Historic African American homes in DC

Washington, DC, is known for being the home of famous African Americans like Duke Ellington, Mary McLeod Bethune, and Frederick Douglass, but the nation’s capital has had no shortage of historical figures who contributed immensely to the welfare of the city. In honor of African-American History Month, here are some other illustrious District denizens and the places they called home.

ANNA JULIA COOPER RESIDENCE

201 T Street, NW

Anna Julia Cooper (1858–1964) was an educator, writer, and human rights leader. She came to Washington in 1887 to teach Latin at the Preparatory School for Colored Youth, and also left her mark on Frelinghuysen University, a night school for working-class adults. Cooper published a book of feminist speeches and essays and received her Ph.D. from the Sorbonne in 1925 at age 66.

ALAIN LOCKE RESIDENCE

1326 R Street, NW

Alain Locke (1886–1954), one of the leading intellectuals of the 20th century and the nation’s first black Rhodes Scholar, was a central figure in the New Negro Renaissance. He taught English, education, and philosophy for more than 40 years at Howard University and wrote widely on cultural pluralism, a philosophical concept emphasizing respect for different cultures.

ANTHONY BOWEN 

900 Block of E Street, SW

Anthony Bowen (ca.1805–1872), born enslaved in Prince George’s County, Maryland, moved to Washington and became legally free by 1830. He helped to found the St. Paul AME Church in 1856. An active abolitionist, Bowen met freedom-seekers at the Sixth Street wharf and sheltered them at his home. He also co-founded the nation’s first black YMCA in 1853 and urged President Lincoln to recruit black soldiers during the Civil War. 

RALPH J. BUNCHE

1510 Jackson Street, NE

Ralph Bunche (1904–1971) was the first African American to win a Nobel Peace Prize. The 1950 prize honored his efforts as a United Nations mediator between the Arab States and Israel in 1949. Bunche enjoyed a long career in U.S. foreign affairs with distinguished service to the

United Nations from 1946 until 1970. He also founded Howard University’s Department of Political Science in 1928.

MARY CHURCH TERRELL AND ROBERT H. TERRELL

326 T Street, NW

Mary Church Terrell (1863–1954) was an influential educator, writer, women’s club movement leader, and civil rights activist. She published her autobiography, A Colored Woman in a White World, in 1940 and into her late 80s continued to lead protests to end segregation in the nation’s capital. Her husband, Robert H. Terrell (1857–1925), was an educator, lawyer, and graduate of Howard University Law School. In 1902 President Theodore Roosevelt appointed him to the DC Municipal Court as its first African American judge.

LEWIS GILES RESIDENCE

4428 Hunt Place, NE

Lewis Giles (1894–1974) was one of the most influential architects in Washington. Son of a police officer, he designed houses throughout Deanwood, Congress Heights, and other parts of the city. Giles worked often with other local architects and builders, and numerous houses can still be seen throughout Deanwood that were built according to the plan Giles developed for his own house.

Adapted from Cultural Tourism DC’s African American Heritage Trail, 5th printing, 2013. All rights reserved.