Third Thursdays | Broad Branch/Belmont History Discussion & Exhibit

Date and Time

• Thursday, May 16, 2024  6pm - 8pm

Location

Details

Third Thursday History Discussion: Broad Branch & Belmont Exhibit

Last December, the Friendship Heights Alliance partnered with local historians to unveil an informative, thought-provoking exhibit in the Pepco gallery windows at the Harrison Substation. RSVP HERE

For the May Third Thursday event, the Alliance is hosting a panel discussion about the exhibit, which explores two stories of our neighborhood from the early 20th century. In one, two Black families along Broad Branch Road NW were forced to leave the land and homes they owned in order to make way for the newly developing all-white neighborhood of Chevy Chase D.C. The Black Broad Branch Project documents this history, and advances the vision for repair put forth by the descendants of these families today. In the other, four Black businessmen attempted to build a modern “high class” suburb for Black people on 30 acres in Friendship Heights, Md., where they sold lots to at least 28 other Black people to build homes before their plan was thwarted. Their development, called Belmont, is important to the history of American suburbanization in the 20th century, and explains why DC’s suburbs look the way they do today.

The panel will be moderated by Amanda Huron, Associate Professor of Interdisciplinary Social Sciences and Political Science at the University of District of Columbia

Panelists Include:

• Kimberly Bender, Belmont Project Manager & CEO of Heurich House Museum
• Mariana Barros-Titus, Community Engagement Manager for DC History Center & Co-Founder of the Black Broad Branch Project
• Corey Shaw, Jr., DC Legacy Project at EmpowerDC & Co-Founder of the Black Broad Branch Project
• Neil Flanagan, Historian and architect 

Details: 

Date: Thursday, May 16
Time: 6pm to 8pm
RSVP HERE

Where: 5210 Wisconsin Avenue NW, DC. The event will take place on the sidewalk adjacent to the Harrison substation. Please dress for an outdoor event. 

Special thanks to Pepco for providing the space. The panel will also provide action steps for supporting this important work. 

Read more about the exhibit and additional content.

Mark your calendars for the upcoming Third Thursday dates below:

June 20: Watch it Grow! Native Plant & Seedling Workshop
July - August (no events)
September 19: Come Together: Conquering Social Isolation & Loneliness
October 17: Real Life AI
November 21: Food Stories: Unique Thanksgiving Ideas & Cooking Demo