A Minor Landmark

Strolling through Adams Morgan you can see the neighborhood has many disparate forms regarding the built environment. A big part of its identity is commercial -- restaurants, bars, and retail, mostly along 18th Street NW south of Columbia Road. The eastern part of Columbia Road itself is known for staple service businesses such as pharmacies, groceries, urgent care, a few banks, and even a veterinarian. Columbia Road west and Kalorama Road are known for their large, impressive multi-unit residential buildings that lead right into Dupont Circle.

Along Calvert Road, a homey vista of attached row houses line the curved thoroughfare all the way up to the Duke Ellington Bridge. When I first moved to DC I was living in nearby Mount Pleasant. This stretch of Calvert Street (1800 & 1900 blocks) was mostly known to me and my friends as group houses and party houses.

1929 Calvert Street NW (the white house)

To that extent, it makes a lot of sense that it was one of these houses hosted the first ever show for Minor Threat, one of DC's and punk music's seminal bands.

In December 1980, the newly formed band Minor Threat opened for another legendary DC band, Bad Brains, in the basement of 1929 Calvert St NW in Adams Morgan. The Minor Threat kids weren't complete unknowns as two of the members had already played in the popular Teen Idles, which broke up earlier that year. And they were kids -- Teen Idles was formed from a group of students enrolled in nearby Wilson High School.

Photo © Susie Josephson Horgan. Minor Threat early show.

Minor Threat continued an on-again off-again existence until permanently disbanding in the summer of 1983. Along the way songs like "Straight Edge" and EP's like "Out of Step" connected with DC punk kids and even more outside of the capital city. With the band members going on to be a part of even longer lived bands such as Fugazi, Bad Religion, Dag Nasty, and many others, the importance and influence of Minor Threat has been amplified over the decades.

Today the Calvert Street house is just... a house. No fanfare, no signage, just another row house in Adams Morgan. But the house will be part of a private tour I am writing for a client this spring. If all goes well, I may consider a permanent Adams Morgan tour based on music and social activism! It's a strong possibility.

Autumn in Northeast DC

Exploring the Union Market area of Northeast DC.

Alethia Tanner Park: Beautiful Green Space, Incredible Namesake

Walking over a rain garden in Alethia Tanner Park.

Alethia Tanner Park is one of the two newer parks in the NoMa (North of Massachusetts Avenue) neighborhood. I actually consider this park to be in the adjacent Eckington neighborhood, not NoMa. However, this is all within the boundaries of the official NoMa Business Improvement District, so it makes sense. But I digress. Residents of NoMa selected Tanner as the namesake for the park from among several candidates, with Tanner garnering over 60% of votes.

Just a few acres in size, the park is a solid one. Among the amenities thoughtfully arranged in such a small are area: a wide grassy expanse with partial tree cover, an informal pavilion with rigging for events, small picnic table section, enclosed playground area for families, separate dog park and relief area (fenced!), and bike parking with a bike maintenance tower. All this, plus the park accessible directly from the Metropolitan Branch Trail, a pedestrian and bike path running alongside the rails in Northeast DC. I highly recommend a visit!

Back to Alethia Tanner, though. Who was she? Let’s take a look.

Alethia Browning Tanner

Alethia Browning Tanner was born as an enslaved person on the Pratt plantation in Prince George's County, Maryland. Alethia and her sister were allowed a plot of land to grow vegetables for their families. In addition, Rachel Pratt also allowed the sisters to sell those vegetables on the streets of Alexandria City and Washington in the District of Columbia. The Pratt name may be familiar. Thomas Pratt, the son of Rachel Pratt, went on to become the 27th Governor of Maryland.

Alethia sold vegetables at the well known market just north of the White House in Presidents Park (now known as Lafayette Park). It is possible --and probable-- she met Thomas Jefferson there as he was known to frequent the vegetable markets there along with other prominent early Washingtonians. There are also White House records suggesting she worked for Thomas Jefferson in some capacity, likely doing various housework tasks.

Invoice for medical services provided to workers in Thomas Jefferson’s White House, including an entry for “Lethe,” likely Alethia Tanner. (White House Historical Association)

Tanner saved enough to purchase her own freedom in 1810. The total amount, thought to have been paid in installments, was $1,400. In 1810, $1,400 was a significant amount; about the equivalent of three years' earnings for an average skilled tradesperson. Self-emancipation was not an option for all enslaved peoples, but both Alethia and her sister Sophia were able to accomplish this, almost entirely though selling vegetables at the market. Alethia Tanner moved to DC and became one of a significant and growing number of free Black people in the District. In 1800 there were 793 free Black people living in DC. By 1810, there were 2,549, and by 1860, 11,131 free Black people lived in DC, more than the number of enslaved peoples.

Starting at about 15 years after securing her own manumission, Alethia Tanner worked to purchase the freedom of more than 20 of her relatives and neighbors; mostly the family of her older sister Laurana including Laurana herself, her children, and her grandchildren. All in all, Tanner would have paid the Pratt family well over $5,000. All of this was done with proceeds from her own vegetable market business. Even after her family and friends were emancipated, Tanner continued to provide services. For example, she paid monthly to keep her nephews enrolled in a newly formed DC school for Black children. One of those nephews, John Cook, became shoemaker's apprentice for the express purpose of repaying Alethia for his emancipation and schooling. An older and more experienced John returned years later to run the school for Black children he earlier attended.

