Guide
Explore Washington, D.C.'s Historic Black Broadway on U Street
Washington D.C.’s historically black neighborhood of U Street is a treasure trove of African-American history hiding in plain sight. Once known as “Black Broadway,” U Street was a thriving center of African-American culture and social change, an oasis of innovation in a city scarred by Jim Crow laws throughout the late-19th and early-20th centuries. Iconic figures like Zora Neale Hurston and Mary McLeod Bethune found refuge in Black Broadway, and performers such as Louis Armstrong and Billie Holliday made regular appearances there.
But when the city became desegregated and black families began to patronize venues that had formerly been off-limits, U Street’s economy collapsed. White-owned businesses descended upon the neighborhood, and Black Broadway was slowly erased from history, preserved only by the stories and memories of its former residents.
Award-winning multimedia maker, storyteller, and multi-generational native Washingtonian Shellée M. Haynesworth is working hard to ensure that the story of Black Broadway is not forgotten with Black Broadway on U: A Transmedia Project. As Haynesworth's immersive, multi-platform project shows us, history is something best experienced firsthand. Use this guide to discover U Street’s rich, indelible past for yourself.
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