CDFIs, including banks, loan funds, and credit unions, that support community development projects in cities across the country. In 2023, the fund supported more than 1,400 local CDFIs across the country, including more than 80 in California — among the highest number for any state in the country.

The MBDA has local satellite business centers operated by organizations that support minority clients with services such as business consulting, contract bid preparation, loan packaging, and accessing capital funding. The San Francisco Bay Area business center is San Jose, operated by San Francisco-based organization Asian, Inc. Meanwhile, local Oakland CDFIs supported by the federal CDFI fund since 2021 include Habitat Community Capital, TMC Community Capital, Gateway Bank Federal Savings Bank, Beneficial State Bancorp, Inc., and Main Street Launch.

“It is clear that the hollowing out of the CDFI Fund and MBDA is not being ordered because those programs have failed in their mission,” the CEO of Small Business Majority John Arensmeyer, a national organization that advocates for small businesses, said in a statement on Saturday. “Instead, it is yet another case of President Trump using DEI as a club to eviscerate programs that seek to level our economic playing field.”

Congresswoman Lateefah Simon also slammed the decision in a statement to the Oakland Post. “As a member of the House Small Business Committee who represents multiple CDFIs in CA-12, I believe Trump’s gutting of operations at the Minority Business Development Agency and at the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund is a direct attack on small businesses, communities of color and other underserved communities,” Rep. Simon said. “Both the MBDA and the CDFI Fund were created with bipartisan support to help historically underserved communities and small businesses — and both programs have helped to dramatically change the material realities of people and bolster entrepreneurship in the U.S. There is no logic to this decision. The point is discrimination and cruelty.”