Langston Hughes' stay in Washington DC

Did you know that Langston Hughes had a short stay in Washington, D.C. before he became a famous poet in Harlem, NY? Langston arrived in Washington, DC in November of 1924, and stayed until January 1926. He got a job as a Busboy at the Wardman Park Hotel (Now Marriott) in N.W. Washington. Why DC? As some of you know, DC had a thriving Black community at the turn of the 20th Century. Some of that still exist today, but it is slowly disappearing with growing cost of real estate in cities like Washington, Harlem, and Chicago.

Wardman Park Marriott

Langston Hughes writes, "I have a new job at a hotel. . . . The place I work is quite classy. There are European waiters and it caters largely to ambassadors and base-ball players and ladies who wear diamonds."

Sources: prorev.com and porg.org

DC Riots of 1968

The corner of 14th and U Street in Northwest DC

The date was Thursday, April 4, 1968. It was time for change. If you were somewhere around the corner of 14th and U Street (Little Harlem) in Washington, D.C. things would’ve seemed normal. Unbeknownst to the people, it would become a transitional period in this nation’s history. It was early in the evening and there were people moving about. Black people. There were nurses, police officers, prostitutes, construction workers, pick-pockets, pimps, and preachers just carrying on like any other day. I often imagine that day even though I was just an eight month old baby living in Northeast Washington, D.C. with my parents.

I imagine a young black man walking down 14th Street that day in 1968. He's carrying a small transistor radio. The radio is playing Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell’s new hit, Ain’t nothing like the real thing. He seems to enjoy it as he smiles and pops his fingers to the melody. Suddenly, the song is interrupted and the disc jockey’s voice comes over the radio. He isn’t his usually exciting self. His tone is low-spirited and sad. The young man first stopped to see if anything was wrong with his new radio and then he heard the disc jockey announce that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot and killed in Memphis. In disbelief, the young man stopped a woman on the sidewalk and asked if she'd heard about Dr. King! The woman's mouth fell opened as she placed her hand on her chest.

All around people began to stop all along the 14th and U Street corridor. They are all talking about the death of a King. It was felt all over the nation that day. In fact, the same thing was taking place in Baltimore City, 125th Street and Lenox Avenue in New York, 63rd Street and Cottage Grove in Chicago, and Third and McLeiuore in Memphis. The nation stopped. Again, it was a transitional period for the descendants of Africans in America. The cool and non-violent Negroes of the Dr. King era were quickly becoming volatile, hot, and Black!

Violence erupted in at least 110 US cities. The brunt of the rioting took place in predominantly black urban areas. The worst riots were felt in Chicago, Baltimore and Washington, D.C. The government ordered 22,000 federal troops and 34, 000 national guard to aid local police departments. The atmosphere was complete pandemonium. The Godfather of Soul, James Brown, appeared on national television to urge the people to not react in anger towards Dr. King's death. This did very little to put out the flames of change. Rioting continued throughout the weekend here in DC. By Sunday morning, 12 people were dead, 1,097 injured and over 6,100 were arrested. Additionally, at least 1,200 buildings were burned. 900 of those buildings were businesses. Damages were said to reach $27 million. The 1968 riots had a devastating affect on Washington's inner-city economy that can still be felt today. Nationally, state and local governments did very little to repair the damages in the largely affected/infected black areas. Many of the businesses did not return and urban decay set in. The date was April 4, 1968.


Photo credit and sources: The Progressive Review, the Smithsonian institution Research Information System, Scurlock Studios of Washington DC and Wikipedia

Books on Subject: Ten blocks from the White House: Anatomy of the Washington riots of 1968, Ben W. Gilbert, 1968
Hard Revolution, George Pelecanos, 2004

Website: larryrosen.org

Memories About Writing

Today is such a slow day. I am sitting at my desk trying to get some things done, but I am constantly drawn to my blog and writing. **smile** So, I am writing this just to satisfy my urge. Also, I am thinking of my deadline for submitting a poem/poetry to a journal or magazine. My goal is by the end of July. I haven't been published in over 6 years. My first published article (outside of college) was for local newspaper, The Washington Informer on a piece about a local Jazz club here in DC, HR-57 Center for the Preservation of Jazz and Blues. I interviewed local Jazz great and historian, Nap Turner for that piece. I was so proud of that article! As a matter of fact, I recently thanked the paper's owner, Denise Rolark Barnes for publishing that for me. She didn't remember, but that was cool. It was my first time being paid to write.

Well, I'm going to stop here to prevent myself from rambling. Do something constructive with your day and pray. This goes for you whether you are religious, spiritual, or other. If you are an atheist or agnostic just keep hope alive. Peace~