Alethia Tanner also lived near the White House, near what is now the corner of 14th and H Streets NW, not far from where her market was located. She was very much involved in the burgeoning Black culture among free and enslaved peoples in DC and was well known in the community. As one of the founders of what is now known as Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church (M Street NW), she left a lasting mark on Black DC culture from religion to education.

She ran the market through the early 1850s and remained active in DC until her death in 1864, outliving a number of her own relatives from younger generations. Much of what we know about her life came from an official 1870 Congressional Report to the House of Representatives from Henry Barnard, the commissioner of education in Washington, DC. Barnard recounted her philanthropic and organizing efforts to further education for Black children in DC throughout her life and wanted it to be put on record.

Alethia Tanner Park is located at 227 Harry Thomas Way NE, near the corner of Harry Thomas Way and Q Street. It can also be accessed by foot or bike via the Metropolitan Branch Trail, just north of the Florida Ave entrances.

Enjoyed this post? Get weekly DC history posts, DC Adventure Guides, photos, and general support my work on the Attucks Adams Patreon page. Monthly subs start at just $3. Recent topics have been this post on Alethia Tanner Park, documenting the scene around the Capitol as John Lewis lay in state, and exploring alternate building designs for the National Museum of African American History and Culture. Thanks so much!

Explore more: 

Federal Census Records for the District of Columbia Relating to Slavery, 1800–1860 (NARA)
NoMa Wants Your Help Naming its New Large Park (GGW)
Self-Emancipation in Lafayette Park (White House Historical Association)
The Enslaved Household of President Thomas Jefferson (White House Historical Society) Tanner, Alethia (Oxford African American Study Center)
Alethia "Lethe" Browning Tanner (Genealogy Trails)
Manumission papers for John F. Cook (Moorland-Spingarn Research Center)
Alethia Tanner Park (NoMa Parks Foundation)

See more:

Manumission papers of John F. Cook, and his daughter (Moorland-Spingarn Research Center/Howard University)

A Story in a Photograph [Patreon Preview]

During these initial few weeks of establishing content on Patreon, we will share a few of the posts usually only available to Patrons. You can support our work and become a Patron here: Attucks Adams on Patreon

Enjoy!
-Tim

Converting a live, in-person walking tour into an online "virtual tour" or "virtual field trip" experience wasn't as straightforward as I initially imagined. The lesson planning, the presentation, even the content have all required drastic change. I've been forced to rethink what themes and important messages I want to get across, and what media I need to illustrate those narratives.

Of course, photographs are key to illustrating an historical narrative, especially when I can't just point to a building and reference history against it in real time. On the flip side, being forced to rethink how I present information has allowed me to even further back up some of the stories I have used on tour with even more nuance.

Looking at the first photograph here: What do you see?

What is the setting? Who are these guests? What are they doing?

As part of the U Street tour (Art & Soul of Black Broadway), I tell a story about Ahmet Ertegun. Ahmet was son of the Turkish Ambassador to the United States. As such, he lived in the Turkish Embassy with his family. Ertegun and his brother Nesuhi were heavy into jazz music and became nuanced fans of the genre. They spent time on 7th Street NW, the "Black Broadway" of Washington, DC at the time, including Howard Theatre and Waxie Maxie's record store.  

At the time (early 1940s) Washington, DC was severely segregated like much of the United States, and in most places jazz or any other musical performance would not be played publicly with black and white artists together.

However, the Erteguns had another vision. Ahmet and his brother Nesuhi often hosted salons and jazz concerts with the top artists of their time, specifically inviting Black artists into the embassy, so much so that their neighbors in the all white Sheridan Circle neighborhood questioned why Black folks were allowed to enter the embassy through the front door. Along with the performances and jazz sessions, the Etergun's had all the artists gather over a meal, usually lunch.

This photo is from one of the lunches in the 1940s. Included in the photo are Nesuhi Ertegun, Adele Girard, Joe Marsala, Zutty Singleton, Max Kaminsky, an unnamed person, Ahmet M. Ertegun, Sadi Coylin, and (likely) Benny Morton. 

Ahmet Ertegun went on to graduate studies at Georgetown University and while there, started a small record label for DC r&b and gospel artists. He later enlisted an investment and partnership from friend Herb Abramson. By 1947 they had incorporated Atlantic Records in New York City. Atlantic Records became one of the most influential labels in jazz, soul, pop, rock, and other genres.

Most of this information won't make it into the 90 minute tour, but on occasion I have guests who are big on Turkish history, American diplomatic history, long shuttered DC record stores, jazz in America, or any number of tangential topics to the tour. Being able to go just one level deeper into the narrative creates value for guests, and opens a door to further learning for me as the storyteller.

I'll continue to post photos, images, and objects that won't ever make it into a tour, but that drive my research and tour building. I’m grateful for this new outlet!

The photo in this post is from the Library of Congress William P. Gottlieb Collection. 

Georgetown Waterfront