For many years, I have taken the D.C. Metro to the Brookland/Catholic University stop and turned left. This exit leads to Catholic University where I have taken classes and attended lectures and concerts. I know the University and its environs reasonably well. But early this morning, I decided to take the subway to the Brookland station and turn right. This exit leads to the residential and business area of the Brookland neighborhood in Northeast Washington, D.C. I had been to this community before but without anything near the frequency with which I have visited Catholic University. I was prompted to visit Brookland and walk through it for about two hours by this new photographic history of the community by two lifelong Brookland residents, John Feely, Jr. and Rosie Dempsey published in the "Images of America" series which captures life in American neighborhoods.
During my walk, I looked for landmarks that I had seen in the book that interested me. I saw the old Brooks Mansion, which was the home of Jehiel Brooks, a lawyer and entrepreneur who build the home in the early 19th Century and gave his name to the community. The old mansion was to be demolished in favor of building a freeway, but it was saved by the efforts of community activists. I then walked two blocks East to the commerical strip on 12th Street which, according to the book, has changed little since the 1930s. I saw the old store fronts and the Newton Theater facade, and the old restaurants. I passed St. Anthony's Catholic Church, a mainstay of the community. Walking two blocks South, I found Kearney Street. A walk two blocks to the East brought me to a landmark I had hoped to see -- the home of the famous African American poet Sterling Brown who taught at Howard University for many years. (Among other things, I know his poem "Ma Rainey" about the great classic blues singer.) There is a historical marker at the front of the home.
From Sterling Brown's former home, I took a longer walk up and down hills. I passed a Civil War fort called Fort Bunker Hill which I had not seen before. The former Fort is now a woods and is a unit of the National Park Service. The Fort was on the way to my next stop, the Franciscan Monastery which I had only seen in passing over the years. Many tourists visit the Monastery, but it was nearly empty on the morning of my walk. It is a site of deep peace which offers the possibility for contemplation amidst city life. I was too early for the daily tour, but I saw the chapel and the grotto, the shrines, and the rose garden which grace the monastery. I loved the Monastery and was sorry I hadn't taken the time to explore it before. On my walk back to 12th Street, I passed a small convent called The Poor Clare's which is not mentioned in the book and saw another part of the Catholic spiritual presence in the community for myself. I then passed a large recreational area known as Turkey Thicket, the site long ago of another mansion, and today a home for budding basketball. baseball, and tennis players. Some early morning joggers greeted me as they circled the cinder track. I saw a large building that I was familiar with, the Vicariate of the Military Archdiosese of the United States, which in earlier days had also been the site of a large plantation. After seeing some other sites, apartments, schools, and restaurants, I returned to the Metro and home.
Feeley's and Dempsey's book made me want to see this community for myself and helped me learn about it in my walk. There is no better way to get to know a neighborhood, short of living in it, and probably no better recommendation for a book. The book traces the history of the neighborhood from the rural days before 1900 when it was dotted with farms and mansions. In the 20th Century, Brookland became home to a diverse population of many backgrounds and religions. Due to the plantations which once dominated the area, there was a large African American presence in the community from the outset. Brookland was home to a large group of African American intellectuals associated with Howard University and other institutions. Among others, the distinguished residents of Brookland included Sterling Brown whose house I went to see.
The book describes how relationships between the African Americans and the whites in Brookland varied but deteriorated into Jim Crow in the 1920's and 1930's. Local institutions integrated gradually following the Supreme Courts decision in "Brown v. Board of Education" and an earlier Court decision forbidding the use of racial covenants in selling property, but many white people also left the area. Today the community has at long last a sense of both diversity and cohesiveness.
I enjoyed reading this book and learning more about the Brookland community in the city where I have lived for most of my adult life. But I enjoyed even more taking this book as a guide and walking the streets of the community for myself early on a workday morning.
...
